Swollen face, one side only

[Wyorp Rock]

Hard to know what it is.
I would almost suspect cancer, but the eye looks infected with pus and she has some scabs as well, perhaps some type of injury or it may be canker if there's a foul odor.

 

[Eggcessive]

Could she have been bitten by a poisonous spider or a tick? I think Wyorp Rock is on the right track with it possibly being cancer or canker. There is a type of skin cancer called melanoma that can be dark colored and occurs in chickens. Tick bites can cause purple swelling from bleeding in the tissue. A spider bite could cause necrotic tissue. Very hard to know, but if you sent the body in to your state vet for a necropsy if you lose her, they might be able to give a diagnosis.

 

[sheneron]

Thanks everyone. I haven't see any yellow or white lesions and there is no smell. I was also wondering about cancer but it happened very fast to be cancer (I think), as she was normal looking to looking like this in a matter of days. I see my chickens almost every day when I let them out and put them up at night.

Right now I am leaning towards guessing it's an infection from an injury.

We might be able to get some info from a vet, but most that we know do not deal with poultry.

 

[sheneron]

To end the thread, we sadly ended up putting her down. We tried amoxicillin and cleaning/scraping out her beak, which got worse over time. It seemed to be the only low risk operation we could reasonably do. It continued to worsen over the course of a couple weeks to the point she practically couldn't eat. We put her down before she completely succumbed. Despite the issues, she did have a nice final two weeks and final moments. Many treats and free ranging.

 

[Eggcessive]

I am very sorry for your loss. Did it ever develop a bad odor? I really wonder if this was some type of cancer. If you ever want to get a diagnosis on a chicken that dies, most state vets will do testing on tissue samples and culture for bacteria. Here is a list of state vets to contact:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

 

[ChicNmom]

@sheneron r

That's too bad. Poor chicken Do you have brown recluse spiders there?

I'm just curious, how fast did that progress from the first time you noticed it?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

To end the thread, we sadly ended up putting her down. We tried amoxicillin and cleaning/scraping out her beak, which got worse over time. It seemed to be the only low risk operation we could reasonably do. It continued to worsen over the course of a couple weeks to the point she practically couldn't eat. We put her down before she completely succumbed. Despite the issues, she did have a nice final two weeks and final moments. Many treats and free ranging.

 

[sheneron]

I am very sorry for your loss. Did it ever develop a bad odor? I really wonder if this was some type of cancer. If you ever want to get a diagnosis on a chicken that dies, most state vets will do testing on tissue samples and culture for bacteria. Here is a list of state vets to contact:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

No bad odor. It could have been cancer, it just seemed very fast developing.

@sheneron r

That's too bad. Poor chicken Do you have brown recluse spiders there?

I'm just curious, how fast did that progress from the first time you noticed it?

We do have brown recluse here, not that I see them much, but theoretically it could be and I've been thinking along those lines.

It progressed quickly. I let them free range at least every other day so I see them all often. I can't image it went unnoticed by me for a long time. So probably a few days to go from normal looking to the state you see in the first pictures.