Swollen neck and signs of pain

[Loveidgy]

The right side of the neck of a young hen is swollen and hot to the touch. The back of her head is also swollen and soft. She is holding her neck back and ridged and moving slowly but not really lethargic and droopy. Her poop is watery and not really digested at all. What’s going on with my baby?

 

[Eggcessive]

It might take a vet’s expertise to diagnose your hen. I would be suspicious that she may have a leaking air sac, possibly do to a bump or possibly infection. The way her eyes look, says swelling around the head. That could be due to a leaking air sac or brain involvement. A leaking or ruptured air sac can be needled and the air squeezed out, but using a sterilized needle or an 18 gauge hypodermic needle and syringe. Sometimes there may be infection in the air sac causing that. I will look for a video of how to reduce a leaking air sac. Here is a video and there are others to see if you do some googling:

 

[Loveidgy]

It might take a vet’s expertise to diagnose your hen. I would be suspicious that she may have a leaking air sac, possibly do to a bump or possibly infection. The way her eyes look, says swelling around the head. That could be due to a leaking air sac or brain involvement. A leaking or ruptured air sac can be needled and the air squeezed out, but using a sterilized needle or an 18 gauge hypodermic needle and syringe. Sometimes there may be infection in the air sac causing that. I will look for a video of how to reduce a leaking air sac. Here is a video and there are others to see if you do some googling:

Thank you so much. That was it! We let the air out and she seems good as new. She was like a little balloon and all we needed to fo was let the air out. I’ll be keeping an eye on her to see if I need to do it again.

 

[Eggcessive]

So glad that it helped. The air can come back. I have only done this once to a 2 week old, and I had to repeat it, but she was fine later.