What happened?

[Red ridinghood]

I went to put up my chickens tonight and found this gal self segregating. Right away I noticed that something was wrong. It looks like a huge lump on its head that has swollen so much it has pulled the skin up by the eye. Idk. thoughts?

 

[Weeg]

Whoa! I've never seen anything like it!
@Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive @azygous

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[azygous]

Is the lump on just the left side? Is the lump rock hard? Or soft and fluid filled? When was the last time you saw this chicken with a normal head?

 

[Red ridinghood]

I didn't notice it this morning but it is possible I just didn’t see it this morning. I went out there multiple times yesterday though and didn’t see it then. I’ll ckeck in the morning to see if it’s hard or soft. Didn’t think to touch it ‍♀ It is on the top of her head but more towards her left side. The other side of her the eye isn’t blocked like this one. She is in my garage in a kennel for now. Poor thing

 

[azygous]

A lump appearing so suddenly would more likely be an injury. How is her balance? Is she having trouble standing and walking?

 

[Red ridinghood]

She seems OK as far as balance and walking around but I have her in a large dog kennel in the garage so there’s not a whole Lotta room to walk around. I spoke to my son who goes out there and sits with them and feeds them treats occasionally and he said that he noticed some of the young roosters kind of attacking her like maybe they were trying to mount. I guess I need to get rid of my roosters. I was waiting to make sure how many I have to get rid of them all at the same time. I am positive about two and there’s two that I’m still questioning a little bit so total there’s four roos and I have 15 gals. Ratio is off a bit but they’re so young I didn’t think would be a problem yet.

Is the lump on just the left side? Is the lump rock hard? Or soft and fluid filled? When was the last time you saw this chicken with a normal head?

it’s a hard lump. My son said he saw some of the chickens kind of attacking others and I guess he didn’t think it was a big deal. I wonder if it was the ones we think our roosters trying to mount her. I guess it’s time to make 100% sure and re-home some of them. The ratio is definitely off a little bit but I wanted to make sure that it was two roosters and not four so we can re-home them at the same time. Also they’re still kind of young I didn’t expect this yet.

 

[Weeg]

How old are your roosters? You can post a thread in the Breed or Gender forum and we can help you ID.

 

[azygous]

Getting rid of the excess cockerels would be a good idea. One rooster would be plenty for 15 hens.

If the hard lump decreases in the few days following applying wound treatment, it's a good guess it was an injury.

If the lump increases instead, she may have a fast growing tumor.

 

[Eggcessive]

I agree that it is most likely an injury, but tumor or infection (pneumovirus) would be the other things to worry about. I sure hope that she gets along alright. Pen those extra cockerels up right away. One rooster is plenty.

 

[Little Chickadee]

If she is calm enough, some ice in a washcloth, while being snuggled, might bring down the swelling. Adding electrolytes to her water might help prevent shock. I agree with the roos. Separate all but the one you plan on keeping ASAP!