Help!!! Chicken with a swollen face.

[ValandChickens]

Hi everyone!
I am new here and looking forward to reading everything.
I came home to a bit of a puzzle yesterday... I have 3 15 week old barred rocks, and a few silver grey dorking roos. One of my hens had a swollen face and wattles... absolutely no other symptoms. Appetite, drinking, pooping. No discharge anywhere, no coughing or sneezing. I felt her crop, normal.

I am PERPLEXED.
I will call a vet if I have to, but want to see if others have experience similar.
I have two rocks who have always had paler combs, but are darkening as they are aging.
So hers being pale is not considered a symptoms. I will post two pictures of her, 12 hrs apart.
And one of her next to another Hen.

Thanks!!!

 

[RhodeIslandRed5]

Hello and welcome to BYC! You'll find some very smart people on this forum. Sorry about your hens face! It's always a good idea to see a vet, but let me tag some experts for you. @Eggcessive @Wyorp Rock @casportpony @DobieLover

 

[Kris5902]

Any chance of a bee sting or bug bite? I had a similar thing happens to one of my Marans hens, her whole orbital area swole up significantly and stayed swollen for about 3 days. I treated with 1/4 or 1/2 (don’t recall exact dosage, but the tags RhodeIslandRed5 added will!) 25mg Benadryl tablets on advice given here and she recovered fine. My pics for reference/comparison, third is her sister w/o swelling

 

[Chickassan]

I agree with @Kris5902.
You can give a half dose of children's benedryl and see if it deflates any.

 

[ValandChickens]

Any chance of a bee sting or bug bite? I had a similar thing happens to one of my Marans hens, her whole orbital area swole up significantly and stayed swollen for about 3 days. I treated with 1/4 or 1/2 (don’t recall exact dosage, but the tags RhodeIslandRed5 added will!) 25mg Benadryl tablets on advice given here and she recovered fine. My pics for reference/comparison, third is her sister w/o swelling View attachment 1849844View attachment 1849845View attachment 1849846

 

[ValandChickens]

Could be a possibility I suppose! My fingers are crossed that’s the problem. This is my first flock, everything makes me nervous lol!
I love them and worry a lot.

Thank you!

 

[RhodeIslandRed5]

Do you have a lot of bees or other aggressive insects such as yellow jackets or wasps in your area? Supposing if your hen tried to go after one of those bugs, and the bug stung her in defense. I was stung by a yellow jacket years ago right in the joint of my finger. The swelling caused me not to be able to bend that finger for days.

No need to worry excessively, we'll help you figure this out!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

15 week old barred rock

One of my hens had a swollen face and wattles... absolutely no other symptoms. Appetite, drinking, pooping. No discharge anywhere, no coughing or sneezing. I felt her crop, normal.

So hers being pale is not considered a symptoms

What does her poop look like?
I understand about the pale comb, your Pullet is only 15 weeks old, she's not ready to lay eggs yet. Her face/wattle color is another story - it's yellow- grey looking instead of just pale.

To me both look to have a bit of swelling in the face. Have you looked inside the beak for any plaques/canker or lesions?
Doesn't look like a bug bite to me - is her neck all the way down swollen or air filled?

 

[ValandChickens]

What does her poop look like?
I understand about the pale comb, your Pullet is only 15 weeks old, she's not ready to lay eggs yet. Her face/wattle color is another story - it's yellow- grey looking instead of just pale.

To me both look to have a bit of swelling in the face. Have you looked inside the beak for any plaques/canker or lesions?
Doesn't look like a bug bite to me - is her neck all the way down swollen or air filled?


View attachment 1849911

Thanks for writing! Her poop is 100% normal, I can get a picture if you’d like.

I see what you mean by the swelling, but I can promise the other Hen’s face isn’t, I will try posting new pictures shortly.

Her neck doesn’t feel swollen, feels like the others.
She looked to have mild swelling there last night, not this AM though.

Beak and mouth are lesion or canker free!

What would cause cankers in chickens?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thanks for writing! Her poop is 100% normal, I can get a picture if you’d like.

I see what you mean by the swelling, but I can promise the other Hen’s face isn’t, I will try posting new pictures shortly.

Her neck doesn’t feel swollen, feels like the others.
She looked to have mild swelling there last night, not this AM though.

Beak and mouth are lesion or canker free!

What would cause cankers in chickens?

Yes, more photos may be helpful.
Good that there's no lesions/canker - you ask what causes canker (Trichomoniasis/Trichomonosis) in chickens - it's a protozoa - easily spread through shared drinking water/ feed stations.

Her color is concerning. I understand you mention she's pale, but that color of "pale" is not normal even for a pullet.

What do you feed and how long have you been feeding it?