Cellulitis (blisters) all over my hen's body !

[Bruwen chicks]

I have a 2 yr old hen which is some type of RIR, Gamebird cross that i bought at a small animal auction as a very young chick. She had a bout with fowl pox when she was about 5 wks old and lost part of her beak but has always remained strong and ate well and laid plenty of eggs. She roosts at night in 1 of 2 chicken houses which are made of wood and chicken wire with a latched door. She is 1 of 20 hens at this time. The bugs, mosquitos and spiders have been horrendous at our farm in North Florida !! .....I just returned home 2 days ago from Georgia where our family is devastated by hurricane Michael and was gone for 6 days and noticed that she looked smaller in size and had a strange shape to her wings...when i picked her up it was hard not to cry....she is covered with large red blister-like lesions all over her! both wings are swollen and tight, one is on her neck, several on her torso and around her vent.....I am a retired nurse and tried to start some treatment asap with what i had on hand...i started with tepid bath with water & betadine sol. which she didn't fight and seemed to calm her some, then i gave her 1/2cc of Tylan 50 SQ, isolated her with fresh bedding and a heat lamp. i also used poultry wound spray all over her and spot applied hydrocortisone cream and gave her a drop of bantamine paste orally.....My hens have been molting for the past 2 wks..she is currently growing new feathers...Has any ever seen this before? I sincerely appreciate any help,
Thank you in advance and God Bless

 

[Eggcessive]

I have never seen anything like that. Feather cysts from ingrown feathers, or the skin type of Mareks disease comes to mind, but I can’t really say.

Hopefully some others will chime in with suggestions, such as @casportpony, @dawg53, @Wyorp Rock, @coach723, and @rebrascora.

 

[dawg53]

Children's liquid Benadryl is safe for use in chickens once in 24 hours. Regular adult Benadryl or dosing more than once or overdosing can kill a chicken. However it doesnt have the same effect in birds as it does with mammals. In chickens, it's good for keeping the trachea open for breathing purposes if bitten by a poisonous insect like a bee, spider, or even a scorpion or snake.

I was thinking possibly fire ants, but the hen would be dead and covered with them. I also thought it might be feather follicle mites, but other birds would be infected with them as well.
I'm not sure what it is but leaning towards Marek's disease.

 

[Eggcessive]

I really hope it is not Mareks, but if you lose her I would get a necropsy through your state vet. Here are a couple of pictures of the skin lesions of Mareks which can cause ulcers in the skin:
http://partnersah.vet.cornell.edu/content/md-018ajpg
http://partnersah.vet.cornell.edu/content/md-019ajpg

 

[FarmerGirl101]

I just throwing ideas here but could they be bites or wounds? @casportpony @granny hatchet @KikisGirls

 

[Eggcessive]

Just for comparison, here are 2 articles about ingrown feather cysts, which apparently are common on wing feathers:
https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/feather-cysts-in-birds

https://www.beautyofbirds.com/feathercysts.html

 

[coach723]

Never seen anything like it either. Just from looks it resembles feather follicle cysts the most, but to have so many....... I thought fire ants too, since they will island on anything in rising waters. So sorry for what you are dealing with post hurricane.
Did you have flooding where the chickens are? Flood waters can bring all sorts of unknowns in, so wondering about toxins and bacteria that may have gotten in small wounds, still would think more than one bird would have a problem. Not sure if new feather follicles from molt would be more susceptible to infection from bacteria? If you think it may be bites from something then maybe try poulticing with echinacea angustifolia (the kind matters, purpurea is not as effective). You can get it in capsules and empty the capsules. Make a paste and apply to a lesion and cover to try to keep it moist and keep it on as long as possible. If it's a bite the echinacea should help take the swelling down. It won't hurt anything even if the bird ate some.
I hope it's not Marek's, but I suppose the stress from the storm could have brought it out.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry your girl is having problems.
I really don't think I've seen anything like that.

 

[Shadrach]

@micstrachan @Shadrach @aart

I'm sorry, I can't offer any advice. I've never seen anything like that and I wouldn't even like to take a guess.
Poor hen. It looks really uncomfortable.
A good vet that specialises in fowl may be an option if you can find one in your area, but I have ahorrible feeling that anything bar a specialist vet is going to give the chicken version of 'take two asprin and four days off work' and come back in a week if it hasn't cleared up.
My worry is if it isn't some sort of cyst then whatever it iis may be contagious and that of course would mean killing the hen.
Good luck. I hope you can find an answer.

 

[PattyNH]

@micstrachan @Shadrach @aart