Wattle swelling?

[Angie Morgan]

I have this 6 month old roo that suddenly swelled up today. No illness signs (no nasal discharge, coughing, crusty eyes etc). He wants to eat and drink but the swelling is hard on him. Has anyone seen anything like this?

In Mississippi - temps have been low but not enough to cause frostbite or at least we thought

 

[Alaskan]

I have experienced multiple frostbite cases... and that does not look like frostbite.

It is odd that the swelling looks like it is just the ear lobes? It looks like the actual wattles are perfect. huh.

I am not sure what is up....

but not frostbite.

 

[Angie Morgan]

Just an update. I'm at the office today and have a minute to think straight. We have decided it is frostbite. He had started shaking his head with all the swelling so after talking to the other chicken owners and out local wildlife rehabber we decided to relive some of the pressure by draining some of the fluid. It has made all the difference in the world.

We did this by using a 20 gauge needle. Unless the swelling is to the point his was I don't recommend it unless absolutely necessary. Lets just say I have a good bit of cleaning to do. It ran like a hose. Not blood but a mostly water. It poured. He is so much happier and now the healing has started. I'll see if I can catch a picture tonight.

I appreciate everyones help with this guy. He will be the pet from here on out. He now think when I come in the garage I'm suppose to hold and rub him. Completely rotten.

 

[junebuggena]

Frostbite, likely from getting his wattles wet while drinking.

 

[micstrachan]

Oh, wow! Poor guy! I was thinking some sort of allergic reaction. Tick or spider bite sounds quite possible to me, too.

 

[Angie Morgan]

By the way (gotten quite black) they look I expect to lose them. I’m
Ok with it. He won’t be a pretty but it will be ok. I’ll keep y’all updated.

 

[Eggcessive]

His neck underneath looks swollen as well. I would look around for a tick bite or ticks, or spiders in the coop. Other causes of swelling could be pecking, fowl cholera, respiratory diseases such as coryza, and frostbite. Hopefully, it is one of the lesser serious problems. Tick bites can cause a bluish swelling from bleeding into the tissue.

 

[bantamluv]

His neck underneath looks swollen as well. I would look around for a tick bite or ticks, or spiders in the coop. Other causes of swelling could be pecking, fowl cholera, respiratory diseases such as coryza, and frostbite. Hopefully, it is one of the lesser serious problems. Tick bites can cause a bluish swelling from bleeding into the tissue.

Ok y'all so maybe this will help, maybe it won't, but a couple of years ago one of my roos had a tick on his earlobe, just a small one, but his earlobes and wattles swelled up pretty bad. I think that's what this is..? Examine the head, looking for a big patch of discoloration, a very obvious bump, etc, anything that could have been a tick or spider bite. The swelling on my roo went down in a few days, but then again, he's a banty and the tick was one of those super tiny almost invisible ones. Try putting poultry-safe neosporin or one of those chicken meds on anywhere you see a bump (if you do). Hope this helps... good luck with him!

 

[Alaskan]

No but not worse either. Still no other symptoms. I’m feeding and watering him just holding my breath. We did talk to the avian vet and they thought air sac rupture. That didn’t fit. They are incredibly high for the visit or I’d make the drive.

Just watching for any other symptoms or for him to get worse. I’m hoping we get past what ever this is.

Sure is a confusing thing though.

Keep us updated.

And I agree, a ruptured air sack sounds unlikely.

 

[Morrigan]

Could he have been bitten or scratched by a rodent or some other wild animal? A small puncture wound or scratch can be very hard to find and see under dense feathering. One of my hen was bitten by a bobcat and a day later her wattle swelled up like a grape and was hot to the touch. The bite was on the top of her head near the eyes, not the wattle. The bite marks themselves were treated with neosporin and did not look infected, and unless you peeled back the feathers, you would not have even known they were there.

Poor girl, I didn't have access to antibiotics, so I just gave her supportive care, including hand feeding her and adding honey and vitamins to her water. After a few days the swelling slowly started to go down and now, 8 days later, it is back to normal.

I hope your rooster improves too. If its an infection, hopefully the antibiotics will help.