Swollen neck, can't hold head up or walk well

[LadyCatChick]

Howdy!

One of my chickens has been struggling for several days now. I have her separated and with me at almost all times. She is currently in my office now . I have been hand feeding her water and food/water mix. She cant hold her head up and freaks out by tucking it. She has lice, which I just treated. Her poop is very watery, smelly and yellow. She is fighting hard and seems to want to live. I need any advice, as she will need to be put down if she does not improve. She needs constant care and cant keep her head up on her own. Any advice?

 

[Eggcessive]

Is her crop enlarged? How does it feel--hard, balloon-like, or soft? Or is their air trapped under the skin of her neck? Can you be more specific about the location of the neck swelling? Is she drinking water? How old is she, and has she been laying eggs?

 

[LadyCatChick]

Thank you for responding. The mass is hard and seems to go down one side of her neck. I have been giving her Tylon shots, as we thought it could be an inner ear infection. She has had the Tylon for 4 days now and we aren't seeing much improvement. She wants to drink like crazy and need assistance to do so. I've also been giving her crumble mixed with water. I have a mixed flock with about 60 chickens, so I am not sure of her age. I think about a year old. I am not sure how to tell if her crop is enlarged! I'll look that up. Both sides were swollen at one point, but one has gone down completely. She wants to walk, but walks backwards and falls over. I feel terrible for her. Any help or advice is great!

 

[ajibola79]

pls i really need help, i have a flock of about 60 chickens and about 10 have one eye swollen shut.
im scared, i dont know what to do.

 

[chickens really]

pls i really need help, i have a flock of about 60 chickens and about 10 have one eye swollen shut.
im scared, i dont know what to do.

Look up Infectious Coryza...........Put all Birds on water based OXY TETRA -A.........




Cheers!

 

[Eggcessive]

Thank you for responding. The mass is hard and seems to go down one side of her neck. I have been giving her Tylon shots, as we thought it could be an inner ear infection. She has had the Tylon for 4 days now and we aren't seeing much improvement. She wants to drink like crazy and need assistance to do so. I've also been giving her crumble mixed with water. I have a mixed flock with about 60 chickens, so I am not sure of her age. I think about a year old. I am not sure how to tell if her crop is enlarged! I'll look that up. Both sides were swollen at one point, but one has gone down completely. She wants to walk, but walks backwards and falls over. I feel terrible for her. Any help or advice is great!

The mass being hard could be a tumor, or possibly an abscess with hardened pus. You could take her to a vet or lance the mass and try to squeeze out something. If you get pus, it is probably an infection, but if you only get blood, it may be a tumor. The crop is located on the right upper chest under the neck, and fills up normally during the day while eating and drinking, then should be mostly empty by morning. Feel of the crops on your other chickens at night on the roost so you will know what is normal.
Walking backward and loss of balance can be a neurological sign of wry neck. That can be from a head injury, vitamin E and slenium deficiency, or infectious diseases such as Mareks and others. Incidently, Mareks can cause tumors anywhere in the body. Crops can become non- functional in Mareks from tumors. I would give her poultry vitamins in her water with some chopped egg daily for selenium.

 

[Eggcessive]

pls i really need help, i have a flock of about 60 chickens and about 10 have one eye swollen shut.
im scared, i dont know what to do.

Welcome to BYC. It helps to start a new thread of your own so we don't get confused about who to help. Look up common diseases in poultry (Google it.) Then to start your own thread, go to the top of this page to the gray box and click on "start a new thread," and choose the emergency thread. Mycoplasma (Mg) and infectious coryza can cause swelling and infection in the eye, but an eye injury or infection may cause that as well. Oxytetracycline aand Tylan 50 can be a treatment for respiratory infections.

 

[LadyCatChick]

Thank you very much. I think we will be putting her down tomorrow. I have spoken with the poultry folks at Purdue University and they were not optimistic. I appreciate the advice. I have bee making her as comfortable as possible and hand feeding/watering her.

 

[Eggcessive]

​Thank you very much. I think we will be putting her down tomorrow. I have spoken with the poultry folks at Purdue University and they were not optimistic. I appreciate the advice. I have bee making her as comfortable as possible and hand feeding/watering her.

Sorry about your hen. I just had to put down one of my best hens today due to hopeless condition. I don't like to see one suffer when it looks like nothing can be done.