New cockerel with excessive saliva and yellow on tongue

[ambergds]

I just get a cockerel a few days ago. He is in his own coop away from my flock for quarantine. When I got him home I took a good look at him and noticed some small brown bugs near his neck so I treated him with seven dust. He looked healthy otherwise. Later that day I noticed some excessive saliva and had hoped it was either stress from shipment or a reaction to the seven. It has continued, so today I took a look in his mouth and there is a small yellow spot on his tongue. Nothing feels unusual with his crop and nothing smelt particularly bad. I did a search and am just not sure what is going on or how to treat. There is no other symptoms. He is active, alert, and poop looks normal. He was scratching and eating pebbles. Must have needed the grit. I have sent a email to the breeder but I would love to hear from anyone that might have some experience with this problem. Thank you!

 

[ambergds]

It was difficult by myself but I did manage to get a picture of his tongue.

G

 

[ambergds]

Can anyone tell me if this looks like canker? It's the very tip of the tongue. Appears round and discolored. No noticeable smell. No others sores seen.

 

[Eggcessive]

Do you see any evidence of fowl pox? Both canker and wet fowl pox can leave yellow patches inside the mouth and throat. I have not seen either myself, but have read that canker smells very bad. I would keep him in strict quarantine for at least 30 days, even if you had not found this problem. Contact the seller to find out if they have any advice. Canker is usually treated with metronidazole (Fish Zole, Flagyl)250 mg given in 2 divided doses daily for 5 days. I would not recommend adding a new chicken with canker to my flock though, since it is contagious. Fowl pox usually will have scabs on the face, wattles, comb, or elsewhere. Here is some info: http://www.hyline.com/aspx/redbook/redbook.aspx?s=5&p=35


Oral Canker

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Canker is a condition mostly associated with pigeons and is caused by a tiny parasite called trichomonas. This parasite is often spread through contaminated drinking water. The parasite causes a ‘yellow button’ of pus to form in your bird’s mouth. This can stop your bird from eating normally leading to weight loss.

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What to look for

• Weight loss
• Birds picking up food then dropping it
• A cheese-like plaque in your birds mouth (see photo)
• A reluctance to eat

Treatment

Treating canker or suspected canker is a job for a vet who will likely prescribe an anti-parasitic medication.
Prevention

Ensure that your birds' drinking water is changed daily. Try to keep the drinkers in the chicken house to discourage wild birds from sharing your birds’ water.

 

[ambergds]

No sign of fowl pox. He seems healthy other than his tongue. I cannot see any other spots anywhere in his mouth. Can canker affect the tongue and only the tongue?
I got this cockerel for breeding. If he has canker then he is definitely not good for that purpose. What do you think the breeders responsibility is? Is there anyway to clean up after canker so the coop can be used for a replacement?

 

[Eggcessive]

I would disinfect any equipment and your facilities with 10%bleach or a similar cleaner. Can you speak to or email the breeder to find out if they know much about canker? A local vet could probably test for it to positively identify it, but that means more money, of course. Sending him to the state vet for a necropsy could also confirm or identify it. I am not an expert on those illnesses, so I would try doing some research online, and look up some old threads here on BYC. Getting shipped birds can always be a bit risky in bringing in diseases, but buying from breeders can also. Sorry that you are dealing with this and hopefully your flock will not be affected.

 

[ambergds]

Update and a question. I didn't end up being canker. I found a string wrapped around the tip of the tongue. I tried several times to cut it off but it was on so tight. My RN sister even tried to get it off for me with her suture kit. The tip of the tongue wasn't getting blood supply and the more we tried to get the string off the worse it looked so we cut the tip of the tongue off. I'm sure it was dead tissue and would have fallen off eventually anyway and I wanted him to be done with pain. My question is if anyone knows if he will be able to eat and drink without the tip of his tongue? I have a picture showing the string and you can get an idea of the amount of tongue affected. I did not take a picture after but I didn't look bad. There was not much blood.

 

[kellyhubb]

Oh gosh that looks awful!

Have you used the chicken symptom checker tool yet that poultryDVM provides on their website? It is reallllllly useful for exactly this type situation. Here is a link to the website - http://www.poultrydvm.com

 

[ambergds]

I know I felt so bad for him! But also so relieved it wasn't a contagious disease!
Thank you for the symptoms checker link. I'll save it for future use. I did not have anything useful for a amputated end of the tongue.
I hope he can eat and drink! My plan is to observe him for a few days and see how it goes.

 

[Eggcessive]

Oh, I'm so glad that you figured out the problem. I am amazed at how much that happens with strings or even long hairs getting wrapped around the tongues of chickens. Hopefully, he will recover from this awful thing. Please give us an update on him and how he is getting along later on. I looked through some old threads about swollen togues or getting a string wrapped around the tongue, and most do not give a follow-up to how their chickens did afterward. I am sure that you are relieved that it appears not to be anything infectious.