CalBickieMomma
Crowing
Hello fellow chicken people!
I have a hen (3 year old Barred Rock) with what I'm 90% sure is canker. Here's what I know so far:
1.) She has some nasty, cheese-like gunk in her mouth I at first thought was wet pox.
2.) Her breath smells bad (almost like old tuna...? Hard to describe, but it is unpleasant).
3.) I suspect she's had this for a while because she'd randomly shake her head violently, but I never thought much of it because she's overall healthy and laying regularly (I thought it was just a tick of hers).
4.) When I finally thought to look in her mouth, I saw the gunk at the back of her throat and a little bit on the roof of her mouth (I'm sorry I don't have a picture, but it looks just like the yellowish-green/black stuff I've seen in all the pictures of canker).
5.) I came here and scoured the canker pages for advice and tried removing as much of it as I could (it's in a bad spot and hard to reach and she fights me hard when I try to pull it out. I even ordered a blemish remover like someone here suggested and used plastic tweezers to pick it out in little bits, never getting all of it. I tried to do this every other or every few days for a week or two, taking out as much as I could without stressing her too much).
6.) I managed to get some API General Cure with metronidazole in it (couldn't find Aqua Zole tablets anywhere). I've been treating her with that for about five days and I'm not sure it's working.
7.) I took her to the vet on Wednesday (today is Friday) and he was able to remove some of the necrotic tissue after mildly sedating her, but he couldn't get it all. I haven't tried to remove any more of it yet because I'm sure she's still a bit sore from the procedure at the vet.
8.) The vet did look at the tissue under a microscope but couldn't see any of the protozoa that cause canker (which he said wasn't surprising because her accumulation was pretty thick). He could send it off to the lab but it would be another $100-$200 on top of the current vet bill, so I opted out since we're both pretty sure it's canker).
9.) I ordered ronidazole and carnidazole and it's on the way. I also ordered some acidified copper sulfate for the flock's water.
10.) Other than a large bump/swelling on the lower left side of her throat from the canker and slightly watery eyes, my Phoebe is acting completely normal (preening, pacing and irritated when I have her in the dog crate inside, eating (though it is a bit harder for her to swallow than normal, so I'm making sure she gets crumble and I make her scrambled eggs)). She even laid an egg after she got home from the vet and laid another one today. Her poop is normal and her weight is good (just over 7lbs).
SO, here's what I'm curious about:
1.) Should I keep trying to remove more canker tissue? Not sure if I'll ever be able to get all of it since it's so deep and I'm afraid I'm doing more damage than good.
2.) I have tincture of iodine. Is it safe to dip a Q-tip in it and dab the canker area in her throat? Will it help if I apply it directly to the canker, or should I remove what I can and then dab the bleeding area with the iodine?
3.) Has anyone out there had any luck with any of the medications in curing canker, and did some of them take more than a week to show results? Will the necrotic tissue eventually go away/will the swelling eventually go down if I get her on the right medication? I'm just worried about it impeding her ability to eat and even breathe if it gets that bad.
That's all I can think of so far. I apologize for the long post, but I wanted to be as thorough as possible. Thank you for any advice you might have to offer!
I have a hen (3 year old Barred Rock) with what I'm 90% sure is canker. Here's what I know so far:
1.) She has some nasty, cheese-like gunk in her mouth I at first thought was wet pox.
2.) Her breath smells bad (almost like old tuna...? Hard to describe, but it is unpleasant).
3.) I suspect she's had this for a while because she'd randomly shake her head violently, but I never thought much of it because she's overall healthy and laying regularly (I thought it was just a tick of hers).
4.) When I finally thought to look in her mouth, I saw the gunk at the back of her throat and a little bit on the roof of her mouth (I'm sorry I don't have a picture, but it looks just like the yellowish-green/black stuff I've seen in all the pictures of canker).
5.) I came here and scoured the canker pages for advice and tried removing as much of it as I could (it's in a bad spot and hard to reach and she fights me hard when I try to pull it out. I even ordered a blemish remover like someone here suggested and used plastic tweezers to pick it out in little bits, never getting all of it. I tried to do this every other or every few days for a week or two, taking out as much as I could without stressing her too much).
6.) I managed to get some API General Cure with metronidazole in it (couldn't find Aqua Zole tablets anywhere). I've been treating her with that for about five days and I'm not sure it's working.
7.) I took her to the vet on Wednesday (today is Friday) and he was able to remove some of the necrotic tissue after mildly sedating her, but he couldn't get it all. I haven't tried to remove any more of it yet because I'm sure she's still a bit sore from the procedure at the vet.
8.) The vet did look at the tissue under a microscope but couldn't see any of the protozoa that cause canker (which he said wasn't surprising because her accumulation was pretty thick). He could send it off to the lab but it would be another $100-$200 on top of the current vet bill, so I opted out since we're both pretty sure it's canker).
9.) I ordered ronidazole and carnidazole and it's on the way. I also ordered some acidified copper sulfate for the flock's water.
10.) Other than a large bump/swelling on the lower left side of her throat from the canker and slightly watery eyes, my Phoebe is acting completely normal (preening, pacing and irritated when I have her in the dog crate inside, eating (though it is a bit harder for her to swallow than normal, so I'm making sure she gets crumble and I make her scrambled eggs)). She even laid an egg after she got home from the vet and laid another one today. Her poop is normal and her weight is good (just over 7lbs).
SO, here's what I'm curious about:
1.) Should I keep trying to remove more canker tissue? Not sure if I'll ever be able to get all of it since it's so deep and I'm afraid I'm doing more damage than good.
2.) I have tincture of iodine. Is it safe to dip a Q-tip in it and dab the canker area in her throat? Will it help if I apply it directly to the canker, or should I remove what I can and then dab the bleeding area with the iodine?
3.) Has anyone out there had any luck with any of the medications in curing canker, and did some of them take more than a week to show results? Will the necrotic tissue eventually go away/will the swelling eventually go down if I get her on the right medication? I'm just worried about it impeding her ability to eat and even breathe if it gets that bad.
That's all I can think of so far. I apologize for the long post, but I wanted to be as thorough as possible. Thank you for any advice you might have to offer!
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