Weird bump on my hen's comb, she's getting worse by day! EMERGENCY HELP NEEDED! PLEASE!

[HensSweetHens]

Steroid creams are not so dangerous, but taking corticosteroids orally or by injection to reduce inflammation and pain can put the chicken at risk for serious infections, and in humans, they can cause ulcers.

Thank you, Eggcessive, for the info! I think I will try Kenalog on her comb.

 

[Evelyn's Mom]

I hate to pry, how are things going??

 

[HensSweetHens]

Hello Evelyn's Mom,
I appreciate you checking in (you're not prying at all). I apologize for not posting for a few days...

Amber's condition now:
She is not getting better overall, I'd say she is a bit worse even. I can now see some new bumps on her skin/body: a couple on her vent, some (very small ones) on her crop area and there is a bit of a swelling with small greyish/whitish spots under the skin 2 inches down from the vent.
She is too weak to stand, so lies down all the time - accept for when I hold her/cool her body with towels. Her eye area is very swollen. The eyes are inflamed and watery (like when you rub them too much, the whites of the eye becomes filled with clear liquid). She doesn't open them at all now.
I can see a couple of little lumps on her next to her comb. They look consistent with the comb color but are bumps nevertheless.
She is very very skinny. I keep a close watch on her crop, and feed her once-twice a day, but her digestion is super slow and doesn't nourish her body enough (yesterday I saw a couple of scratch seeds in her poo. Those seeds were eaten by the healthy Amber herself two weeks ago!!! They are coming out only now.....). Her poo is still green, but not what I call a "toxic green" anymore....but it's still very very infrequent and not normal. The consistency is more "grainy" now, but sometimes has slimy chunks in it.

Here is what I've been trying to help her:
1. Penicillin injections 1/4cc. (yesterday was day 10, so the course of Penicillin is finished)
2. Cooling her body down with wet towels to bring fever down (-every 2.5 - 3 hours.).
3. Comfrey poultice overnight on her comb scab. It really helped with healing the scab, but the crust itself hasn't fallen off yet. I take the poultice off in the morning to allow for healing of the skin (as comfrey herb acts as a stimulant for cells in the soft tissue to heal, but then skin need rest from it to do actual repair) and also for drawing out the infection. I could see the difference next day actually - the whitish stuff around the scab was pretty much gone. So, I will keep doing this treatment.
4. Arnica cream on her comb to moisten the chapping skin and to keep the healing process. Also some arnica cream on her vent area - because of frequent vent cleaning/temperature measurements. It's hard to tell with the cream if it really IS helping yet, because the whole comb is very swollen still. Bumps on the vent didn't go away either.
5. Echinacea tea as a boost for immune system.
6. Manuka honey orally in her mash/feed - for better infection control and as immune support.
7. Colloidal silver 2-3 times a day in her drinking water.

She isn't eating/drinking/standing/opening her eyes....just lies there... Is it cancer?
I am not sure whether to continue antibiotic treatment - this time Tylan 50 ..again?
She still has feeling in her legs/feet and flaps her wings...not that she is using any of them to lead a normal healthy chicken life...

Any thoughts? Anyone is welcome to share...

 

[Eggcessive]

This is just my opinion, but I think that I would just give her palliative care, keep her comfortable, and decide either to let her go or euthanize her. You have tried everything, kept giving nutrition and medicating, keeping her clean, etc. She must have Mareks or leukosis with her skin lesions, but whatever she has is obviously not going to get better. I really commend you for your dedicated and loving care. She couldn’t have received better, for sure. I would worry that she would be suffering in her present state. I understand how hard it is to give up and let her go, and that is up to you. I would get a necropsy though to find out what was happening to her. They can give us a lot of information. So sorry.

 

[HensSweetHens]

Thank you for the reply, Eggcessive, and for your kind words.
I just tried to feed her and today she is using all the energy that's left in her to get out...I stopped right away, because it's torture to be having to force food like that (it's never this way with Daisy, or other chickens that I've had to help feed)...so I stopped right away...and since she isn't getting food anymore (and even turning away from water), I cannot just let her slowly starve to death... I have made the decision to help her go... it's only right to help her go fast and in humane way... I've taken my sick chickens to be euthanized before, and this is just another such time...

Thank you - all of you - for your replies and huge support!

Just making a few edits to my original post:
I want to also acknowledge and give a special thank you to Hen Pen Jem for the advice on herbal treatment (- taking the time to write up a whole treatment plan for my poor Amber) and for the encouragement!!!

I am very very grateful to everyone!

 

[PouleChick]

I cannot just let her slowly starve to death... I have made the decision to help her go... it's only right to help her go fast and in humane way... I've taken my sick chickens to be euthanized before, and this is just another such time...

Such a hard decision but sounds like the right one - you have tried everything you can and she is getting worse - absolutely the right call to euthanize her - you don't want her to suffer more. Massive hugs - not an easy call and good on you for doing so much to this point xx

 

[HensSweetHens]

Such a hard decision but sounds like the right one - you have tried everything you can and she is getting worse - absolutely the right call to euthanize her - you don't want her to suffer more. Massive hugs - not an easy call and good on you for doing so much to this point xx

Thank you, PouleChick!
She is at peace now...RIP my little Amber....

 

[micstrachan]

Aaawww.... I’m so very sorry.

 

[HensSweetHens]

Aaawww.... I’m so very sorry.

Thank you, Micstrachan!!

 

[PouleChick]

Awww bless her. Love the photo of you guys