Chick has a "puffy" back of the head. Feels like air is in there.

[FarmLivin15]

Hi!

One of my 7 week old chicks has a strange "puffy" section on its head as of this morning. It starts at the top center of the head and goes to the back of the head. I would say it swollen but puffy describes it more and even stranger, it feels like there is air in there. It even makes a crackly sound when touched? (unless that's just the feathers wrestling since they are only just coming in on it's head). I did notice about two days ago that there were tiny white flecks on the chicks back and upon investigation it seemed that it had dry skin in the same area.

I have read about swollen head syndrome and mycoplasma gallisepticum but I don't think these are what my chick has since there aren't other symptoms - yet. The chick is eating and drinking just fine, I don't notice sneezing or watery eyes. It's just as energetic as usual.

Please help!

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. It sounds like your chick has a leaking air sac (also called subcutaneous emphysema or wind puff) that is sometimes caused by an injury. If the sac is not growing and the chick is not having problems breathing, then I would leave it alsone. However, if it is getting larger or he is distressed, you can use a small needle (I use a 22 gauge in chicks, but an 18 gauge is okay) to puncture the skin and push the air out. Then hold the needle site for a few minutes, and apply plain Triple Antibiotic ointment. Leaking air sacs may come back right afterward, but if you can hold the chick for awhile to try and seal the sight it may help. Here is a some reading about this:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/171121/deflating-subcutaneous-emphysema
http://ijasvm.com/ijasvmadmin/upload/IJASVM_5113cbc51d31b.pdf
http://www.pjbs.org/ijps/fin1339.pdf

 

[FarmLivin15]

Thanks for the advice Eggcessive! At first I was doubtful, but after examining my chick again, I think you are right. When palpating the area, it definitely crackles like there is air in there. There aren't any visible injuries on the head, but yesterday the chick and another chick got into a fight and the chick has a very small laceration on its chest so perhaps that is the cause.

Do I absolutely need to lacerate it or will it go away on its own if I massage it (saw in the thread you shared that she massaged the air pocket on her gooses head since she didn't want to injure it). Also, I read the links you shared, but didn't see anything indicating that this condition could be fatal... do I need to be aggressive with my treatment in order to save the chick? In other words, how serious is this?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Eggcessive]

If the chick is alert active and eating, I would probably leave it alone. If not, then take a needle, puncture the skin, and squeeze out all of the air. It can be life-threatening if the area was really large. This frequently happens to the chest or neck area in small chicks, and it can cause severe breathing distress. Here are some pictures of all of the air sacs in birds and chickens: