Welsummer hen with twisted neck, extremely swollen wattles, offensive odor, yellowish about the face

[MegH]

Hi... went out to feed my chickens today and one of them came slowly to me with:

twisted neck,
extremely swollen wattles,
offensive odor, and
yellowish appearance about the face--but not active or visible discharge...

her whole front/anterior neck area seems swollen/puffy--kind of hard to evaluate with her neck twisted,

her crop is full--squishy (not hard).

Her comb seems normal,

I have isolated her checked and washed her head and neck and comb and wattles in case any offending substance was on her... the yellowish discoloration worried me... Now I wonder if it was from discharge that had been smeared all around and dried??? But no active discharge from nostrils nor eyes, etc.

I also inspected and washed her vent area which seem fine... no evidence of diarrhea nor blockage...

She's 6 months old, I believe she's one of the hens that are already laying, because her comb has been bright red for a while now, and the bones in her pelvic girdle are spread ...I don't feel any egg blockage.


I've been searching and scouring this website for related threads, and scanning the linked/recommended documents on poultry disease and respiratory diseases and am at a loss, because it seems like all the symptoms she has are spread out over several conditions/diseases but not all of the symptoms are listed for any one of the conditions or diseases...

Cholera, Newcastle, sour-crop, wryneck, swollen head syndrome, oh I don't know what to think...

Can her crop have become so sick that her neck and wattles have swollen and her neck/CNS has become affected?


She's isolated and I'll remove the feed and water in case of sour-crop, but the wryneck condition has surely cut her off of food and water before I did. I'm trying not to sound hysterical, but honestly, I'm worried about her and praying earnestly for her, and for any guidance you might provide...

Thanks and blessings...
MegH

 

[Eggcessive]

Keep her isolated, and contact your state vet in the morning to get a necropsy done on her for the sake of your other chickens. She may have either severe infectious coryza or fowl cholera from what I have read. I'm not a vet but I think you need to take her in or cull her and send her body in for testing. The body should be refrigerated on ice (not frozen) and as fresh as possible. Many tate vets or poultry labs will euthanize for no extra cost. Where are you located? Some states offer free necropsies, while some charge $80-200. Here are 3 good links about necropsies with some contact info:
http://www.usaha.org/Portals/6/StateAnimalHealthOfficials.pdf
http://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/799747/how-to-send-a-bird-for-a-necropsy-pictures

 

[MegH]

thank you very much...

yes, we're keeping her completely isolated... She still has no discharge nor breathing irregularities, nor lumps in sinus area, but does have some facial swelling out a ways from her eyes.
Crop no longer enlarged and I no longer detect an odor nor sour smell about her head and she holding her neck almost properly some of the time.

Her stools are well-formed and appear completely normal...

She is eating some layer crumble slurry, but has little to no interest in water, although I've forced some upon her with drops on my finger tip to her beak, well below her nostrils.

I've spoken to the director of our state animal health poultry health program. With none of our other hens ailing and caring for this girl in isolation, we're doing all that seems prudent from a potential infectious disease consideration for now. He has also put me in touch with another veterinarian from the university who may give some further medical guidance. I hope to hear back from them soon, maybe tomorrow.

I'll share what I find out.

Thanks for caring and for sharing information and guidance. Here's a composite pic showing her swollen wattles and twisted (wry) neck.

Blessings...
MegH

 

[Eggcessive]

Does her neck seem to feel puffy as if there is air under the skin? Air under the skin can resemble swelling or twisting of the neck, and may be from a leaking air sac. Can you look over the skin around the wattles for anything that looks like a sting or tick bite. These have been known to cause swelling of the wattles and discoloration. Look her skin all over for tiny bugs or parasites.