Rooster with multiple sores on face

[Amelia Egghart]

I have a 2.5 year old phoenix rooster who had an injury on his right lower ear lobe this past spring. It healed over with a lump. I didn't think anything of it until the lump started getting bigger and then opened into a sore. Took him to the vet who did a quick cut and stitch and put him on baytril.

He was cooped up with a hen on baytril with bumblefoot. I'm thinking a piece of contaminated straw stabbed him in the face and got the infection going again, on the left side this time, right at the beak. Took him back to the vet.

That was several weeks ago. He's still not better. He was on baytril, then Amikacin and now Zosyn. He's starting to eat and drink less and his poops are very small. He perked up on the Amikacin but that damages the kidneys so he could only be on a short round of it.

Any ideas?

 

[Eggcessive]

The lesion around his left side of the beak might possibly be canker a protozoan disease, commonly treated with metronidazole (FishZole, Flagyl.) But if it is related to the other problems, I also wonder about cancer or fungus. Some cancers in chickens are caused by viruses, such as avian leukosis or Mareks disease.

If he was not such a treasured member of your flock, or an extra rooster, I might have suggested to put him down and get a necropsy to find a diagnosis. But, he sounds like a great rooster and those can be rare. It can be tricky to use so many different antibiotics, and the intestinal flora can become unhealthy affecting appetite and droppings.

If I were to see the vet again, I might suggest sending a tissue sample to your state poultry lab to look for what it might be, and to do a fungal culture on skin. Of course, if you should lose him one day, I would get a necropsy through your state vet, just to find out what might have caused this. Here is a good link to find state vets and poultry labs for testing:
http://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

 

[Eggcessive]

I would look inside his beak on his left side to see if there are any lesions inside. Canker is usually white to yellow. Since he has been with his hens for a long time, removing him at this late time probably would not affect the risk of spreading a disease to the others. Plus, since we are only guessing here, I would just keep him with them and happy. Separation could affect how he eats, and would upset the pecking order. This is just my opinion though. When we figure out that a chicken has an infectious disease, the others usually have already been exposed. Wild birds and pigeons sometimes can spread canker and other diseases.

 

[casportpony]

What would the next step be?

Great advice from everyone above!

So sorry your handsome rooster isn't feeling well.

IMO, next step would be to do a culture and sensitivity test of both scabby areas. Doing that should tell you if you're dealing with a bacteria, protozoa, or fungus. If it's too expensive through your vet, ask your vet about having it done by one of the UC Davis CAHFS Labs instead.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

This is a SLOW recovery. Plus, doesn't help that Mr Hormonal here decided to attack another rooster through a fence and then caught himself in the barricade I put up to keep him *away* from the fence. Minor setback. A few scrapes here and there and a bruised ego.

Here's the latest. Looks like some tissue development but two gaping holes and exposed bone are probably going to be his new "signature look"

Better than dead though!

View attachment 1656557

Glad to get an update! He's still handsome and apparently got a lot of life left in him too!

 

[Amelia Egghart]

I've been waiting to update after I know more. I'm seeing MINOR improvement but it's not consistent enough or dramatic enough to change his prognosis. Here's where we are:

He's holding weight between 1.36 and 1.38kgs. He's been on a high dose of baytril (22.7mg/2x/day) for a little over a week and went from looking like The End to looking like he might have a future but with hole by his beak and an awful looking face. Fingers crossed. The small sores have dried up and the bigger ones are getting smaller. The big one at his sinus is still awful. The scab from the round sore on his right side fell off this morning, revealing healthy looking scar tissue. My heart skipped a beat.

His behavior is good and overall health seems good. He's a trooper. My roommate sent me this picture just a moment ago (I'm away from home). Yes, he's on the back of the couch snuggled up with his faverolles girlfriend.

 

[Amelia Egghart]

Everyone on this thread was so supportive and helpful, I figured I'd share what's happened since Derpy's death from squamous cell carcinoma.

If you recall, the love of his life and top hen was a meek, fluffy faverolles named Chamois. The week he died she laid 5 eggs. They were all fertile, 2 made it to hatching day and 1 hatched. A little yellow, loudmouth chick who grew up into this handsome fellow, half phoenix, half faverolles. Not an award winning combination but he's a good boy.

His name? Wyatt Derp.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Everyone on this thread was so supportive and helpful, I figured I'd share what's happened since Derpy's death from squamous cell carcinoma.

If you recall, the love of his life and top hen was a meek, fluffy faverolles named Chamois. The week he died she laid 5 eggs. They were all fertile, 2 made it to hatching day and 1 hatched. A little yellow, loudmouth chick who grew up into this handsome fellow, half phoenix, half faverolles. Not an award winning combination but he's a good boy.

His name? Wyatt Derp.

View attachment 2008244

Oh Amelia!
I think Wyatt is striking
How lovely to have this fella! Thank you so much for the update and photo

 

[Amelia Egghart]

Thank you. I'll have to wait until Monday, unfortunately. The scabbed areas have filled in a bit. I really hope there's scar tissue under there.

Vet looked inside briefly and said he saw a couple small bumps inside which were new. I'll have to ask what color. I'm not good at opening his beak while holding him so I'm relying on others to help.

I'll update with more info as it comes up. Thank you again.

 

[Amelia Egghart]

I put the rival rooster in my closet for the day and let Derpy (the phoenix) have a full day with all the girls. He had a wonderful day. And when he came inside he ate three dinner portions (his regular feed wetted with water and a spot of nutridrench). He's preened and is now sleeping on "his" chair.

No idea what to expect. His face is still awful and eating dry feed obviously bothers him for some reason. I'm really pulling for his immune system to kick in any time now.

I've got acidified copper sulfate ready to go after consulting the vet tomorrow.