Ears blocked with gunge - mite or respiratory?

[elmdene]

One of my pekin girl's ears are constantly blocked lately with a smelly creamy coloured wax/pus gunge. A few weeks ago I noticed her gaping and shaking her head a lot so I immediately wormed them all, suspecting gapeworm, but she was still doing it after this. On close inspection (she is the one who hates being handled) I realised her ears were completely blocked with this stuff and she was obviously trying to clear her passages by gaping and shaking. I've cleaned them out 3 times now using warm water on cotton buds, being very careful not to push it further in, (aided by her shaking it all over me - very smelly) but it seems to come back on a daily basis. She has always had an underlying respiratory problem so it could be something to do with this. I have also just treated our cockerel Basil with a few sprays of Frontline for possible northern fowl mite and gave the girls a wipe on a cotton bud around their head and ears at the same time. She dustbathes in a bath containing diatom daily and otherwise seems full of health and is laying well. Can anyone advise whether this could be nfm still (no other signs as far as I can see), ear mite or a constant respiratory infection - and what I can do to help her?

 

[BabyBantam]

I'd try the ivermectin again, but if shes sneezing or gasping & wheezing when she breaths (listen to her back with your ear against her) then probably respiratory. As with all chicken ailments, its a process of elimination of all home treatable suspects first and as you've already got a (nearly) proved mite issue with Basil, thats where I'd start.

 

[chrismahon]

I'd rule out both NFM and respiratory infection as the reason for the blocked ears Elmdene -could be wrong about the RI though? I would suspect a co-incidental ear mite infestation which has led to infection and which will need antibiotics from the vet. I'd get her there anyway for a thorough check over. NFM is usually first seen around the vent and hackles.

 

[elmdene]

Well I had to go to the vet today anyway for our cat's annual jab and she has given me Surolan drops (a snip at £21) for Fluffybum, one drop a day for 5 days. I looked them up as soon as I got back, as they are for cats and dogs and not licensed for poultry and found one very good report of them on another poultry forum and also this: http://www.bva-awf.org.uk/sites/bva-awf.org.uk/files/user/free_range_poultry_diseases.pdf , which is probably what the vet looked at! Anyway, it is indeed a cheesy substance in the ear canal so I'll give it a go. Has anyone else had any experience with it?

 

[elmdene]

Just to say that making sure you get only one drop of something into a chickens ear canal while she is wriggling around is exceedingly difficult. I have had to resort to the paintbrush method which I am more comfortable with as the dose for cats and dogs is 2 drops and she is just a tiny little pekin. I'm still not sure how much is actually staying inside as she then shakes her head madly. It appears to be getting better though - not quite so smelly and cheesy. I got quite hard plugs of gunge and wax out of both ears yesterday and she seems not to be gaping as much.

 

[Marigold]

The things we do for our girls! I hope she continues to make progress.

 

[elmdene]

Unfortunately the Surolan drops don't seem to have worked. I gave them for 5 days as instructed and it may have got a little better but certainly not cleared up. So I gave it a rest for a week then started again. So far she has had 9 days treatment and I'm getting a bit better at it so hopefully more is going in, but her ears are still bunged up. Its not so smelly and cheesey as before, but I get plugs of white and waxy stuff out every day. She isn't wheezing and in all other respects seem fine - laying well too. She does gape sometimes though, presumably to unblock her ears. (I also wonder if this is why she has never roosted. I have given up moving her out of the nesting box every night as she just goes back there and now I wonder if she has a balance problem?!) I phoned the vet and he said that as she wasn't responding to the Surolan and I should bring her in for an antibiotic injection, but with all the talk of whether antibiotics can be avoided and the stress of taking her in the car, I'm not sure what is the best thing to do for her.

 

[chrismahon]

Smelly and cheesy says infection to me Elmdene and I can't see it getting better on its own. She will be in some discomfort and the condition may worsen suddenly. Can't see you have any choice but go to the vet, but not so sure about the injection. I can understand the difficulty here though -an antibiotic may result in the loss of all her eggs for a period of 28 days to permanently so needs to be discussed. Not sure what I would do in your position? Car travel might be fine, difficulty is keeping her dark and yet ventilated, so perhaps a late appointment is best.

 

[Marigold]

I suppose this comes down to whether she is a dearly loved pet, with a reasonable life expectancy ahead of her (ie, if she's younger than 3 years, let's say) or whether she's a hen you mainly value for her eggs. If the former, you may be prepared to pay yet more money to the vet for further treatment, even if it may not work, and you won't be able to eat her eggs. I can quite understand this.
But if she is an older bird, with apparently a resistant health problem that will cost more than you are happy to pay, with no definite recovery in sight, then maybe, sadly, her time has come?

 

[elmdene]

She's definitely a pet rather than just an egg producer so I would do anything to make her better. I hate the stress I'm already putting her through so want to avoid any more by taking her to the vet if possible. As I say, she seems fine in every other respect and lays eggs almost 10g heavier than her sister, so I would feel terrible if the stress killed her. Her ears did seem slightly clearer today - I'm trying to get more drops in as the vet said she couldn't really o/d on them, so maybe I'll give it another few days and reassess the situation.

