Mystery injury / infection on chicken face

[alinas2010]

first, thanks so much @alinas2010 for all the kind responses and advice

our run is in the yard and it has a wire fence so she can go over there and hang by them while they are all stuck in the run. lol the others are very jealous.

I only have six total chickens and they are all very docile and get along great. but they fight over the nest boxes for sure so I think that may have been when they injured her or made whatever this is worse on accident. then once there was blood, I’m sure they kept at it

when she’s all better I plan to reintegrate her slowly.

You’re so welcome! Sounds like you have a great plan I hope she recovers very quickly. Keep us updated on her and let us know what the vet says!

 

[cheide]

another update since we went to the vet today.

the vet thinks it may be an ear infection that caused an abscess that ruptured (or something like that). she said it’s very deep and she can see important parts in there. so we’re pretty lucky she didn’t hurt an artery or anything more vital.

we got some antibiotics. we’ll keep up with the saline flushes and get going with the medicine for a couple weeks. we will hopefully start to see it clear up. if not, it maybe something more sinister causing the infection - but we’ll worry about that as needed.

she’ll keep living on the patio for a while. the vet was impressed she’s alert, responsive, preening and trying to be a normal chicken. so all that points to a hopeful recovery with antibiotics in a few weeks. but she’s probably deaf in that ear now and may have some other inner ear issues the rest of her life.

take it or leave it but this vet also told me that lidocaine is not toxic for chickens but some other ingredients in neosporin can irritate their sensitive parts (eyes, ears, insides). the neosporin may not have been helping. just an fyi. I’m not mad we tried it and the vet didn’t seem to think we made anything worse. but just in case y’all want to hear the opinion I got from this vet. I’m sure we don’t all agree and I know everyone is just trying their best based on what they know

she did say the saline wash was a great idea and we should keep doing that. especially if she rolls around in a dust bath.

thanks all!

I’ll keep sending updates.

maybe she’s my bring-along buddy now (since my dog hates the car.. I know huh??) lmao she’s getting more used to me picking her up and doing stuff with her.

 

[alinas2010]

another update since we went to the vet today.

the vet thinks it may be an ear infection that caused an abscess that ruptured (or something like that). she said it’s very deep and she can see important parts in there. so we’re pretty lucky she didn’t hurt an artery or anything more vital.

we got some antibiotics. we’ll keep up with the saline flushes and get going with the medicine for a couple weeks. we will hopefully start to see it clear up. if not, it maybe something more sinister causing the infection - but we’ll worry about that as needed.

she’ll keep living on the patio for a while. the vet was impressed she’s alert, responsive, preening and trying to be a normal chicken. so all that points to a hopeful recovery with antibiotics in a few weeks. but she’s probably deaf in that ear now and may have some other inner ear issues the rest of her life.

take it or leave it but this vet also told me that lidocaine is not toxic for chickens but some other ingredients in neosporin can irritate their sensitive parts (eyes, ears, insides). the neosporin may not have been helping. just an fyi. I’m not mad we tried it and the vet didn’t seem to think we made anything worse. but just in case y’all want to hear the opinion I got from this vet. I’m sure we don’t all agree and I know everyone is just trying their best based on what they know

she did say the saline wash was a great idea and we should keep doing that. especially if she rolls around in a dust bath.

thanks all!

I’ll keep sending updates.

maybe she’s my bring-along buddy now (since my dog hates the car.. I know huh??) lmao she’s getting more used to me picking her up and doing stuff with her.

Thanks for the update and for sharing about the Neosporin. I’m so glad she is getting an antibiotic and hopefully some relief! How wonderful that you have a vet that will care for chickens. Is your vet experienced in poultry or just willing to treat? Ugh that poor little lady, I hope the ointment wasn’t more irritating to her injuries. I have to say, she sure is adorable in that cute little carrier, though. So so thankful you got her to a vet. I hope she has a speedy recovery now with an antibiotic on hand. Please let us know how she does!

