Scorpion sting? Strange symptoms!

[Henhouse Harlot]

3 1/2 yr old Bantam Cochin hen, she is a house pet who is extremely important to my young child. She eats Scratch and Peck layer pellets, and gets a few live mealworms each day. Free choice grit and oyster shell are always available along with fresh water. I’m very careful about what she eats! Around the house there aren’t any poisons/toxic stuff, I use vinegar and baking soda to clean. She has a perch in my room, and a private dust bath outside.
Her symptoms began Saturday night. She has a lot of clear, thick mucus in her mouth, and there is a hard lump and swelling between her wattles. The vet gave her an anti-inflammatory medication (Meloxicam? Spelling!!) which really made her feel better, but it’s not a cure. (Monday morning)
I also gave her approximately two milligrams of Benadryl Sunday evening, and that seemed to relax her and clear up the mucus a bit. This morning she is acting almost normal, except that she still can’t eat properly, or drink. She did eat 4 small, live mealworms last night, and a shelled Black sunflower seed. I’ve been trying to get water into her, water mixed with electrolytes and some vitamins, but she is extraordinarily talented at avoiding the syringe. The vet gave her sub-cutaneous IV fluids yesterday, and I am tempted to go back if I can’t get more fluids into her.
Anyhow!
Her comb is bright and perky, other than the mucus and the lump between her wattles, she seems to be her normal, healthy self. She is interested in food, but when she reaches out for it, she usually stops short. I’m going to get a video of that, actually. In the meantime, she is better now, but not well, here are pictures and hopefully video!

PS- Yep, nope! I’m going to figure out the youtube video thing! Also, please help @casportpony @azygous @Eggcessive

 

[Eggcessive]

Have you looked inside her beak for any canker or growths? Do you have a picture of the lump under her waddles?

 

[Henhouse Harlot]

The vet and I both looked down her throat, and aside from redness, her throat looked normal. I’m having trouble with the videos, bear with me please!

 

[Henhouse Harlot]

You can see her throat is swollen, it’s also warm to my touch in that spot. She is acting like there is something stuck... Preening, beak wiping, pulling her head back and up…then looking mad, violent head shaking, and sticking her head under her wing more than usual. However, she doesn’t seem to have an infection; her comb has been bright and perky, eyes clear, nostrils clear, temp normal.
She has eaten little bits of food, and a few mealworms, but she seems to want hard food rather than soft. Like when I have a sore throat, toast feels good to swallow! Or like she’s trying to dislodge something.
Her vet gave her an NSAID and a broad spectrum antibiotic; this is the third day, and she does seem to be feeling better, but she still won’t drink water on her own or eat much. Food also seems to fall back out of her beak a lot.
I am hoping that someone will recognize these symptoms and help me figure out what is wrong! After reading an account where roundworms got into a chickens esophagus, I also started her on Safeguard. (Thank you @Eggcessive for the dosage!)
At this point I’m taking her back to the vet for another look down her throat, maybe she will see something this time.

 

[Henhouse Harlot]

You can see her head pulled back here, but I am still working on uploading videos.

 

[Henhouse Harlot]

Have you looked inside her beak for any canker or growths? Do you have a picture of the lump under her waddles?

No bad smell from her beak, and when the vet looked at her throat Monday, it was clear. She also ran a swab to see if she had any anything in her throat, but nada.
I’m in SE New Mexico.

 

[Henhouse Harlot]

Have you looked inside her beak for any canker or growths? Do you have a picture of the lump under her waddles?

X-rays from today, the vet sent them to an expert but we won’t have the results until Monday. They don’t think it’s cancer, but the blank spot was a bit concerning… Also the odd bone around her throat? I’m hoping you might have an idea!

 

[Henhouse Harlot]

Update! The radiology report came back very normal, aside from soft tissue swelling around the throat. No obstruction showed in the x ray, and the fecal float came back clean. My poor girl still cant eat much besides thawed blueberries, and she is refusing to drink. I’m going to continue with the antibiotics and pain meds, but this is a strange one. Her tongue was very different today, it was swollen and greyish. The vet was able to get a swab in there, and under the dead, grey tissue was healthy skin.

 

[Henhouse Harlot]

@Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive @casportpony and all the other amazingly knowledgeable folks here! My son’s pet, our beautiful house chicken, Wabi-sabi is gravely ill. Any advice or ideas would be welcome!
My first question is about sedation. When the vet tried to give her some gas before x-rays, apparently she started breathing funny and they had to back off immediately. What is needed is a good look down her throat, and that that’s not gonna happen if we cannot sedate her. At this point, she seems to be in good health, her comb is bright, she preens, she does her normal rounds to a point…she has not had proper nutrition OR hydration for over a week now, and she is weak. She is interested in food but when she tries, she just cannot eat. She sort of gives up right before she makes contact. Water is a total no, but she has been able to eat a few thawed, frozen blueberries. I’ve been injecting a mix of pedialyte and greek yogurt into each berry, just trying to keep this sweet girl going. She isn’t in pain that I can see, it’s just that there is SOMETHING wrong with her mouth.
I’ve been wondering if it is a thread or something? The x ray didn’t show any obstructions, but it did show quite a bit of soft tissue swelling around her throat region. (Occipital?) Anyhow!
When we were at the vet yesterday, she looked in Wabi’s mouth again, and this time her tongue was swollen and grey! The vet got some of the grey off with a swab, and it looked like dead tissue to me. Underneath there is healthy tongue tissue though, so…
The vet is really nervous about using any more sedatives on Wabi, which I understand, but I don’t think we have a choice now.
There has never been a bad smell, and I have dealt with canker before so I know what it smells like!
She had the full 5 days of Safeguard, and her float was negative anyhow.
This is day 6 of Baytril, and she has also been getting Meloxicam (NSAID)
I have lots of videos, but this phone is my computer and I am having technical difficulties.

Thank you all for taking the time to read this, Wabisabi is very dear, to all of us.

 

[Henhouse Harlot]

-the mucus had subsided for a couple of days, but it’s back now!