Quiet hen, face looks swollen

[gretchen42]

Hello, I have a mix breed hen who is looking odd this evening. She was fine this morning when I left for work. When I returned home she was on her perch looking droopy. when I picked her up, I noticed that her eyes were not open as wide as usual and her face looks a bit swollen.
She is quiet and has been drooping her wings a bit and panting... Definitely not her normal feisty self.



Now I'm really freaked out! Just went out to secure the coop for the night and found another hen, this hens mom, with the same symptoms only worse. Squinting eyes, droopy wings, fluffed feathers she is also panting and has a runny nose.

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. I can't see her face at all in the pic because she is not in the light. With the symptoms you describe it sounds like a respiratory disease--such as MG, coryza, or other. These type of diseases are contagious and make carriers of all exposed. Antibiotics such as Tylan50 injections or Gallimycin or Tetracycline may help with symptoms, but they can still become symptomatic again whenever stressed. Did you get these or another chicken recently? If you treat with antibiotics, and not cull, then you should close your flock, and not sell or give away birds or hatching eggs. Here is some reading about diseases: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[gretchen42]

Thanks for the link! There is a lot of good information! Luckily, both chickens are back to their normal selves today. The best I can figure is overheating? It was near 100 degrees yesterday! We have no new flock additions and the two hens are housed in separate areas. I'm sure the two weren't feeling great after a full day in that heat! Oddly enough, they are our only light colored hens. The rest are black, dark brown or barred!
I'm certainly going to keep that link handy for reference! Thank you!!!