Yellow stuff in chicken’s ears

[HorseGirlAbby]

Good morning all. My six year old Delaware hen has had yellow stuff that looks like it’s coming out of her ears for the past couple weeks or so. At first I thought it was just some crusty food, but it hasn’t gone away. She doesn’t seem bothered by it at all, she’s not scratching her head any more than usual and seems to be able to hear okay. She’s eating and drinking fine and being her usual sassy self, so I’m not too worried about her. Here are a couple photos.

She is my little wry neck girl, but I don’t think that has anything to do with it. The yellow stuff is really crusty, almost like egg yolk, which it’s not, as nobody has been laying eggs for weeks…

Anyways, just looking to get an idea of what this is

 

[LaFleche]

It is an ear infection and the gunk/pus needs to be cleared out.

Here is how to do it:

Bundle her up in a towel with just her head sticking out. This will prevent her from flapping her wing and make it easier to keep her calm.

 

[HorseGirlAbby]

It is an ear infection and the gunk/pus needs to be cleared out.

Here is how to do it:

Bundle her up in a towel with just her head sticking out. This will prevent her from flapping her wing and make it easier to keep her calm.

Thanks so much. She’s quite tame, so it shouldn’t be hard. The part I’m worried about is the antibiotics. I don’t have any, and they’re so hard to get without a prescription. I could just clean her ears out, but that wouldn’t take care of the underlying problem. Any suggestions on how I can get around that? Taking her to the vet isn’t really an option.

 

[LaFleche]

Antibiotic ear drops might work, maybe you have some in your medicine cabinet that are still good to use?

Other than that you can try and use home made strong sage tea which has antibacterial properties.
Be careful to only use lukewarm liquids treating ears as cold ones can induce vertigo and panicking.

 

[HorseGirlAbby]

Funny you should say that. I have some that are about six or seven months old, technically expired, but they might still work. The dosage for a human is 4 drops three times a day, would it be less for a chicken? I don’t think it’s a weight-based drug.

 

[LaFleche]

Funny you should say that. I have some that are about six or seven months old, technically expired, but they might still work. The dosage for a human is 4 drops three times a day, would it be less for a chicken? I don’t think it’s a weight-based drug.

Before applying anything the pus needs to be entirely removed.

What kind of ear drops do you have?

 

[HorseGirlAbby]

Before applying anything the pus needs to be entirely removed.

I will definitely do that first.

What kind of ear drops do you have?

Neomycin/polymyxin B, with hydrocortisone. So basically neosporin with a steroid added in there.

 

[casportpony]

Thanks so much. She’s quite tame, so it shouldn’t be hard. The part I’m worried about is the antibiotics. I don’t have any, and they’re so hard to get without a prescription. I could just clean her ears out, but that wouldn’t take care of the underlying problem. Any suggestions on how I can get around that? Taking her to the vet isn’t really an option.

You could try some generic Denagard:
https://www.amazon.com/Aurora-TiaGard-Concentrate-Generic-Denagard/dp/B0B4T4Y9B1

The dosage for a human is 4 drops three times a day, would it be less for a chicken? I don’t think it’s a weight-based drug.

What is it?

 

[HorseGirlAbby]

What is it?

Neomycin/polymyxin B, with hydrocortisone. So basically neosporin with a steroid added in there.

 

[Eggcessive]

The video above is good. You can make some sterile saline with 2 tsp of salt in a quart of water, or 1/2 tsp per cup. Bring it to a boil for a few minutes and cool it before using. Plain Neosporin or Triple Antibiotic Ointment can be applied to the clean ear canal.