Huge, swollen lump on face and leg on barred rock.... pics

[elizebethjoy]

Heya Folks! I was hoping never to need this forum but here I am...

Usually I go out and check on the chickens once a day to hang out a bit, this week of course I was just getting back to work and my schedule was a bit wacky so I didn't get to 'hang out' since Tues or Wed.

Today when I went in to check on them I saw one of my girls is not well. I took pictures and put them up on
my wife's flickr site. Can someone please take a look and let me know what you think?

Her face: http://www.flickr.com/photos/elizebeth_joy/3534113465/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/elizebeth_joy/3534116553/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/elizebeth_joy/3534934458/in/photostream/

Her foot: http://www.flickr.com/photos/elizebeth_joy/3534115197/

The eye swelling seemed firm, and didn't seem particularly painful to the touch. The leg is dry, didn't see any problems with any of the other girls.

Has anyone seen something like this before? Anything we can do to help her?

 

[sammi]

poor little girl..
it might be the angle of the pic, or the light..but the beak looks weird..
is it out of alignment?
is it the pic that makes it look weird?(2nd pic)

could be either an injury from a fight or fall or both..(since the foot/leg is also swollen).
or she needs some Tylan 200 or Tylan 50 fast..or Pen-G
maybe some aspirin..1 (81mg) crushed into 1 quart of water for swelling and discomfort.
prednisone from vet or if you know someone that has it..will reduce it..if it is from injury
you might try a warm compress

I think if I were you I would contact Peter Brown at firststatevetsupply.com
or a vet if possible.

describe droppings..color and consistency
does she have any drainage or mucus from eye or beak?
any wheezing?

could she possibly have some sort of burrowing critter (fly, etc)
that has laid a larva "nest" in the swellings?

 

[sammi]

bump

 

[MoodyChicken]

That looks like a terrible infection. I wouldn't be surprised if it's spread to the skull/brain. Check the inner portion of her ear, if it is clogged pull the puss core out. It may bleed and it may hurt her, but you have to get it out. I'm going to throw out a bizarre scenario, but it ties to the circumstances together. Perhaps she suffered an injury to her leg that became infected or she had bumblefoot. She scratched her ear, and spread the bacteria to her ear; thus, causing an ear infection as well. It's a stretch but weird things can happen. I would personally treat her with Baytril for the leg infection and you will need a specific ear drop for the ear infection. A vet will have to diagnose what bacteria is causing the problem before you can choose a med. I had a hen just a few weeks ago get a random staph infection in her ear. She healed on her own. Good luck, I hope she makes it. Clean the wounds and try to drain the leg if possible.

 

[MoodyChicken]

Also, you say the swelling on the eye is firm? It is either the hardened puss core or the infection has traveled to the bone. If the latter, Baytril will destroy the infection but her face may be permanently deformed.

 

[elizebethjoy]

Thank you so much! We're going to get our vet out here ASAP. Why do we always have to discover these things on a Friday evening???

 

[ChickyLaura]

Keep us all posted. I hope she makes it through OK.

 

[sammi]

how is she?

I'm thinking along the same lines as moody chicken..
some sort of infection with puss plugs.
could be from a peck injury, insect, etc..

Baytril, or some other antibiotic suitable for treating staph..
or at least penicillin..
available in injectable or pill form at first state vet

 

[chickeepoo]

Hoping your hen is alive - and can you update the thread if she still has her lumps in her face and leg? Her face looks a lot like a buff hen I last posted about in early May… started with swelling and became crusty, tumor-like lumps. For a week she couldn't open her eye. I did give her the probiotic mash (recipe from Glenda Heywood), vitamin and electrolyte water and antibiotics, but even after a halfway recovery energy-wise, she died. Marek's disease was suggested by several experienced people. Watch her, and hopefully you've been able to get to your vet to get some answers. Pics of the buff are at
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=17208
in case it develops into something like this. Hoping for a better outcome for you…

 

[stairman]

I had the same thing happen to my Silver Phoenix about five or six months ago. I tried pricking it with needle. Only thing that came out was clear liquid and a little blood. I had to take her to the vet because i could not lance it. So, the vet lanced it and a lot of gross looking stuff came out. ( Infection). He gave me stuff to keep it washed up. And injectable penicillin. He the vet left the area open so it could heal from the inside out. As it scabbed over it started swelling again I removed the scab and used q-tip to wipe the area. This time the reason it was swelling it had dead skin on the inside I had to remove.

But please watch for this, she also had bubbley watery eyes with nasal discharge. She would also sneeze and gasp for air. She would shake her head to dislodge the infection. She did recover from all of this. but she is not kept with the rest of my birds. For I believe she had coryza. Which would make her a carrier now.