Not emergency - What is this inside my hen's comb??

[Sylver Queen]

Hello!
About a year ago (I know, I feel bad ) one of my lower pecking order hens got a little pecked on the comb, just normal fussing, and she had a couple of small scabs, but then the next time she got pecked the scab didn't go away, just a whitish gray thing, then I noticed over the months her comb seemed to be getting bigger and the scab didn't fall off. Fast forward to October when it was big enough that I was concerned she may have gotten a fungal infection or something. Then after being very dry out it finally rained, which softened up the wad that had formed inside her comb. I was able to pick out a couple of big pieces and was rather disgusted, but I couldn't get the rest out (it's hard as beeswax) so decided to leave her for a bit. Well today after a good rain, I brought her in and cleaned out the whole thing! It's now a cavern like a raspberry, where it used to be a pea comb with a slight indent prior. She and one of her sisters have unusual shaped combs and it was always slightly pitted, and I would occasionally clean stuff out of it, but we're talking maybe an eighth of an inch, not this chasm that a whole cotton swab head can fit inside! The stuff I got out reminded me of bumblefoot except inside her comb, so I'm wondering if it's bacterial infection stuff? Before I got it out I treated her for 10 days with an antifungal med just in case, and saw no improvement, but now I poured inside a little hydrogen peroxide, which is the white foam in the cleaned out video, and then filled the hole with triple antibiotic. She also had another gray spot that I picked at and it came out as well, revealing another small hole in the middle of her comb. This stuff's "burrowing" in and it's gross. I had to squeeze it from her nostrils up like a tube of toothpaste to get everything out. I'll be checking it every day, but if anyone knows what the heck this is I would sure love the info so I can treat it better. Thanks!

* Included is some before and after footage, and it's gross-ish.

Actually, I am unable to upload the videos since they're incompatible with the platform or something, which is a bummer since they show it much better!

 

[Razzlefrazzle]

Seems like she got a bacterial infection when she was pecked. Chicken have solid pus and use it to wall off infection so it doesn't spread. It's a neat trick but also kinda gross... and, yes, it's the same process that causes the "bumble" of bumblefoot. Looks like you did a good job cleaning it out. Keep an eye on it but I think it should heal up fine. If you keep getting more pus building up an oral antibiotic might be in order.

 

[Sylver Queen]

Seems like she got a bacterial infection when she was pecked. Chicken have solid pus and use it to wall off infection so it doesn't spread. It's a neat trick but also kinda gross... and, yes, it's the same process that causes the "bumble" of bumblefoot. Looks like you did a good job cleaning it out. Keep an eye on it but I think it should heal up fine. If you keep getting more pus building up an oral antibiotic might be in order.

Thank you! Will do.

 

[AGeese]

I'd say good job so far, although yes maybe an earlier start would've been ideal. Be careful with the hydrogen peroxide I think, maybe try a q-tip with a dab of ACV.

Could be a fungus, and or bacterial infection as you suspected. Some others could weigh in on that here.

 

[Sylver Queen]

I'd say good job so far, although yes maybe an earlier start would've been ideal. Be careful with the hydrogen peroxide I think, maybe try a q-tip with a dab of ACV.

Could be a fungus, and or bacterial infection as you suspected. Some others could weigh in on that here.

Thanks! I think I got it all and she's healing well so far. Definitely careful with peroxide. Thanks for responding!