Injury or something more serious?

[tilika]

Hi, I have a Brahma hen that's rough 1 yr old. Today I noticed the back of her head is swollen. She has no feather around that area either but I know that is caused by the roo.

There is no open wounds or puncture marks that I can find and the swollen area is hard. Other than hiding from the roo she acts normal, eats, drinks and poos normal as far as I can tell. I see no signs of distress in anyway so I am wondering if this swelling could be a result of the roo being too rough on her or if I should be concerned that something more serious is going on?

Here are a few pics but not sure if you can tell much. Thank you all in advance!

 

[tilika]

I guess everyone is as stumped as I am. Since there is no wounds of any kind I am not even sure how to treat it. Can ice packs be used on chickens?

 

[rebrascora]

I'm guessing your rooster is probably a cockerel (a male bird under a year old) and he is dominating to mate them rather than wooing them. The fact that she is hiding from him tells you that your first course of treatment should be to remove him from the flock. The two possibilities that come to mind are tissue swelling due to trauma from him repeatedly grabbing her there or a possible tumour. There will be other possible causes I'm sure. Giving her a break from his attentions should give it a chance to heal if it is tissue damage. Not much you can do if it is a tumour but being harassed by an overly amorous cock bird will not help. How many other hens/pullets do you have? Is there any indication that any of them are picking on her? Time with the flock without his attentions will give her the best chance of recovery. Removing her will probably stress her and reintegration will stress her more, so better to remove him from the equation for a month or two and see how she does. You could try a cold compress, but I would just give her an opportunity to relax and heal.

 

[tilika]

Thanks for the info! Here's to hoping it is just an injury and will heal instead of a tumor. The girls are getting a much needed break from mr. bully. Never seen the girls picking on each other but now I can find out for sure!