Poorly chicken with gunk under tongue

[danielledavies]

Hi, I'm a new member looking for some advice please. One of my chickens got out on Thursday, we managed to find her but yesterday morning I noticed she couldn't close her beak properly or eat and she had like slimy salivor coming out of her beak. On closer inspection she seemed to have what looked like chewing gum stuck under her tongue with all gunk stuck around it. We managed to remove it with a cotton bud but she is still the same today and looking under her tongue she still has gunk there (which smells quite foul). Her crop is empty so I've brought her inside afraid she'll get too cold in this weather. She is very quiet, trying her best to eat but finding it impossible. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. Where do you live? If you live in a warm area with mosquitoes, it might be wet fowl pox, but more likely is canker. This bad smelling gunk could possibly be canker, a protozoan disease that is very contagious. The lesions are yellowish to gray from pictures I have seen. The medicine to treat it is metronidazole (Fish Zole, Flagyl.) Fish Zole 250mg tablets are available online from fish or bird supply sites. The dosage for 5 pound chicken is 1/2 of a 250mg tablet given twice a day for 5 days. If there are lesions that start growing larger and are blocking her throat, they will need to be removed, but can cause bleeding. I would seek a vet for treatment right away or order the FishZole, since it takes days to get there. There are other drugs available from a vet or online. If you think it is wet pox, a virus that requires no treatment except supportive therapy, helping them to get enough to eat and drink. Here is some info and a link to click on about canker:
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/diseaseinfo/154/trichomoniasis-canker-frounce/
http://www.chickenvet.co.uk/health-and-common-diseases/digestive-problems/index.aspx
https://www.beautyofbirds.com/canker.html

 

[Eggcessive]

Here are some pictures of probable canker (trichomoniasis

 

[danielledavies]

Thank you so much for your response and the photos it looks like this is what she has, probably not as bad as a couple of the photos but definitely looks the same

. I am worried as she has been in with our other 10 chickens so there is a good chance they could have also caught it. I live in South Wales so no mosquitoes here. Is there anything I can do to help her until I can get the medication? Thanks again

 

[Eggcessive]

Separate her with food and water. Disinfect all of your waterers and feeders, and make sure their water is clean and changed daily. Some people use a gram or two of acidified copper sulfate in 4 liters of water for 3 days a month to help prevent the spread of canker in flocks who are positive. I think but am not positive that regular copper sulfate can be used with apple cider vinegar added.

 

[danielledavies]

Thank you Eggcessive

 

[Eggcessive]

You're welcome. Please give us some news about how she gets along.