just picked hard, compacted mass out of hens nostril-Update on post 11

[Msbear]

Her ears look swollen and she has dandruffy dust around them. Also dandruffy white stuff on her head and feathers...crusty bits at the base of her comb. Her nostrils were also swollen and crusted shut. I gave her a bath and the steam kinda loosened the stuff up. I used a toothpick and broke it away from her skin, then stabbed it and pulled it out. The thing was HUGE!! ..the size of a large corn kernal and same color... a bit lighter. I know she couldn't breathe through her nose. Has anyone heard of this?

The other nostril plug? didn't come out in one big piece like the other side so I broke as much out of there as I could and am letting her rest. She is healthy otherwise. I gave her some ivermectin a month ago for parasite control but she never had a bad infestation.

...maybe dust in her coop? The other chickens in there are fine.

UPDATE: Here is a link I found with the same issue my hen has http://www.browneggblueegg.com/Article.html Click on "Plugged Nare (Nostril)" on the left hand column. Canker is much more nasty than the symptoms my little hen is displaying. I appreciate everyone's help, but am very thankful what she has is a lot less serious.

 

[NYREDS]

Sounds like it might be Coryza. Give her head a sniff-really. If it stinks it's Coryza. Coryza is a bacterial infection. Personally I would cull the bird but other people choose to treat Coryza. Any antibiotic effective against gram negative bacteria should work.

 

[Msbear]

There are no respitory symptoms... coughing, wheezing, runny nose, etc... just the huge booger

I have her separated in a brooder with a light on her while she's fluffing out from her bath and she looks great now... her nostrils are back down to normal size and the dandruffy stuff is gone.. for now. ??

eta: no stink either

 

[Glenda L Heywood]

it is called canker
it can be in the nose, ear, stomach, and throat and is not curable
yes a bad case in the gut will make them poorly
you can try and medicate them

(yellowish growth in beak, intestins etc it is treated with flagyrl see if you can get it there?

Personally we used to raise pigeons as well as chickens
it is not curable and bird is always giving it to other birds thru the salive in the drinking water
the reason pigeons get it is they beak feed the babies and are constant carriers of the disease

it is cheezy growth and most discusting as there is no definite treatment
other than flagryl
here they quit making flagryl some vets still have a supply but any questions email me

 

[threehorses]

You might just get a thing of VetRx and swab her nares for the next couple of days. Fungus and mildew in the barnyard can also cause this. For that much dust to collect and harden, there had to be moisture. I'd just watch for drainage, keep that area open, and check out the roof of her mouth as welll. It might be that she has some congestion there as usually stuff is supposed to drain into their mouths as well.

VetRx doesn't treat for a specific illness necessarily (not like an antibiotic does) but helps with all manner of respiratory issues, keeping airways more open. One small bottle lasts ages and ages. Really I don't even think it matters which 'species' you buy. I've used Rabbit on poultry, poultry on cats and rabbits, etc.

I wouldn't medicate her unless you see signs of a respiratory illness that clearly indicates it's bacterial, not viral. Instead if you want to do something to increase her respiratory immune health, think about getting a small container of wheat germ oil. That's a wonderful and effective method of getting the oil-dependent vitamins A, D, and E into a bird. (A is particularly good for respiratory and eye health.) I use either one capsule per cup of food, mixed in well, or one capful for four cups of food mixed in well. I used to use about once a week max for normal birds as they do still get ADE from their food. It's just those vitamins degrade quickly from dry, non-oily, foods.

I'd do nothing less than continuing to clean her nares and roof of her mouth, but those other two options are all that I'd do next were she my bird except rule out canker.

Good luck!

 

[Msbear]

Thank you so much for our lengthly conversation, Glenda. Your experience is greatly appreciated. Smith Poultry does not have that medication listed but I will call them tomorrow as well as check around. Thankfully, my coops are spread around my land and there are no others birds close to them.

and thanks, 3horses. I will continue to keep her clean. She seems healthy otherwise but we've been very damp here in the mid-adlantic so this doesn't suprise me. She is just on gamebird crumbles so what you mentioned makes a lot of sense.

 

[onthespot]

Flagyl generic name is Metronidazole (sp) and you can get it over the counter at Petsmart in the fish section. They call it Fish Zole. Good luck with figuring out the dosage. I don't know anything about that.

 

[Msbear]

That's good to know. I would up purchasing it from StateVetSupply a few minutes ago so I will just keep it clean and do the probiotics til it comes in a few days. Thanks so much. This one does come with dosage instructions.

 

[dlhunicorn]

you have pm
canker = trichomoniasis (protozoal) > med here:
http://www.firststatevetsupply.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=56

 

[Msbear]

Thanks, Diana. I was really taken aback by her diagnosis. Her nostrils weren't noticable til I picked her up and examined her and the dandruffy stuff just looked like dry skin. I never thought anything was "wrong" with her. The stuff in her nose just looked like compacted crumbles.

I believe I caught this very early and I have high hopes for her recovery. Per Glenda, I have started her on probiotics and vitamins and will pursue with meds as soon as it gets here.

Thanks all.