BIZARRE Problem with Serama hen's tongue, plus dark comb and huddled??

[ICallMyselfCherie']

Hi there, everyone. I have a year old or so Serama hen who has previously been healthy other than mites. She has been looking a little droopy since day before yesterday, and has been flicking her head as though she has mites. HOWEVER, I just treated my flock for mites with frontline and wormed with wazine and gave corid for possible cocci in a couple of birds. I decided to just monitor her. So tonight I checked on her and she still looked huddled down and had her eyes closed, but NOW she has a dark comb. So I knew I had to address the issue for sure. I took her out and felt her crop -- empty. She seems to have a pasted butt, which I'll have to take care of.

BUT here is the really weird part. I opened her beak to check for odor or other abnormality, and saw something really weird. Her tongue looks really strange. Instead of the usual flat, pointy tongue chickens are supposed to have, hers almost seems to be curled up into her mouth. It's not like there's a string attached that she swallowed or something, it's just like the end of her tongue is almost like . . . a ball now. It is extremely strange. It kind of reminds me of the type of "cauliflower ear" type injuries that boxers get.

Here are some pictures. The round thing you see in her mouth is her tongue.

Just a picture of her in general:

I'm sorry about the poor quality, but somebody else has my camera right now so my computer camera is the best I've got.

If anybody can help me understand this and what to do about it, please tell me! Thank you!!!

 

[Knock Kneed Hen]

My standard response when the illness is unknown is to keep her warm (on a heating pad, setting on low with some papers or a towel over it, cover the cage). Since she'd be sleeping just let her rest in warmth tonight. If she's still alive in the morning, offer her some warm food and water with electrolytes & vitamins. I hope someone else has help for you.

Sorry, that's all I have.

 

[ICallMyselfCherie']

Thank you . . . I have her inside right now in front of a heater. She seems to be enjoying it. I cleaned her butt and discovered something. About a week ago, for a few days, I was finding eggs that were very large for a serama in the cage she was in. She was in with a roo and two other hens, so I didn't know which one of the three hens laid the egg. As I said, the eggs were very large for a serama, like a normal bantam egg or even a little larger, and had blood on them. Not too much, but enough to notice. When I cleaned her butt a minute ago I thought at first some of the poo wouldn't come off, but quickly realized that she has a dark scab all around her bum and it seems to be constricting the passage of things as it heals, probably the reason for the pasty butt. She must have been the one laying the large eggs. I managed to get enough poo off so that there is still room for stuff to pass through. It was something worth mentioning, though.

 

[ruthless]

Never seen or heard about a tongue problem, so no help there.

You can sit her in a sink of warm water to soak for 10 minutes or so to really clean up her butt. Most hens really like it once you have them in there. They will totally relax and just sit. It will also help release any egg they may be stuck.

When she is dry, trim all the fluff around her vent especially underneath to help keep the poop from sticking again.

Keeping her warm is good. If she is eating, give some scrambled eggs for extra protein.

 

[GreenMeadows]

Hows the serama this am? By chance did she eat a bee and get stung u think?

 

[ICallMyselfCherie']

She doesn't look too good . . . her eyes are at half mast all the time . . . but she's hanging in there. She's eating and drinking.

All my seramas are in cages in the garage, and I haven't seen any bees in there at all. But that is an interesting thought . . . maybe a spider or something? Her tongue doesn't look swollen exactly, it is difficult to explain. Just the entire shape of her tongue is different.

Yeah, I'll work on her butt some more. I may try the scrambled egg thing, too. Or maybe some yogurt.

Thank you, you guys.

 

[nurse_turtle]

Could be some kind of tumor or mass, but an empty crop is no good. Maybe it hurts to eat for her. Very strange.

 

[ICallMyselfCherie']

You know, she's eating and drinking now that she's separated from the others and in the warmth of the house. Out in the garage she was huddled down and the others were just kind of bustling past her, bumping into her, running around. She just sat there with her eyes closed. She still sits huddled in here sometimes, but when I wake her up she's ready to eat and drink, it seems.

 

[JenniferNgo]

Weird...
I really wish you all the best. I have never dealt with anything like this. I will keep an eye on this thread in case I ever need help with a similar issue. Hope she pulls through for you! You never know, it could be a Christmas miracle!

 

[SunnyCalifornia]

I don't know if you have a bird vet nearby, but it might be worth taking her in, if she's valuable to you. I recently took a pullet in, because she just looked "off". Lethargic, pale, sleepy, huddled up, I brought her in the house immediately, put some heat on her, tried vitamins and such, but by day 3 there was no improvement, so I took her to the vet. He couldn't find anything outwardly wrong with her, and asked if I wanted to go through xrays and tests, or just a "shotgun" treatment, i.e. try something and see if it works. They did hydration therapy via IV, and sent me home with Baytril and a calcium supplement. After about 5 days, she was perky, after 2 weeks, she was back to her normal self. It was expensive, but she's a special bird to me and my daughter. I didn't tell my husband...