6 week old BO with small facial swelling on one side

[formerchickenlass]

Hello!

Approximately 6 week old BO chick of normal weight and behavior. Yesterday I noticed she has a small raised lump area on one side of her face.

I have nine chicks total of the same approximate age, haven't noticed anything similar on the other birds. Everyone looks fine. All birds have been a bit sneezy since shortly after I got them (at around 1 week old), which I attributed to the litter (a wood pellet that softens and generates fine dust as the birds move around in it. Been planning to switch them to sand soon in hopes that it would clear up their sneezles).

Everyone eats & drinks like normal, eyes look nice and bright, poops look good.

They are currently housed indoors in a 3x6 plywood brooder. We don't have their coop finished yet so I have started taking them outside for a bit each day in a little A-frame enclosure we built. I realized from reading around today that it's quite possible our grass is too tall for them.

I'm further concerned my buff orpington chick could have an impacted crop due to the tall grass (I noticed today her crop is a lot fuller feeling than the other chicks and I'm planning to withdraw food/water overnight & check her crop again in the morning). She's my favorite and the most easy to handle of the chicks so she gets to go outdoors a little bit more than everyone else.

Anyway, here are photos of the facial swelling, any idea/advice is very appreciated!

 

[Dustystrail]

Looks to me like the swelling is associated with the ear. Anyone?
As far as the crop, is it empty this morning? If so it is nothing to worry about. Some birds just have bigger crops or maybe just fill them better.

 

[formerchickenlass]

I checked her crop this morning and it was empty, so no worries there after all. I guess she's just a good eater.

I'll pull her out, see if I can get her wrapped in a towel & check her ear for signs of mites/infection. Then I'll report back.

 

[formerchickenlass]

Just checked her ear, as best I can tell (she was of course rather squirmy) there were no mites (nothing dark) and no discharge.

The swelling/mass feels firm and is cooler to the touch than in the same location on the other side of her head.

Ideas?

I'm planning to ride my bike over to the feed store today and show them the photos & see what they suggest too... at the moment I'm thinking maybe just get her on an antibiotic stat, and also wondering whether to isolate or treat the whole flock preventatively. Any suggestions are helpful.

 

[formerchickenlass]

At the feed store the clerk felt it was an abscess upon seeing the photos. I was discouraged from purchasing an antibiotic and it was recommended I do warm compresses 3x daily to try and bring the mass to a head, then to use vetericyn on it. Does anyone else have an opinion? Does this sound like a good strategy?

It seems to me that giving an antibiotic would still be a good idea (I feel like that's what you would do if this were a human) but I looked at them in the store and felt overwhelmed anyway (none really said they were for chickens, for example, just horses and cows and whatnot). I don't know which one I would even give and whether the medication would be very hard on the chick versus not giving an antibiotic and letting her system try to fight off the supposed infection, etc. So I just went with the clerk's suggestion.

Sigh.

I hope someone with some experience can step in and give their thoughts, either reassuring me that I'm taking the correct steps or letting me know if I'm not.

Thank you.