Discoloured growth on Silkie's Beak

[Silkichic]

I recently picked up this beautiful girl however I noticed that she smelt quite bad so I have her a quick bath. Afterwards I noticed a large growth on her beak in an orange-yellow colour, I am not sure what this is and have not seen it on any of my other chickens, any advice of knowledge is appreciated.

 

[Slothinc]

Welcome to BYC!

It is a little hard to tell from the photos, but to me it looks like her comb. Silkies have a bumpy comb that sits right above the beak. Because of the fibromelanosis genes that they have, often the comb is black rather than red. If you’re seeing orange/yellow then it’s possible that the comb will end up more on the red side and it is changing colors as the hen matures. Are you sure it is a girl, not a boy? (I only ask as you didn’t mention the age - if it is very young and starting to turn orange then I would guess it is a boy, but if older, like 4 months + then it would indicate girl) Anyways, I would not worry about it, as to me it looks like a normally developing walnut comb.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I recently picked up this beautiful girl however I noticed that she smelt quite bad so I have her a quick bath. Afterwards I noticed a large growth on her beak in an orange-yellow colour, I am not sure what this is and have not seen it on any of my other chickens, any advice of knowledge is appreciated.

Welcome To BYC

She smells bad? Do you notice any canker or lesions inside the beak? Any pus or discharge from the eyes or mucous from the nostrils? Infection in the ears?

Any lice/mites?

It's hard to tell about the comb. It could just be the natural coloring/genetics.

Do you feel that the spots are infection? If so, can you get clearer photos?

 

[Silkichic]

Welcome to BYC!

It is a little hard to tell from the photos, but to me it looks like her comb. Silkies have a bumpy comb that sits right above the beak. Because of the fibromelanosis genes that they have, often the comb is black rather than red. If you’re seeing orange/yellow then it’s possible that the comb will end up more on the red side and it is changing colors as the hen matures. Are you sure it is a girl, not a boy? (I only ask as you didn’t mention the age - if it is very young and starting to turn orange then I would guess it is a boy, but if older, like 4 months + then it would indicate girl) Anyways, I would not worry about it, as to me it looks like a normally developing walnut comb.

Where we got her from said that she was a point of lay female about 8 months old

 

[Silkichic]

Welcome To BYC

She smells bad? Do you notice any canker or lesions inside the beak? Any pus or discharge from the eyes or mucous from the nostrils? Infection in the ears?

Any lice/mites?

It's hard to tell about the comb. It could just be the natural coloring/genetics.

Do you feel that the spots are infection? If so, can you get clearer photos?

I haven't noticed any lessons yet, I washed her because her face especially smelt awful, I haven't noticed any lice or mites on her however all our chooks have been treated. There is a clearer photo, I just have not seen this on any of my previous silkies so I am trying to determine if it is normal or not

 

[Slothinc]

Where we got her from said that she was a point of lay female about 8 months old

Oh, for sure a girl then, and that sounds about right. I would guess that her comb is reddening up as she is getting ready to start laying. @Wyorp Rock is the expert though, definitely check on all of the points that they mentioned above! It could be something more than just the comb reddening up.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I haven't noticed any lessons yet, I washed her because her face especially smelt awful, I haven't noticed any lice or mites on her however all our chooks have been treated. There is a clearer photo, I just have not seen this on any of my previous silkies so I am trying to determine if it is normal or not

I'd keep her quarantined away from any other existing flock(s) you have.

Observe for at least 3 weeks to see if the smell comes back or if you notice any other symptoms. Facial swelling, canker, pus in the eyes, mucous, etc.

Still not sure about the comb if it's just natural coloring or a few lesions. I'd just keep watch to see if those change any.

 

[Silkichic]

She passed during the night, we found her this morning. I'm still not 100% sure what happened, looking back at her past behavior she isolated herself from the rest of the flock, however we passed it off as her acclimatizing, she was also quite slow and didn't pick up on threats like the other chickens did, maybe that's because she was a silkie, maybe because she was sick.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She passed during the night, we found her this morning. I'm still not 100% sure what happened, looking back at her past behavior she isolated herself from the rest of the flock, however we passed it off as her acclimatizing, she was also quite slow and didn't pick up on threats like the other chickens did, maybe that's because she was a silkie, maybe because she was sick.

Oh dear, I'm sorry to hear this.
Hard to know what happened. If you want to find out and still have the body, you can refrigerate the body and send it to your state lab for analysis.

https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry...Gpa6nXe6ekPg-v8BlSh99-ExtmmGbjaMS34ZUcJPBhBGb