Extremely swollen sinus not responding to antibiotics

[Pastors wife]

My 3 year old barred rock has had swollen sinuses for over a year. No discharge, sneezing, etc. She has been treated twice with the same antibiotic prescribed by a local large animal vet. We are rural and the local vet will not treat chickens. The large animal vet will, but acknowledges their knowledge is limited in poultry. So….
Her sinuses have recently (2weeks) become so swollen, she is having trouble seeing her food so she is beginning to lose weight.
I’m offering treats of fresh oregano which she eats like crazy. Poop, behavior, activity level is normal, and she still talks non-stop. No other chickens have developed any respiratory problem in over a year. The sinuses are soft and balloon like. No firm gunk inside.
All of my limited research suggests Rx meds that I cannot get.
I’ve cleaned the coop, changed the bedding, etc.
Please offer suggestions.

 

[Goosebaby]

I’m not too familiar with chicken illnesses, I’ve heard mycoplasmas can cause facial swelling, and they’re hard to treat.

What antibioticwas she on?

 

[dawg53]

Try giving her Children's Liquid Benadryl. Dosage is 1/2ml given orally using a syringe without a needle. Do not overdose and only give it to her once in a 24 hour period. Let us know how it turns out.

 

[Pastors wife]

I’m not too familiar with chicken illnesses, I’ve heard mycoplasmas can cause facial swelling, and they’re hard to treat.

What antibioticwas she on?

oxytetracycline. It did absolutely nothing.

 

[Goosebaby]

oxytetracycline. It did absolutely nothing.

So either whatever she has isn’t sensitive to that antibiotic or what she has isn’t bacterial.

 

[Pastors wife]

Thanks for trying to help.

 

[Pastors wife]

Try giving her Children's Liquid Benadryl. Dosage is 1/2ml given orally using a syringe without a needle. Do not overdose and only give it to her once in a 24 hour period. Let us know how it turns out.
View attachment 2719661

Ive been giving her Benadryl as you suggested for 4 days now. It has dried up the bubbles but hasn’t reduced any swelling at all. Should I continue? I’m going to have to start hand feeding her soon. She’s getting enough food from the stationary feeder but can’t compete with the others for anything on the ground.

 

[LaFleche]

The swelling under her eyes might be some accumulated pus which in chicken is rather hard and will not come out on its own.

There is an article by @casportpony about clearing the sinuses from pus accumulation , maybe you want to try this on your hen:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/sinus-infection-removal-in-a-peafowl.75364/

 

[Eggcessive]

When there is solid pus or caseous material inside the sinuses during a respiratory infection, it may need to be removed before antibiotics can help. If this has been there for a year, that may be the case. Do try the benadryl first, in case it is swelling from a sting or something else. There are several graphic videos on YouTube that show the pus removal in long term mycoplasma and coryza infections. Here is one:

This one is more graphic and most likely coryza:

 

[Pastors wife]

Thank you. I could be wrong, but I don’t think there is anything hard in her sinus cavity. It deflates completely when pressed. It is below her eye. Id hate to put her through all the pressing and poking if there’s nothing there to remove. Do you still think I should try it?