Facial / comb swelling in 21 week old pullet

[DobieLover]

At first I attributed my Columbian wyandotte's bizarre comb to her being from hatchery stock.
However, today and yesterday, she has been a little more withdrawn from the rest of the flock.
She is resting more than usual.
She is breathing, walking, eating, drinking and pooping normally.
She is not laying yet.
She has a scratch across the top of her head.
Her face in general seems to be swollen.
What could this be??

 

[Eggcessive]

How long has the swelling been there? Which happened first the scratch on her head or the swelling? Can you see any evidence of an insect, spider, or mosquito bite? Does the swelling on top of her head feel firm or squishy?

 

[DobieLover]

The swelling in her face I noticed today.
Her comb has been slowly getting larger to the point where it is now. That is why I now think it is swollen.
The comb swelling came before the scratch. The scratch is 2 days old.
Both sides of her face are swollen.
When we went out to the coop to get her for closer examination, she was hiding in a nest box.
We saw blood on her hackle feathers on the left side of her neck. There appears to be a hole in the left side of her head. The comb is soft, the sides of her face are harder.
We cleaned up the wound, put Vetercyn plus on it and gave her a bit of nutridrench before putting her in the isolation coop.
I think she has a bad infection.
What can we give her for antibiotics?

 

[DobieLover]

Help??

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you get a picture of the left side where the hole is? Is she having any other symptoms that you notice? Is there an avian vet near you that you could see? Since the others are seeming to attack her, and she is hiding in the nest box, she may have something wrong with her. Since she could be suffering from some sort of sting, I would try giving her 1/4 to a 1/2 of a 25 mg benadryl tablet if you have any. As far as antibiotics go, Baytril is good for many types of bacterial infections. But if it is a virus, antibiotics will not help.I wish I could be more helpful.

 

[llombardo]

Is it possible dhd was bit by something and then scratched it?

 

[SimplyLivinthatFarmLife]

Oh nooo...looks painful. Think it could be a spider bite???

 

[DobieLover]

Is it possible dhd was bit by something and then scratched it?

I don't think so.

 

[DobieLover]

Oh nooo...looks painful. Think it could be a spider bite???

I don't think that's it either. It rather looks like a peck wound on the side of her head.

 

[Eggcessive]

There is something called swollen head syndrome or avian pneumovirus, which can affect chickens and turkeys. It is rare, but it can cause swelling of the head and face. I doubt that this is what she has, but wanted to mention the possibility. I would separate her in a dog crate with her own food and water, and watch her. The benadryl is sometimes helpful in tick bites which cause swelling of the face or wattles. I really hope that she doesn’t die, but if that would happen, you can try to get a diagnosis with a necropsy by your state vet if the body is refrigerated. This link has the contact info for most states:
http://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm