Hen has a swollen ear lobe

[Gotalotofpetstoo]

We just noticed this tonight as we were putting them up for the night. She is about a year or so old. She free ranges during the day with the rest of the flock. We recently got a rooster, about 5 weeks ago. He is almost a year old, Barred Rock, and is very good to his girls so I don't believe he would've hurt her. She is acting fine and I don't see any marks like she was pecked and her ear hole is clear. It is not hot to the touch and not rock hard.
Any thoughts on what this could be and a treatment for it. I want to stop whatever it is before she starts showing any signs of not feeling well.
@azygous
@Eggcessive
@Wyorp Rock

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Do you see any lesions, mucous or canker inside the beak or under the tongue?
Looks like she's swollen under her beak/throat too?

Look for anything like an insect bite or an embedded tick to be sure this isn't from sting or bite.

Her eye looks a bit watery? Do you agree?

Not sure what's going on there, have you ever had respiratory illness like Mycoplasma in your flock?

 

[Gotalotofpetstoo]

Do you see any lesions, mucous or canker inside the beak or under the tongue?
Looks like she's swollen under her beak/throat too?

Look for anything like an insect bite or an embedded tick to be sure this isn't from sting or bite.

Her eye looks a bit watery? Do you agree?

Not sure what's going on there, have you ever had respiratory illness like Mycoplasma in your flock?

There is nothing abnormal looking in her mouth, her breath smells fine as well. I don't see ANY holes like a bite or a puncture wound. Her eye doesn't look watery to me up close. These are pictures from tonight. It is warm to the touch but appears to be smaller. She's still plenty active and eating fine. Never had any respiratory issues with any of them. Not swollen under her beak, that was just the way hubby was holding her at the time.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Not sure what's causing that.

If she's eating/drinking well, that's good.

You could try giving her a one time dose of Benadryl just to see if that makes any difference. (Benadryl dose is 2mg/kg given orally).

If the swelling doesn't continue to go down or gets worse, then I'd consider giving an antibiotic.

 

[MyFlockIsMyLife]

Hi! Dealing w same issue w my hen. May I ask what you ended up doing? Did you separate her from the rest of your flock? How did you treat her if at all? My hen also doesn’t appear to have any puncture wounds or bites, also is not sensitive to me touching the swollen area, and temp seems only very slightly warmer than her normal lobe. Just need some guidance or anything really I’m pretty worried

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you post a picture? Can you examine the ear canal with a Q Tip for any gunk, mites, dirt, etc? Sometimes they can get stung by a bee or bitten by a tick. Have you seen any head shaking, nasal drainage or congestion that seemed like a respiratory infection?