Swollen bulbous sphere on face and beak area

[Jadore Poules]

Can someone advise me, please?

Lauderee has a sizeable swelling on the right side of her face where the beak meets the skull. It is swelling up so that her eye cavity is being impinged, too. I found it today. It was not here three days ago. I noticed that she has been keeping her beak slightly open for the past few weeks, but not gasping for breath in any way. Appetite normal. Thirst normal. Free-ranging normal. Laying normal. Affection, normal (she is the sweetest gal and loves to be picked up).

Today they have been out in the mud of melting snow, ranging. You can see she is muddy.

Yesterday I fed her a teaspoon of dried meal worms, plus put of a head of iceberg lettuce and a half acorn squash raw for the flock whilst they were in the run. They free-ranged for 4 hours yesterday afternoon.

Does anyone know what this is and what, if anything, should be done?

Thank you for any reply.

 

[Eggcessive]

It looks a bit like canker. Look inside her beak to see if there are yellow or grayish patches . Those patches can block the throat and even extend down into the GI tract. Canker is a protozoan infection and is contagious by way of drinker containers and feeders. The treatment for canker is Fishzole (flagyl, metranidazole) 250 mg daily by mouth for 5 days. If it's not canker, then I would suspect a respiratory infection. I'll be interested in finding out what is inside her mouth and cheek. Here is a link about canker: http://www.thepoultrysite.com/diseaseinfo/154/trichomoniasis-canker-frounce

 

[Eggcessive]

If you decide it is canker, in addition to the fish zole, acidified copper sulfate is used in the water 1/4 tsp per gallon for 3 days out of each month as a preventative treatment for the flock. Here are some links for the fish zole and copper:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fish-Zole-250mg-Metronidazole-30ct-/111138148490
http://www.jefferspet.com/fish-antibiotics-packets/camid/PET/cp/0041114/cn/14001/
http://www.jefferspet.com/acidified-copper-sulfate/camid/liv/cp/AB-A1/

 

[Eggcessive]

Here is another chicken with canker so that you can see pictures--look at posts 1-3: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/690374/abscess-in-chickens-cheek-and-mouth-canker-remedies

 

[Jadore Poules]

Eggcessive,

Many thanks for all the great information. I was hoping that it was canker instead of some respiratory ailment. Unfortunately, the indication of brown and yellow around her beak and in her mouth were only muddy bits of mash she had in her beak. No evidence of anything further back in her mouth in the vicinity of the swelling. And her airway is still pretty wide open. I notice that she is having some difficulty picking up bits of food.

I fed her a small kombucha culture (probiotic) in the meantime. She greatly enjoyed it, in little pieces from my hand.

I've made an appointment with the vet tomorrow to check if it's respiratory. I don't think it's coryza as she does not have a noxious odor about her. I'll post the results of the visit tomorrow.

Thank you again for your help.