Horn on face??

[Michelle2702]

Does anybody know what this might be on her face??

 

[chooks4life]

Hello and

That's an interesting projection. I originally thought a feather that didn't shed or growth caused by a papilloma virus but it doesn't appear to be either... Perhaps a deformity of jaw or beak type tissues/cells... Is it anchored or loose/movable?

Also, how old is the bird, and has it always had this?

Best wishes.

 

[Michelle2702]

She is two months old. I just noticed it today but may have been growing for awhile. Its hard, like a horn and doesn't move. She didn't care that I touched it and the others don't care and don't have it. It's weird.

 

[chooks4life]

I've seen chicks who've been scalped so badly that they have their lower jaw projecting out the back of their head, not anchored within muscle etc, I thought perhaps that might be it... But it'd be quite twisted out of place if that were so. Still, it is odd. Perhaps just a deformed feather? At least it doesn't look life threatening or life quality degrading.

Depending on what other feathers that chook is growing, it may be a male. Those head and neck feathers are a bit 'fancy' for a female of two months old, not that it's unheard of in females too.

ETA: possible also that it's an ear deformity, some breeds have that, but it's generally the inner structures and not any breed like that... Just a random possibility.

Best wishes.