Posible facial tumor?

[logansterling]

I have an older rir hen that was rescued as a spent hen from a factory. She has been acting perfectly normal. Today when I went in to feed and gather eggs she came for food when I looked down the whole left side of her face is swollen. Her left eye is not able to open and the lower portion of her beak is over to the side. Ive looked her over for cuts and abrasions and didn't see any. I guess my question is does this sound like a tumor or could it be something else. She is still very active, I haven't seen her eat today. Any suggestions of things it could possibly be or that I should check for?

 

[crawfordmama]

Could you post a picture?

 

[MissJenny]

I would think a tumor would grow more slowly. I read something on here recently about a chicken that got grain or sand or mud stuck in a nostril which caused that side of the face to become infected. Sounds plausible.

I don't have any real answers other than to suggest using the search feature above, to the right. I would search "swollen face", "eye swelled shut", "possible tumor" and see what crops up.

I hope you find some good answers -- sounds like this hen has had her share of tough times.

Jenny

 

[rcentner]

Look in her mouth, I KNOW it's a hard thing to do, but it's a must. I have a hen right now with a swollen face, crooked beak and somewhat of a mouth odor. She has yellow plaque like material in her mouth to one side. This is called Canker, the earlier you start treatment the better for this one. I could not see anything the 1st time I looked in, but I had never seen a chicken mouth and it was hard to see anything. 2 weeks later she couldn't even get food to the back of her beak and I am now tube feeding her.
I hope that's not what you have going on, but it is treatable. Good luck!

 

[logansterling]

Hey thanks for the responses! I was able to look in her mouth, I could smell this nasty smell and there is a large lump there. I still can no get her to eat and have never tube fed a chicken before. For tonight should I try to drip spme gatoraode in her mouth? I read I should ge some Flagyl tablets (Metronidazole) which I will obtain tomorrow. Thanks for all the help! Hopefully this will solve this problem.

 

[KellyHM]

There are a ton of different infectious diseases that could present like that. You need to keep her away from your other chickens while you're treating her.

 

[logansterling]

She is away from other chickens right now. She is in my house in a crate for now. My regular farm vet does t see chickens sober have to use our farm vet who will see fowl for us. I am going to have him perscribe me the meds.

 

[rcentner]

Ya, Metronidazole (flagyl), I was told 1 tablet (250mg) once daily, but my hen is a large bantam size. Idk what size chicken you have and if it makes a difference. I was also told to swab iodine (poividone/betadine..same stuff) on the plaque. 5-10 days, also change the water as often as you can. Now, I read a whole detailed article earlier in the day about trichomonas and it mentioned how an acidic environment is not preffered by the organism. This made me wonder about apple cidar vinegar in the water and if that has a desirable effect here. I have galvenized waterers and cannot use the ACV, but I have bought a solution reccomended by the doctor that diagnosed my hen's condition. It's called Oxine, you can put it in the water to keep the bug from surviving in the water and infecting other birds.
I am worried that the rest of the flock will get it since she was not separated until after I noticed she was sick, which could have been a week or so before it was apparent. I also wonder where it originated, do I have a carrier bird in the flock or did an infected wild bird come drink out of my water...one will never know.
Here is the link to the article, but I will warn that it may require some knowledge in veterinary science as it uses some terms that may not be familiar to all.

http://www.albertaclassic.net/trichomonas/trichomonas.php

Edit:

I had never tube fed a chicken until this past monday. It is fairly easy, although I was super nervous. I do have some veterinary experience, but none with chickens. I was lucky enough to run into a lady who showed me how to do it, after I had tried it on my own 1st. I was so nervous about getting it in the wind pipe, but it seems that it is difficult to do that. I figured the hen would die anyway so if I killed her (it would suck) but it was a last ditch effort. I have been succesful so far (4 days in) and she is looking better, but I think it will be some time before the plaque goes away. I plan to make a video of me tube feeding her this weekend so that others may see what it looks like. A lot of stuff says to be sure to visualize the glottis (which is the opening to the wind pipe) but I cannot see it. I think the plaque is blocking it from my view. I pray every time I force feed her that I will not go down the wrong tube. Today, she seemed to cough a little when I put it in, so I took it out and back in and she swallowed so I knew I was in the right one then.