On the Neosporin, I’ve heard and read conflicting things, so I don’t know which way to lean. I’ve never had any issues with it myself on pets, even on eyes and ears, so I don’t hesitate to use it. But I do agree that there is some controversy on the topic of Neosporin use on eyes, at least that I’ve seen. Many people use it here for their poultry safely on the delicate tissues of ears and eyes, without issue. Sometimes I think it’s just better than nothing, but i suppose it depends on the situation. There are many choices for ointments out there if someone wanted to use something else and definitely always go with what your vet says first and foremost Curious, did your vet recommend coating it in any ointment? I would just want to know for future reference. My go tos for myself or our pets are Neosporin or A&D ointment.

 

[cheide]

Thanks for the update and for sharing about the Neosporin. I’m so glad she is getting an antibiotic and hopefully some relief! How wonderful that you have a vet that will care for chickens. Is your vet experienced in poultry or just willing to treat? Ugh that poor little lady, I hope the ointment wasn’t more irritating to her injuries. I have to say, she sure is adorable in that cute little carrier, though. So so thankful you got her to a vet. I hope she has a speedy recovery now with an antibiotic on hand. Please let us know how she does!

On the Neosporin, I’ve heard and read conflicting things, so I don’t know which way to lean. I’ve never had any issues with it myself on pets, even on eyes and ears, so I don’t hesitate to use it. But I do agree that there is some controversy on the topic of Neosporin use on eyes, at least that I’ve seen. Many people use it here for their poultry safely on the delicate tissues of ears and eyes, without issue. Sometimes I think it’s just better than nothing, but i suppose it depends on the situation. There are many choices for ointments out there if someone wanted to use something else and definitely always go with what your vet says first and foremost Curious, did your vet recommend coating it in any ointment? I would just want to know for future reference. My go tos for myself or our pets are Neosporin or A&D ointment.

yes I love this carrier I found it for $5 at goodwill brand new with the original tag still!

this vet is a specialist in poultry! she grew up with chickens, studied them in school, has raised them her whole life. I did have to drive 50 minutes to see her but it felt worth it to see a chicken doc. when she came in the room she asked, “is that a speckled sussex?” I replied, “well I bought her as a ‘jubilee Orpington’” she explained, oh yes they can be more mahogany her roos are just much darker jubilees! and that she was looking forward to seeing her big tail and fully feathered bum asked me where I got her and when I said Bellingham she knew the breeder by name! I ended up asking so many questions, not to question any credibility but it was just awesome to get to talk to a chicken expert

when it came to the neosporin she just said that I didn’t need to keep doing that. she mentioned there are a lot of myths about lidocaine, and it’s not toxic, but other ingredients can be harsh for them. she said continuing to flush with saline is good but I didn’t need to keep applying the neosporin. I didn’t actually ask about ointment in general. maybe it is ok or better in different situations, like creating a barrier or keeping something moist. or maybe the antibiotics in it are better than no antibiotics in some cases even at the risk of it being harsh if it helps to keep away infection some I’m not sure. I was asking more how to look in her ear - which the vet showed me on the good side. or how to look in her vent or check for mites

 

[alinas2010]

yes I love this carrier I found it for $5 at goodwill brand new with the original tag still!

this vet is a specialist in poultry! she grew up with chickens, studied them in school, has raised them her whole life. I did have to drive 50 minutes to see her but it felt worth it to see a chicken doc. when she came in the room she asked, “is that a speckled sussex?” I replied, “well I bought her as a ‘jubilee Orpington’” she explained, oh yes they can be more mahogany her roos are just much darker jubilees! and that she was looking forward to seeing her big tail and fully feathered bum asked me where I got her and when I said Bellingham she knew the breeder by name! I ended up asking so many questions, not to question any credibility but it was just awesome to get to talk to a chicken expert

when it came to the neosporin she just said that I didn’t need to keep doing that. she mentioned there are a lot of myths about lidocaine, and it’s not toxic, but other ingredients can be harsh for them. she said continuing to flush with saline is good but I didn’t need to keep applying the neosporin. I didn’t actually ask about ointment in general. maybe it is ok or better in different situations, like creating a barrier or keeping something moist. or maybe the antibiotics in it are better than no antibiotics in some cases even at the risk of it being harsh if it helps to keep away infection some I’m not sure. I was asking more how to look in her ear - which the vet showed me on the good side. or how to look in her vent or check for mites

Wow how awesome to have a vet that experienced near you! What luck! I wish there were more experienced vets like that around, it would really be so good for chicken owners who keep them as pets.

