Black scab on my hen’s comb and facial bump

[Darmer]

One of my hens has a large black scab on her comb. She also has a bump on her face. She was recently treated for worms and she’s currently recovering in a cage by herself as she was getting pecked by the other hens. She’s having trouble walking but she seems to be gaining strength. Any help diagnosing these issues would be appreciated.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

She may have fowl pox. @Eggcessive should know. I can't recall what causes swelling like that.

 

[Eggcessive]

I am going to tag @azygous , @casportpony , and @Wyorp Rock to see if they have any suggestions. I would wonder about those growths being feather cysts, or possibly tumors from a virus. The problem walking could be related or not. How old is the hen, and was she vaccinated for Mareks disease?

 

[Darmer]

Thank you for your replies. She’s one year old and I got her from TSC last summer. I don’t know if they vaccinate for Mareks, do you?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Following.

 

[Eggcessive]

They do not vaccinate unless you order chicks and request that they vaccinate them.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She was recently treated for worms and she’s currently recovering in a cage by herself as she was getting pecked by the other hens.

having trouble walking but she seems to be gaining strength

Does the scab go all the way through on her comb? (red arrow) I see some crusty discharge on both sides, is the swelling(s) weeping? (red circles)

You mention that she was getting picked on - tell us more about that - how long ago, did she initially have scabs, plucked out feathers/injuries, etc. What did you worm with and had you seen any signs/symptoms of worms?

Just in case...have you looked inside her ears, on her head, etc for an embedded tick.
I'm just not quite sure what's going on, could be infection from pecking wounds, feather cyst or something else.

 

[azygous]

My eleven year-old Brahma Lady Di has had a growth over her eye that looks very similar to those "face bumps". I have the leucosis virus in my flock, and I've assumed it's what is causing my hen's tumor. It's been slowly growing for half her life, and hasn't caused her any serious problems. Here are some pics I took a few years ago. It's much larger now. I might be able to talk her into a new photo tomorrow.

 

[Darmer]

She was and a couple other hens were broody about three weeks ago. I put them all in separate broody busters and the other hens integrated back into their flock without issue. (She’s part of another smaller flock.She was walking a bit off balance and she had also lost weight.) When she was put out, she was immediately pecked by one of the other hens. I had my caretaker put her back in the broody buster and I took her out when I got home. She was placed in another area where she could see her “flock mates”, but was isolated from them. That’s when I noticed the growth and the scab. So that’s been 5 days now. I discovered the worms on Saturday and worked her Sunday morning with Valbezene. The scab doesn’t appear to be weeping but I’ll check again in the morning. I will also look closely to see if there’s an embedded tick at that time.

 

[Darmer]

She was and a couple other hens were broody about 1 week ago. I put them all in separate broody busters and the other hens integrated back into their flock without issue. (She’s part of another smaller flock.She was walking a bit off balance and she had also lost weight.) When she was put out, she was immediately pecked by one of the other hens. I had my caretaker put her back in the broody buster and I took her out when I got home. She was placed in another area where she could see her “flock mates”, but was isolated from them. That’s when I noticed the growth and the scab. So that’s been 5 days now. I discovered the worms on Saturday and worked her Sunday morning with Valbezene. The scab doesn’t appear to be weeping but I’ll check again in the morning. I will also look closely to see if there’s an embedded tick at that time.