What does this hen have ?

[lurky]

Quote:
Thats what i am thinking.........i cannot imagine how a person could let this get to the extreme it is at.
My chickens are so lucky!!!!!!!! On one hand i am so disgusted for what this poor bird has had to suffer......and on the other hand i am so happy that Urban cared enought to try to do something for her.
She looks so sad......I hope she is feeling better soon. Please keep us updated on her

 

[johnnyjack]

i hope the chicken gets well soon.hopefully in a few days we will get to see another picture of a happy bird. good luck .

 

[rooster-red]

Keeping my fingers crossed for her to make a recovery.

 

[jjthink]

Thank you so very much for helping her. I hope they can start the antibiotic immediately, if not sooner, and not wait till Monday.
Sending good wishes.
JJ

 

[Flufnstuffs~FluffySilkies]

I am glad you saw her and that you came to BYC for help/sugestions.

Keep us posted and I would love to see a new pic of a brite eyed and bushy tailed hen next week.

GOOD LUCK!

 

[arlee453]

A few thoughts to sum up....

Hen's new name...Leia, for sure
Kudos for trying to help this poor hen...
How DID this get SO bad?
Ouch!
Get her a hearing aid - I can't imagine she is not deaf after all that pressure for so long!!

Keep us posted on how she does - I'm hoping for a nice recovery for this poor girl!

 

[unionwirewoman]

I HAVE HAD TO DEAL WITH ALOT OF EAR INFECTIONS IN MY LIFE (MYSELF AND ANIMALS) IF YOU CAN SOFTEN IT UP A BIT WITH A WARM WASH CLOTH AND GET MOST OF THE "PLUG " OUT , TRY USING WARM OLIVE OIL TO HELP BREAK/LOOSEN UP THE REST OF IT . THAT ALONG WITH ANTIBIOTICS MIGHT GIVE YOU A CHANCE . WIPE DOWN HER EYES AND NOSTRILS TOO . SHE HAS ALOT OF DISCHARGE FROM THOSE AREAS . ESPECIALLY THE NOSTRILS . TYPICAL OF EAR INFECTIONS AKA SNOTTY NOSE AND EYE BOOGERS . BEST OF LUCK .

 

[rosyposyosy]

ewwwwwwww

Poor thing. I really hope you can take care of her. Or the people she belongs to takes care of her. You should check around their flock to see if anyone else has this sort of ear infection or anything else. Chances are, if they didn't see this poor thing early enough to stop it, they wouldn't see others. Oh my goodness, that poor thing. I am just glad you are taking care of her. Wow. That was probably the grossest thing I have seen in a long time. ugh. Gross. Sorry. I hope she gets better. I think I would take her indoors away from the chickens.

 

[dlhunicorn]

Here is an article on the avian ear:
http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww72eiv.htm

...it could be fungal, bacterial or even due to mites (do check the bird over for mites) and also will often follow a respiratory condition.
...abscess in a bird , unlike mammals, will not be reabsorbed and therefore you will need to remove the "pus"/cheesy-hardened exudate manually and others have mentioned in this post.
...if at all possible please consult a vet for a med for the proper treatment ...in adition to a systemic medicine I am fairly positive you will need a topical medicament to apply to the ear and advice on on how to clean it until healed.

 

[urbanagrarian]

UPDATE-

Today the assistant farmer at the farm and I worked over an hour on this little hen. We first softened the very hardened crud with warm olive oil. We then slowly started to pick at the crud with tweesers. Slowly we were able to get it mostly off. Then we picked out the cheesy very smelly stuff the best we could. We then irrigated the ear with warm water to try to get more gunk out without the fear tweesing part of her actual ear. The ears are still VERY swollen.

As luck would have it, they were out of the tetracycline usually used for chickens. Of course it is a long weekend with the feed store is closed so we decided to crush up a pennicillian tablet and add it to her water. We thought it was better than nothing until the feed store opens tomorrow.

The amazing and lucky thing is that this chicken seems quite alert and eats and drinks.

I don't think that our feed store has injectable antibiotic. Do most of you buy it over the internet or is it available in some type of shop in the greater Boston area that I'm not thinking of. I'm now convinced it is a very good thing to have on hand.

Urban Agrarian
http://urban-agrarian.blogspot.com/