Need help with sick chicken. Does anyone know what this is?

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One of our neighbors entrusted us with a sick chicken that she believed had a bad ear infection. Her ears were so swollen that she couldn't open her eyes and she had mucus crusted all over her face. We've had her with us for about 2 months and have tried many remedies and antibiotics including garlic water, Blu-Kote, Neem oil, Diatomaceous Earth, Golotal Silver, Eye drops, and many other things. We give her regular baths and so far we have discovered a major lice infestation with a couple of fleas thrown in as well, which we have managed to get rid of in one quick swipe. She has a bacteria or infection eating the skin beneath her wing and she smells like rotting chicken all the time. We cleared her ears multiple times but they have started to clog up again. She had swollen feet when we first took her in, which thankfully has gone away. Every day we clean her eyes off so she can actually see, but every morning she wakes up with stuff caking them shut again. We let her outside because the fresh air and sunshine seem to help a little. Right now her biggest problem is the bacteria or infection eating her flesh off her bones under her wings. Nothing we do seems to help. It's stopped spreading, but it won't go away. It's just at a stand still and my mother is tired of it. She thinks we should put the poor thing out of her misery but I'm not ready to give up on her yet. Does anyone know how to help, or at least what this might be?

 

[azygous]

That's all that's necessary as far as location. There are a few US states that prohibit the sale of antibiotics for animals without a vet's prescription. Oregon may be one of them. This may mean that your local feed store cannot sell over-the-counter antibiotics for your chickens. But try calling them and find out. This also would mean that you can't get around the law by ordering online. They won't ship to you.

I can't verify the law is actually been passed so you need to do your homework on this. You can try to get an antibiotic from your vet. But if this is cancer, an antibiotic is useless.

 

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i really hope its nothing to bad but i do not know what it is

Thanks anyway.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Please post some photos of the hen - her face/eyes, whole body, ears, etc.

 

[azygous]

It's possible this isn't a sore but a squamous cancer. That's possibly why it won't heal. I had a hen with one on her back, and it was extremely painful for her. I euthanized her.

It might be a very serious staph infection requiring an oral antibiotic. You can try treating it with amoxicillin if you can find it. The stink means her tissue is turning necrotic, meaning dying. That's why the smell. It needs to be removed through debriding wound care.

What is your location? If we know where you are, we can advise on how to find meds.

 

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I live in Columbia County in Oregon. I'm a bit sensitive about sharing locations with people so will that do?

 

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And thank you for your advice. We've been running out of hope lately.

 

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okay. Thanks for all your help!

 

[Banana01]

That could be the mucous build up sticking to her feathers. A bird with MG and Coryza will leak from the eyes, and they rub it off on the feathers on their back. The smell is from coryza. It is treatable, parasites tend to make the infection flare up.

First treat the parasites including mites and worms. Then treatment may take several weeks if no antibiotics are given, or it can be cleared up in a few days with some medications.

Can you try to clean the feathers off the back and verify it is a mucous build up and not the skin infected. The disease looks worse in this untreated state because the parasites have weakened her immune system. MG and coryza is not fatal by itself, but the parasites usually are if untreated.

 

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It is a skin infection. There are pieces of rotten flesh and skin sticking off of her wing. The lice have been gone for over a month now, and she is still having trouble with the infection.