Thanks for sharing what she said about the ointment, it’s good to know. I sincerely hope the ointment didn’t irritate her ear more in anyway and that she can get on her way to real healing now. It can be tough to tell what’s going on through pictures so it’s wonderful your vet was able to steer things in the right direction. Sorry we weren’t more help. But I hope she has a quick recovery

 

[cheide]

@alinas2010 y’all were super helpful! and I wasn’t going to even try to find a vet until you brought it up

and definitely hard to tell what the heck was going on with this thing!

I don’t think the neosporin did any extra harm

 

[Twilia]

another update since we went to the vet today.

the vet thinks it may be an ear infection that caused an abscess that ruptured (or something like that). she said it’s very deep and she can see important parts in there. so we’re pretty lucky she didn’t hurt an artery or anything more vital.

we got some antibiotics. we’ll keep up with the saline flushes and get going with the medicine for a couple weeks. we will hopefully start to see it clear up. if not, it maybe something more sinister causing the infection - but we’ll worry about that as needed.

she’ll keep living on the patio for a while. the vet was impressed she’s alert, responsive, preening and trying to be a normal chicken. so all that points to a hopeful recovery with antibiotics in a few weeks. but she’s probably deaf in that ear now and may have some other inner ear issues the rest of her life.

take it or leave it but this vet also told me that lidocaine is not toxic for chickens but some other ingredients in neosporin can irritate their sensitive parts (eyes, ears, insides). the neosporin may not have been helping. just an fyi. I’m not mad we tried it and the vet didn’t seem to think we made anything worse. but just in case y’all want to hear the opinion I got from this vet. I’m sure we don’t all agree and I know everyone is just trying their best based on what they know

she did say the saline wash was a great idea and we should keep doing that. especially if she rolls around in a dust bath.

thanks all!

I’ll keep sending updates.

maybe she’s my bring-along buddy now (since my dog hates the car.. I know huh??) lmao she’s getting more used to me picking her up and doing stuff with her.

You did a good thing in sharing the advice you were given from the vet. What we learn can be used to help numerous others in the future... Thank you.
I will be following this thread hoping your girl gets well soon.

-Twilia

 

[cheide]

we went back to the vet today because she keeps scratching it, opening it up and bleeding a lot. we tried a small cat cone… but it’s too heavy. wrapping it in gauze or something causes her to scratch at it more.

when she’s in her carrier she doesn’t really have room to scratch at it so I’m thinking about leaving her in that unless she’s supervised for stretching her legs, moving around, eating or setting her right on the roost in the cage to sleep….

any ideas on keeping her from scratching???

I’m running a laundry detergent cap through the dishwasher.. maybe I can make a hard plastic ring that she can’t scratch through?

the antibiotics seem to be working on the infection… but if she keeps opening it up I’m worried it won’t heal. and I feel like there’s a chance she nicks something important and bleeds out this chicken!

 

[alinas2010]

Darn her. I would venture to bet that’s part of how she ended up in this situation and it wasn’t all her flock mates after all. I think @Eggcessive actually might have suggested that. She might have some ideas how to ease the scratching, she’s seen a lot of things! I’m glad she is clearing the infection, though, that’s a plus

But do you think it would help to put gauze or vet wrap on her toes? Sort of cover the nails, address it from the other side of the coin. Or even a sock/bootie of sorts?

You know, I did have a pet rat that had to have a tiny cone when she had an open wound on her stomach. The vet constructed it out of a very thin, light piece of plastic and staples, it was very rudimentary, but it worked. Could you try to construct her one out of something light like construction paper? I know she might not tolerate it well. But just between breaks when you can’t watch her or she isn’t in her carrier.

 

[cheide]

thanks for those ideas! I was wondering about booties or something I like the idea of vet wrap. she sent me home with some supplies like that!

I was like can I tape her feet to the roost bar (joking!)