swollen water filled darkened waddles! swollen face!

[peeboo]

i dont know what to do. i just came home and fed my girls. my favorite lady, Ron, her waddles were no longer red, they were dark and gray, her waddles were filled with water it seems. swollen and hangy like water balloons. her face is also swollen but not her eyes.her eyes are set back into her swollen face. i dont know what it could be or what i can do. i just lost my first hen and i would hate to lose my Ron. any ideas??

 

[AHappychick]

are you in an area with snakes maybe some kind of poisiness bite???

 

[peeboo]

there are snakes in the area but dont see them in the winter, no bite marks either. maybe some kind of infection, virus or allergic reaction? i just dont know. no other hens seem to be affected. she is still eating and i brought her into the house to warm up a bit, took her in an hour ago and hasn't made a doodie yet! still has appetite i believe. she ate a bit of yogurt of my finger. scratching at her waddles and rubbing them all over my arm. the under part of her neck, where the head meets the neck i guess is also very hangy

 

[DixieDame67]

Peeboo my roosters have frostbite, inspite of smearing vaseline all over them, my cochin roo's waddles around the edges are a yellowish turning a dark color, I to live in East Tn and i know it's been bitter cold here for days , try vaseline.....and keep her warm mabye someone else has a more indepth answer for you .....Good Luck !

 

[peeboo]

i was too wondering if it was frostbite, but since no others are having a problem, i wonder otherwise. it has def. been cold, and i hope it's not frostbite, but i still wonder if chickens can have allergic reactions. since she's all swolen around her head but nowhere else. and she is eating, pooping and drinking as usual. i just have her some gatorade and she chugged it down, gave her some yogurt too since that is all i have in the house. she is currently in the warmest bathroom of our house and perched on the shower curtain rod. what a trooper. i just hope to God that it's not some kind of infection, i figure someone out there must have experienced this also with one of their chickens. dang i love my girls and it is real sad when somthing happens to them. i just hope she can hang on and it doesn't get worse. i dont know what to do since i work and i have to leave early in the morning and i dont know whether to leave her outside as normal or to keep her in the bathroom. what do you think?

 

[sammi]

Cholera and Coryza will cause the swollen wattles and head..
but would have other respiratory symptoms.
concerned about the color of the wattles..also a symptom of Cholera..

I see you're in Texas..could it be a spider bite? a possible snake bite?
(even tho out of season)..
some sort of allergic reaction..
if it gets worse..then you might have to contact a vet..
prednisone and/or some sort of anti-histamine might help.


keep watch for respiratory illness..sneezing, rattling..
if she shows these symptoms..she'll need some sort of antibiotic, such as Tylan 50..
if you opt to treat.
I'd keep her separated and see how she goes.

fingers crossed.

 

[sammi]

have you treated them with any chemicals lately?
exposed to any chemicals?

see thread.."what in the world is this"..Rooptydoo..
2 of his hens had swollen heads/faces after treating with Sevin..

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=119506

I'd still keep separated, just to be on the safe side.

 

[peeboo]

Well, went to check on her this morning, nothing has changed. she's still swollen the same. i ran out of food the morning of the day the symptoms occured and crushed up some tortilla chips i had in the fridge. she seemed normal that morning but then again i was in a hurry. do you think they can have an allergic reaction like that? i can't see anything labored about her breathing. no obvious signs of fluid coming otu of her face. but i feel so bad for her swollen head and her (throatlatch) area is hanging just as low as her waddles, due to what seems to be fluid retension in that area. i still have her quarantined in the bathroom, we'll see what happens i suppose. it just looks so scarry.

 

[ole-crone]

I have a hen with the same thing - except she has no waddles (she's a dark cornish). Her face is swollen.

She's been in the house for almost a week - the swelling is going down. She has never had any sign of a respiratory problem. Her droppings are nice and firm.

 

[Fudgie]

Could it be from too much salt in the chips. I heard somewhere that salt is not a good combo on chickens. Tortillias are VERY salty!