infection on abdomen and vent - help, please!

[FreckleFace]

We have a 2-year-old silkie hen with what appears to be an infection under the skin on her abdomen and vent. One spot is on her belly and about the size of a pea. Looks like it could possibly have started at the base of a feather.

The other infected area is the top of her vent. This concerns me very much. It is very swollen and warm and has a bit of green crust on the edge of the vent. It is causing the top "lip" of the vent to protrude. Both spots are warm to the touch and hard. They are not open or oozing.

When we discovered this two days ago, we quickly soaked the poor hen's bottom half in warm water, cut away the surrounding feathers to keep the areas clear, and put her inside the house on clean pine shavings. We've also been putting triple antibiotic ointment on the two infected spots. Her stool looks pretty solid so she's definitely been eating.

I have two questions, really-
1. Until we brought her into the house two days ago, she was alert, spunky, and had a very good appetite. Now that she's in the house, she is scared, hot (it's cooler outside than inside today) and isn't eating as much. Is it better to keep her isolated inside on the clean shavings or let her be outside with the flock where she is relaxed and eating normally?

2. Can you recommend any additional treatments for infection? I do have access to certain antibiotics like amoxicillin and baytril. Could amoxi be given orally? if so, what dosage?

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.

 

[CMV]

Using Baytril would definitely work to clean up an infection, but it would be kind of like killing a mouse with a machine gun. I would hold off on using Baytril because there are so many more appropriate antibiotics out there that you don't want to risk overusing this drug and creating resistance. Pen G injectible is more appropriate for skin infections/wounds. Save the Baytril for the BIG problems.

 

[FreckleFace]

Thanks for this info, CMV! I really appreciate it!

The other antibiotic that I have on hand is amoxicillin. It's my understanding that amoxicillin is a milder antibiotic. Do you think that would work to treat this infection? I haven't been able to find any reliable information as to whether amoxi is safe for chickens.

Where would I find Pen-G injectible?

 

[CMV]

I have never used amoxicillin on a chicken before. Pen G can be purchased (with syringes) at the feed store.

 

[FreckleFace]

Perfect - I'm on my way to the feed store now. Thank you, again!

 

[FreckleFace]

The plot thickens..
She laid a soft-shelled egg today. Could this be related to her swollen/inflamed vent? Or, do you think it's more likely to be a result of stress?

 

[CMV]

It could be the cause. Soft-shelled eggs cause several problems for a chicken. There is no hard surface for the body to push against, so these eggs tend to get stuck. If she has been trying to move this egg then it could account for the inflammation.