Not sure what is wrong with my hen

[humblehillsfarm]

Azygous will know far, far more than me. Just looking at pictures of fowl pox, the texture and color of the skin on the black dots above the beak looks so much like fowl pox, but the eye swelling doesn't correlate with what I've seen of fowl pox. After the is 4-10 day incubation period for fowl pox, the nodules appear 5-8 days after infection, and scabs clear in 3-4 weeks in most cases. The time line is off if you're saying she's had the dark spots for a few months before the swelling happened. Azygous mentioned cancer, and I do see a lot of human skin cancer in my career field, and appearance is strikingly similar to that as well. Any chance you could find a vet to perform a biopsy? I feel like biopsies shouldn't be terribly costly and it wouldn't be invasive for your hen, so likely not too pricey.

 

[azygous]

For all appearances, it looks to be a case of bird skin cancer. https://wagwalking.com/bird/condition/squamous-cell-carcinoma-

 

[BHelena]

azygous, I think you are probably right. Well thank you so much again for taking the time to look at my chick. If I end up finding anything out I will be sure to post.​

 

[azygous]

I've had a hen with this type cancer. It was on her preening gland. It was extremely painful for her. I tried to treat it as a wound. It did not heal. That's usually a marker for cancer - a wound that refuses to heal. I euthanized her when it became apparent she was never going to get better.

I've also had every flavor of skin cancer myself, so am very familiar with it.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about your hen. There was another recent case where canker was suspected, but it turned out to be cancer. If you lose her, your state vet could do a necropsy, and identify the type of cancer, or whatever it is. Here is where to find the contact info:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html