One side of chickens face has swelled up.

[Omelette-in-progress]

Hello, over the past few days I've noticed the right side of my Sablepoot (booted bantams) face has been swelling up.

She is acting normally, not lethargic, eating and drinking ect.

A few days ago she did have a tick on the other side of her face, but I caught it and removed it before it had been there more than half and hour.

Not sure what this could be.
Any ideas?

The photos are of both sides for comparison.

 

[Eggcessive]

Swelling of the face or eyelid can sometimes be a sign of a respiratory sinus infection/disease, especially if there are bubbles in the eye or drainage from the nostril. But I don’t see any of that. I would keep an eye on her for any other symptoms.

 

[DonyaQuick]

Is air coming from both nostrils? Physical obstruction from debris getting stuck can lead to swelling without other symptoms at first, but it can progress to creating abscesses in the sinuses.

Stings from insects and bites from even non-venomous snakes can also cause swelling without necessarily leaving obvious signs at the site of damage. For example, I had a hen that ended up with extensive facial swelling from a garter snake bite on her earlobe; was very difficult to find the puncture marks and it took a couple of weeks for the swelling to fully resolve.

Personally I have found VetRX helps in both cases if you happen to have any of that around; it aids in birds expelling debris (can encourage sinus draining and sneezing to push things out when applied directly around the nares) and seems to temporarily sooth swelling from bites/stings on the face. It does nothing for more serious respiratory diseases though, just helps a bit with mild situations.

 

[Omelette-in-progress]

Thanks so much for the quick reply!

Is air coming from both nostrils?

How would I be able to tell?

Stings from insects and bites from even non-venomous snakes can also cause swelling

They are in an enclosed run, so it can't have been a snake, plus I'm in the UK, so there not common anyways. As for an insect bite, could it be the tick? It's strange it on the other side however.

Personally I have found VetRX helps in both cases if you happen to have any of that around

Hrmm. I don't , shall I have a look to see if it is available over here?

 

[Eggcessive]

You can feel air coming in and out of the nostril just like your own. A small piece of tissue might be held near the nostrils to tell. Vicks salve may be similar to Vet Rx. It has menthol and camphor.

 

[DonyaQuick]

How would I be able to tell?

If you can get the bird to hold still, a down feather held near the nostril should show it clearly if you can’t feel air on your hand (which is admittedly tough with small birds).

They are in an enclosed run, so it can't have been a snake, plus I'm in the UK, so there not common anyways. As for an insect bite, could it be the tick? It's strange it on the other side however.

Snakes can fit through pretty tiny holes. Nearly all predator proof enclosures are not snake proof even with small mesh. While unlikely to be the tick you found, it could have been another that you didn’t see that got a proper bite in, but unless it was a bird tick species (I don’t know if those exist outside north america) I would think that’s really unlikely. Something like a wasp would be much more likely on the insect side. As with dogs, some chickens find spicy sky raisins enticing and have to learn the hard way.