minor head swelling,lack of feathers

[MarshG]

My friend hatched this chick about 2 months ago. My friend is pretty sure that the chick is a cross between a black jersey giant and a barred rock (sort of a mystery chick) . The chick makes a "clogged up" kind of breathing noise when picked up, but other than that its behavior is normal. I have noticed that the chick is very small and lightweight compared to the rest, it has minor swelling on top of the head around the comb area, and it lacks feathers on some of the head and neck.( symptoms have been happening for a week or two) even though the symptoms have been happening for that long, my friend just now quarantined the chick today (so I will get back to you about how the poop looks) None of the other chicks show symptoms. The chick has been eating "purina start and grow" and drinking water as normal. the bedding being used is pine chips.

Any ideas on what it is/what can be done about it? Any help is appreciated.

 

[MarshG]

And I've just noticed that the comb is darker than the other chicks that seem to be the same kind.

 

[BackyardDove]

Is the swollen area squishy, as if there may be a liquid underneath the skin? Has the area gotten any bigger? Have you tried perhaps washing the area and disinfecting it? I've never heard of an issue like this, but my first two guesses would be that it's an abscess or a patch of infected skin, or skin with too much bacteria on it.