 

[MrsBiscuit]

That is what I would do in your situation Elmdene. I used to have a middle aged bird who got an ear problem just as you describe from time to time. She was my first ever bird, top hen and my absolute favourite (and the cockeral's!) so I would have done anything for her within reason. Now I am much more experienced and tougher but I would still persevere until/unless the bird was more obviously suffering, because like your girl mine continued to lay and eat and generally be fine in all other respects.

I used to capture her and gently get the stinky ear cheese out everyday with a warm cotton bud and I got hold of some ear drops and used them, but tbh I can't really remember how long I used them for and whether they really worked, but I know she had this problem twice in her life and she did get better. I thought it was a respiratory issue, she used to get it in late winter/spring. She lived on till she was foxed at the age of 6.

 

[BabyBantam]

if it helps, I take all of my girls to the vet together when one goes. They go in a large lidded plastic moving crate with a towel over the top to kep it dark but with good ventilation. they always go to the vet in the afternoon not the morning and have (so far) all been unstressed until they realise its them thats being taken out of the crate to see the vet. they all snuggle down on a bed of sawdust and seem to be happy to chat away to me on the 15min car journey.
Maybe you could take her with a friend to keep her company if & when she needs to go?

 

[Marigold]

I've never had any problems taking chickens to the vet, or bringing home new pullets from a breeder. I give each one a separate box, the size that holds 6 wine bottles, which just restrains the bird so she can't move about much or get thrown around. I've made box lid covers from weldmesh which sit on top and are held in place by an elastic rope round the base. She can't see out but can get full ventilation. I fasten the box on the back seat of the car with a seatbelt so it can't move around, and the birds always seem to stay calm.
When we get to the vet I put the box up on the 'cat shelf' in the waiting room so no dogs can sniff it on the floor.

 

[MrsBiscuit]

Yes, if I have to go to the vet, I also pop a bird in a 6 wine bottle cardboard box with some aubiose in the bottom, or a 12 bottle one depending on whether its a girl or a boy and the breed! I cut out oblongs at either short end for ventilation and I can also use these as handles. I also cut a few holes high up along each side for extra ventilation. If you keep a bird in the dark and in quite a confined space so it can't move about it will remain calmer. I use a bit of parcel tape across the top of the box. Then into the car, seatbelt around the box and off you go. I don't reuse the cardboard box, just in case of any cross infection.

 

[elmdene]

I obviously must buy more wine! I have taken mine to the vet before and once caused much amusement when Basil started crowing in his box in the waiting room! I just feel that as Fluffybum's ears don't appear to be giving her much problem, taking her to the vet is more for my benefit/peace of mind at the moment. It was soooo sweet last night - with the evenings getting lighter the pop hole had closed and locked her out (note to self - change the timer today). When I went out it was already getting quite dark and she was circling the coop trying to work out how to get in, but as soon as she saw me she came running up the garden to me, which was so gratifying that she saw me as being safe, even though I have been poking around in her ears for weeks! Hopefully we are turning a corner as yesterday there were no huge lumps to clean out and it isn't smelly any more, but will keep putting the drops in until it has completely cleared up - hopefully. Interesting that you say your girl got it in winter/spring MrsBiscuit - I am hoping the warmer weather may help too. Fluffybum is only about 18 months so I want to keep her going for a lot longer.

 

[Marigold]

That's really good news, glad she's getting better. We could all do with som proper Spring sunshine, I think.

 

[Icemaiden]

I found this old thread while researching "equivalent to earwax in chickens ". My light Sussex has been shaking her head & gaping again. She started doing this several months ago, prompting me to get some Flubenvet.

After the flubenvet, she was still gaping & shaking her head & it struck me that a human would do something similar if their ear was blocked. I examined her & found a dark brown lump stuck in the entrance to her ear canal & attached to the bristly feathers covering her ear. I softened the lump with warm water on some kitchen roll & managed to remove it. Her gaping & head shaking seemed to ease off.

A few weeks on & the head shaking & gaping are back. I've cleaned another hard lump of dark brown stuff away from the entrance to her ear canal. I'm wondering whether the brown colour is soil from the dustbath sticking to whatever is coming out of her ear?

Any suggestions?

 

[Marigold]

Well, I’ve been re-reading this thread, and it seems to have all angles covered! I expect you’re right about the dark brown colour of the ear wax - perhaps getting some dusty soil into her ear might have been what set it off in the first place? Maybe remove the dustbath for a week or two whilst you’re treating her?

 

[bigyetiman]

We need to buy more wine in case a vets trip becomes necessary. At an annual medical do we tell the nurse we only drink to get a right size pet carrier for a chicken.

 

[MrsBiscuit]

Obvs! Perhaps I can attempt to justify my mention of a wine box because I had orpingtons to transport, and they are pretty huge/heavy, and a wine box is super strong. However, the obvious alternative explanation is probably closer to the mark! Now I am in Portugal I'd be laughed all the way out of the village, mail order wine is definitely not a thing, you go to your adega and carry in your wine in a jug, or possibly in a repurposed plastic water bottle!