Growth near ear

[tiffenyb79]

This is one of our Buff Orpington's, she is 1 year old, about 4.5lbs, eating and drinking normally. We discovered this growth about a day ago. She is being a little more vocal than normal. Our other chickens are just fine and don't seem to have anything wrong with them. Any clue what this growth may be?

 

[Eggcessive]

She may have been bitten by a tick, since it looks darker in color and swollen. I have seen some pictures of swollen wattles from ticks that did this. Apparently, from what a vet told one client, is that ticks secrete a blood thinner that can cause the bluish color similar to bruising. Is the earlobe soft or can you feel anything hard? If you think it could be a tick bite, you could give her 1/2 of a children's Benadryl one time to see if the swelling goes down. Let us know if you see other symptoms, or think it is a tumor, and how she gets along.