Please help my BCMarans MiMi!

[SurferchickinSB]

Could very well be.
How was eye infection treated?
Is lump on blind side?

I brought her to the vet and she gave me some antibiotic tablets called Clavamox which she took twice daily for 2 weeks and also some Tobramycin drops for her eye also for 2 weeks. That was about 2 months ago approximately. The lump is on the other side of her head and I somehow think it is related to all the feather shafts stuck on her feathers around her head and neck. Do you see all those white long pieces in my photos? I thought they would fall off when I gave her a bath and blow dryed her, but they stuck on and I had to pick them off. None of the other 7 birds have this going on, but they are all different breeds. It looks like a pimple, sort of. I will try to post better photos later when I wash the area, she acts normal otherwise, normal for her which is a blind chicken that runs into things and takes about 5 tries before she can get a speck of food Thank you for looking and replying to my post Just trying to get this figured out and see if I can treat it on my own, which I am hoping I can

 

[SurferchickinSB]

You mention that she is blind in one eye and her other eye looks odd and she is underweight. All these things could be due to Marek's disease. Was she vaccinated for it. Tumours are a symptom of Marek's too. I'm not saying this is a tumour because the photos are too blurry to see much and there is little you can do if it is Marek's. A photo of her good eye that looks odd might help. Marek's is caused by a virus and symptomatic birds are actively shedding the virus via dander dust, which is them inhaled by other hens to infect them, so you may want to consider taking precautions to reduce the risk of it spreading in case it is Marek's although the chances are your other birds have already been exposed.

If you could get some clearer photos of the problem, more people might be able to help.

Hi, here are some clearer photos, I hope? The lump is wet so you can see the skin better. Thanks for any opinion you can give me.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

Could very well be.
How was eye infection treated?
Is lump on blind side?

Here MiMi is this morning, her blind side and her normal side with lump. I don’t think she has Mareks, but maybe something neurological from birth, not sure, just know the head bobbing on first day was strange and maybe the other chicks picked up on it. Do you think this looks like an infected or ingrown feather shaft? And what can I do? Could all the stuck on feather shafts be some sort of nutritional deficiency? Thank you for looking

 

[aart]

Great pics.
Looks like all follicles are intact and growing a feather.
Swellings also look to be almost separate bulges around each feather.
Wonders what would happen if you plucked one of those feathers fully out,
if any infection would seep out?
Sounds nasty and maybe cruel, but not much different than poking around with a needle looking for an impacted feather.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

Great pics.
Looks like all follicles are intact and growing a feather.
Swellings also look to be almost separate bulges around each feather.
Wonders what would happen if you plucked one of those feathers fully out,
if any infection would seep out?
Sounds nasty and maybe cruel, but not much different than poking around with a needle looking for an impacted feather.

Okay, maybe I will try that when I swab it again later. When I gave her a bath it just seemed she had all the feather shafts stuck on almost all her feathers, could it be that she is not preening them off like my other chickens? If that's the case, I think she will get lots of these infected bumps from those whitish clear feather shafts! Thank you so much for taking the time to look and give me your opinion

 

[aart]

Feather sheaths on new feathers can take time to be preened or wear off, they can't use their beaks on head feathers so they take longer, sheathing should not cause swelling or infection.
I have a feeling that there is something under the skin causing the swelling,
but plucking one feather out to see if anything happens won't hurt anything in the long term...tho she won't be happy about it. Get a good pair of serrated pliers to get a good grip and yank it sharply out.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

Feather sheaths on new feathers can take time to be preened or wear off, they can't use their beaks on head feathers so they take longer, sheathing should not cause swelling or infection.
I have a feeling that there is something under the skin causing the swelling,
but plucking one feather out to see if anything happens won't hurt anything in the long term...tho she won't be happy about it. Get a good pair of serrated pliers to get a good grip and yank it sharply out.

Thanks aart, I may try that this evening I just feel like I am one of the only flock members she somewhat trusts and everyone else just pecks on her and chases her around, so if I do that for her own good I will be the only one that has pecked her so hard as to pull out a feather and draw blood. She is terrified of my Lavender Orpington flock leader and if she even gets looked at by her, she screams and runs! I will try to work up the courage to do that either today or tomorrow because I think you may be right and she most likely has an infection under that yellowish area in the middle of the lump. I will put on my readers this afternoon and see if I can see anything when I am cleaning the area. Thank you so much for your chicken expertise

 

[rebrascora]

I agree, those photos are fantastic and make it much easier to see the problem. I agree, the eye photos don't look like Marek's.
I have not seen anything like the swelling on her head. Is the creamy yellow capping in the middle like a scab and will it lift if you get a fingernail under the edge. I'm wondering if it might be worth trying a hydrocortisone cream or antibiotic cream if you haven't tried that already. The skin definitely looks inflamed.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

I agree, those photos are fantastic and make it much easier to see the problem. I agree, the eye photos don't look like Marek's.
I have not seen anything like the swelling on her head. Is the creamy yellow capping in the middle like a scab and will it lift if you get a fingernail under the edge. I'm wondering if it might be worth trying a hydrocortisone cream or antibiotic cream if you haven't tried that already. The skin definitely looks inflamed.

Thank you for your input, yes the yellowish part is like a crust sort of. I have been wiping it with peroxide and putting vetrx spray on it for the past day. I just have not pulled out a feather like aart has suggested.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

Thank you for your input, yes the yellowish part is like a crust sort of. I have been wiping it with peroxide and putting vetrx spray on it for the past day. I just have not pulled out a feather like aart has suggested.

Here are two more photos from this morning. I don’t know if I should pull this whole scab off, because it will leave a giant hole in her head and then I am scared the other chickens will discover it and pick her head. I have been making sure it is dry before I put her back with the other chickens, so they don’t notice if her feathers are fluffy on her head. Hopefully it is clear enough, but taking photos with one hand and holding a chicken with the other is sort of difficult.