Skin infection?? Have you seen something like this?

[chickenmomma16]

This is the second time I’ve dealt with this. I can’t remember if it this particular pullet last time but we left for 5 days and as I was check on the “babies” I saw this girl. Is this a skin infection? First time I dealt with it I sprayed vetracyn and separated for some time. This is definitely worse this time, I obviously missed it in its early stages and I feel terrible for that. It is swollen. I can try the vetracyn again and I also have penicillin on hand if needed and can do a round. She is scratching at it so I’m not sure if this is self inflicted or pecking by her flock mates. I’m not seeing her being pecked at. She’s definitely getting enough food and not being bullied. The location of the sores is odd for pecking by her flock mates. One spot is on the side of her face and the other is on the same side and on her neck.

 

[Eggcessive]

The second picture could possibly be an ingrown feather cyst or a tumor/cyst. I am not sure about the side of her head near the ear. That could be feather picking. I would watch the large cyst for growth, and you could explore it with a sterilized needle and look for an ingrown feather. Tumors and cysts can be common in chickens, from a couple of different viruses, and feather cysts are also common in chickens and birds.

 

[chickenmomma16]

The second picture could possibly be an ingrown feather cyst or a tumor/cyst. I am not sure about the side of her head near the ear. That could be feather picking. I would watch the large cyst for growth, and you could explore it with a sterilized needle and look for an ingrown feather. Tumors and cysts can be common in chickens, from a couple of different viruses, and feather cysts are also common in chickens and birds.

I’ll examine it closer in the morning for an ingrown feather.
It was soft a squishy. Not as hard as a cyst and definitely softer then a tumor would be. Both the face and the neck are similar in the way that the skin is raised and irritated. The neck is obviously worse and feels like there is fluid (not like a cyst or abscess) almost like sub-cutaneous fluid that was injected under the skin. Loose and jelly like.

 

[chickenmomma16]

I looked at it again and I don’t see any obvious ingrown feathers. It was soft and squishy but noticeably hot to the touch. The pullet is not sickly otherwise. She’s not low in the pecking order and has a good weight/fleshing on her.