Please HELP! Hen w/ Horrible Ear/Skin Problems.

[2theDogz]

Please help me help my girl. Let me preface: I consulted an online vet and was not impressed. Basically said to continue what I've been doing. Local vet doesn't see birds, wait-listed at Avian vet 2 hrs away.
Hen started with ear infection. I removed pus & flushed. All looked good but it started up again. Re-treated, started fishMox 125mg 2x daily. Looked good again. At this point I saw her feet were a mess (scaly leg mites). Treated everyone with Ivermectin. Feet are on the mend, but after a week infection was back, now in both ears. Increased Mox to 250mg 2x day. Initial improvement but surrounding skin becoming swollen & crusty, starting to spread on head. The ear canals are clearer though.
I switched to Cephalexin for skin issue, 3 days now. It hasn't helped. I have deployed Chlorexidine, ketoconazole, Silver honey, micanazole, cortisone (all recommended by vet except silver honey).
It still slowly progresses & is intruding into eyelids now. Also doing some swallowing as if there's internal irritation.
I can't see the point of continuing the oral antibiotics as I fear this is a reaction to them or the mites. So far she's eating well, poops are normal. Still generally ok but she does scratch at them. She's broody so I'm letting her sit, figuring it helps with treatment/isolation.
Can anyone offer experience/advice on this? The first 2 pics below are post initial infection/pus removal. Next 2 are a few days ago after cleaning. Last 2 are before cleaning.

 

[amarsano]

Poor baby! So for general staph infections I use Tylan. I don’t use the oral route, but rather injectable. I prefer it as I am sure of how much they are getting. I follow dosing from https://poultrydvm.com/drugs/tylosin . Weigh your bird and convert to Kg if necessary. Then use 30 mg/kg twice a day (I do this for 5 days). Depending on the strength of your Tylan (50 or 200) your injection will vary. For Tylan 50 it would roughly be .75 ml for a banty, 1.5ml for a midsize bird, and 3ml for a large bird such as a Brahma. I like to use Tylan 200 because it cuts down on the amount necessary for injection. Divide the above rough dosages by 1/4. Remember to use a short needle. It should be injected into a muscle such as the breast, although I have used a thigh and done subcutaneous on the back of the neck with success. It can cause bruising and pain at the injection site.
I have also used Tylan 200 once a day at a double dose. Probably not advisable, but I know that giving injections can cause The pain mentioned above and there are only so many sites to switch between. The Veterinary Drug Manual says you can use the soluble powder as a spray for skin issues. I might do both in your birds case. I get my Tylan injectable at Tractor Supply. Tylan has no egg withdraw
period, but that’s a moot point if yours is broody.
As for the mites, I would treat the birds and coop with Elector PSP. It is insanely expensive for a tiny bottle, but it dilutes a lot and can be kept for a while. It also has no known resistance development.
Good luck!

 

[2theDogz]

Poor baby! So for general staph infections I use Tylan. I don’t use the oral route, but rather injectable. I prefer it as I am sure of how much they are getting. I follow dosing from https://poultrydvm.com/drugs/tylosin . Weigh your bird and convert to Kg if necessary. Then use 30 mg/kg twice a day (I do this for 5 days). Depending on the strength of your Tylan (50 or 200) your injection will vary. For Tylan 50 it would roughly be .75 ml for a banty, 1.5ml for a midsize bird, and 3ml for a large bird such as a Brahma. I like to use Tylan 200 because it cuts down on the amount necessary for injection. Divide the above rough dosages by 1/4. Remember to use a short needle. It should be injected into a muscle such as the breast, although I have used a thigh and done subcutaneous on the back of the neck with success. It can cause bruising and pain at the injection site.
I have also used Tylan 200 once a day at a double dose. Probably not advisable, but I know that giving injections can cause The pain mentioned above and there are only so many sites to switch between. The Veterinary Drug Manual says you can use the soluble powder as a spray for skin issues. I might do both in your birds case. I get my Tylan injectable at Tractor Supply. Tylan has no egg withdraw
period, but that’s a moot point if yours is broody.
As for the mites, I would treat the birds and coop with Elector PSP. It is insanely expensive for a tiny bottle, but it dilutes a lot and can be kept for a while. It also has no known resistance development.
Good luck!

Thank you. I have Tylan 50 but feel I need to give her at least a few days break from internal antibiotics. Giving her colloidal silver & probiotics.The tylosin powder is interesting but unfortunately now Rx only.
I just spent 90 minutes soaking & drying, cleaning the ears, debriding the crusty areas on face & feet & applying topicals. Starting to feel like a losing battle