Please help

[Wyorp Rock]

Do you have a photo of the Amoxicillin package you are using? For a chicken - Amoxicillin dose is 57 mg per lb. (125 mg/kg) 2X a day.

Does the scab/lesion extend to inside of the beak or is it mainly on the outer edge?
@casportpony and @Eggcessive may have better ideas and chime in, but you will need to see if you can express as much of the pus out as possible. As you found, chicken pus is a semi-hard cheese like substance and won't dry up - it has to be removed. If you have tweezers to help you remove the pus that would be good. Since it's right next to her beak, then flushing it out with sterile water might be your best best.

 

[micstrachan]

I think the antibiotics are a must here and cleaning it. What do the experts think of apply antibiotic ointment to keep it soft and help from the outside after cleaning/digging? Or is there an issue with using it that close to her mouth?

 

[Anansi]

As long as the infection does not affect the beak or nostril, you should be able to make the opening of the pus pocket millimeter or two bigger, that will help get the cheesy pus out. It is an abcess that had been festering. You may find something in it if she got a splinter or seed lodged in there. She won't like it, but it is essential that you get all of the pus out, which means you may have to work on it several times s day. You will have to remove the scab to make sure it is pus free, and flush it twice daily. Once you are no longer getting pus or any discharge, flush one time daily for one or two days, but still check twice daily. It will get smaller and heal, but it may take up to a week. If it is still irritated or has pus after a week, you will need a vet to clean it thoroughly. If it affects the beak or nostrils, have a vet look at it, the last thing you need is a respiratory issue or feeding issue arising from this.

I've dealt with many abscesses on our animals.

 

[Eggcessive]

It sure seems in the right location for canker. Does it smell bad, as canker is said to do? How much Flagyl were you giving and how? Metronidazole (Flagyl, Fish Zole) is usually given twice a day for a total of 250 mg for an average 5 pound (2 Kg) chicken.
An abscess should respond to lancing and amoxicillin. I hope that she responds to treatment.

 

[casportpony]

I'm going to give her amoxicillin at 125mg per kilogram of body weight because the lump is growing rapidly

That's fine, but you also need to get all of the pus out. Antibiotics will not treat the existing pus.

 

[LydiaT]

Hey, thanks for all of your responses. I've been trying to lance it but she won't hold still, it's very difficult. The swelling extends to the inside of her mouth too. I honestly do not know if it is affecting the nostrils or not, I can't remember how much flagyl I was using and I don't have any left. I have some antiseptic cream I can probably use, she has also been drooling. I don't know how much longer she is going to last

 

[LydiaT]

Also I don't think the antibiotics are doing anything

 

[LydiaT]

Also I can't afford a vet

 

[elaineinspain]

@LydiaT In my experience the vets who actually know how to treat chickens are very few and far between, so don't let not seeing one if you don't have the resources bother you too much. The advice you get here is just as good as what most vets would do for you. Remember antibiotics take a while to work, so continue giving them. Can you get someone to help you hold the chicken's head still while you lance the boil? You really must get the gunk out of there. It will be thick, smelly and rather disgusting when it comes out. have one person hold her head, and one person quickly prick the boil with either a small sharp scalpel from the chemist's, or with a very sharp long sewing needle that you have held over a flame to sterilise it first. After lancing the boil you need to squeeze the gunk out of there. Put some rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide3% on a kleenex and press/squeeze the gunk out of the hole you've just made. She will struggle, but it's not hurting her too much - just like squeezing spots. The pus will be thick like cottage cheese. Don't be shocked. This is what chicken pus looks like. After getting out as much as as possible (all, hopefully) topically apply a teaspoon of coconut oil with 4 drops of either tea tree oil OR oregano oil diluted in it. rub this on the boil.
Is she still eating and drinking?
If you are not fermenting her feed, add 4 drops of oregano oil and a half teaspoon ground black pepper to her ration of food that has been mixed with water to make a porridge and mix it in thoroughly. If you ARE fermenting her feed, just add 4 drops of oregano oil plus the ground black pepper to her feed and mix thoroughly. Give her this every day for at least 6 days, longer if you don't see improvement.

The oregano oil needs to be the best quality you can afford - 100% pure and containing 86%Carvacrol oil. It looks expensive for a pot but there are 20 drops in 1 ml, so a glass of 50ml will last you a long long time. Oregano oil is anti bacterial, anti viral and anti fungal. You can use it in future for treating yourself as well as your chickens and other pets if you get sick. If there isn't a dropper/pipette supplied with the oregano oil you can get one quite cheaply at a chemist.

Also add a soluble vitamin mix either to her water or to her fermented/wet feed. She needs to boost her immune system as much as possible.
You can give her these supplements either as stand alone medicine, or as a supplement to the antibiotics you are giving her.

 

[HeidiEmbrey]

i have no experience with chickens. I'm just learning, but this looks like an infection to me too, like she got pecked and it got infected? i know you are supposed to drain an infection clean it and treat it 3 times a day with something like Vetericyn which is a non-toxic, broad spectrum antimicrobial.