Hello again!
Woo! Really dodged a bullet today. A few days ago, I noticed that Fred, my RIR hen, wasn't looking so hot. I took her inside and after finding a solid mass in her throat, I peeked in her mouth and saw a white plaque on her bottom jaw. Eeek! I was super worried because in December, my Buttercup roo, King, died from a similar cause- white fungal plaques in his mouth. The worst part was that before I knew he was sick, I had been keeping Fred with him!
I was scared that whatever had killed King was back and had gotten a hold of Fred. Plus, since Fred had been out and about with the whole flock, I was absolutely terrified that I was looking at some sort of wide-scale breakout!
After taking her into the vet to assess my options, however, he said that she only had some sort of abscess and NOT anything contagious! I was so relieved I almost cried. For a while last night, I was afraid that I might be looking at some massive flock fatalities. So right now Fred is still in the house being treated for her abscess. I'm reluctant to try to lance it, simply because it's in her throat between her wattles and I don't want to end up killing her in the process of trying to 'help'.
Seems like Tiffany, my cat, will simply have to put up with the antics of 'cat-killer Fred' a little longer.
(As a side note, no, the chicken won't actually kill the cat. It's a nickname because Fred will chase and peck at any cat she comes across.)
