chicken face swelling

I've brought a chicken in with a large swelling/knot by her ear. We had a very warm, wet fall. I was thinking fly strike, but according to Google that usually happens around the vent area. I'm giving her a tea to drink with garlic and cayenne. I used a hot compress when I first brought her in. When I squeezed it, it had a very bad odor and the drainage was a watery discharge that had some blood in it. She is acting normal. Has anyone seen anything like this before?
Normally I wouldn't do this with a chicken, but she's a good size and the only hen that we have that goes reliably broody. I've got a loan of an incubator so that we can hatch some of her eggs. I wish I knew how to post pictures.

I haven't personally seen it but I think it could be mycoplasma. I would add garlic to the feed or water as possible treatment.

Thanks, Karen. From the pics I've seen after you suggested it, it may not be mycoplasma, but giving them garlic isn't a bad idea. The infected chicken has no drainage from her nose and her eyes are clear. She cannot drink on her own but eats fine.
Grizzly suggested it may be that the infection has eaten through her cheek and she is not able to drink. Wish there was another way to get water into her system other than a dropper. She wants to drink.

Does anyone know if the chicken nipples have the same drinking mechanism as the rabbit water bottles? She wants to drink on her own, but she can't drink out of a pan. We've got a system down with the dropper, but I'd like her to drink more water. I know she would if she could. I would say that normally the chickens drink about a cup a day.

At this point I'm ruling out possibilities. The most common have been ruled out. My main problem has been making sure she drinks enough. I've been using a dropper and she has been training me on its most efficient use for her. I finally thought to start sprouting wheat for her and I'm soaking scratch feed to give her. At least it will contain water, that way I don't feel as guilty if I get busy and forget to give her water every few hours.

Liz, Justin Rhodes uses what he calls "magic water" for his ailing poultry and when he starts the chicks off.

Here's his recipe: Magic water - 1/2 gallon of warm water, 1/2 cup of honey, 2 crushed cloves of garlic and 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar.

and here's one of his videos about when he got in some turkeys with the magic water and fermented feed suggestions in the comments section.



Hope your bird gets better.

Thanks. I'll add the honey and ACV. She's getting a tea made with garlic and cayenne, milk kefir, and I'm soaking her scratch feed. Soaking wheat berries to sprout for her.
I noticed yesterday that the heat has gone from the swelling and tonight she got up on her perch instead of sleeping on the floor. Hopefully she'll start drinking on her own soon but Grizzly wondered if the infection has eaten through her cheek and she can't drink. She is drinking fine from the dropper.
We've had her about 7 years and she is my only broody.I'm getting a loan of an incubator for her eggs this year. It's hard to find a nice sized chicken that will set, hatch, and be a good mother.

Indeed it is. Were I in your shoes, I would be doing the same extraordinary care and definitely get some of her offspring into the flock.

Praise be!!! She's looking around with that eye and since the swelling has started going down she's drinking on her own! That Miracle water is rightly named. I tweaked it some in her case. Distilled water extracts more of the medicinals from herbs, so I used a pint of that to make the tea with 1 t. cayenne and 2 cloves garlic. I used 1/2 c. honey and added about a tablespoon of blackstrap molasses for mineral content. After steeping the herbs (15 minutes, covered), I added it all to a QUART jar and filled with filtered water. Basically, I doubled the recipe.
She is in a smallish unheated room, and her soaked grain has frozen to the pan so I need to give her small portions frequently.

Excellent news. Yeah, feeding fermented feed in the winter time can be a bit of fun. Especially on days like today here in northwest Montana (got down to -18F/-27C last night). Although I think you all have been having some "cool" weather too.

This situation has opened my eyes about saving breeds from extinction. Normally, I would not try so hard to save a chicken's life, but the fact that she's a dependable brooder, a calm bird, good sized, and a good layer has made me try harder. When we first got the chickens, I think I remember the lady saying that she was a Rhode Island Red. If they all have her nature, that's a breed worth saving.
We know a person who is starting a homestead, and he asked if I'd had any "luck" with a broody hen. Why have ppl gotten the idea that we are better at mothering/ raising chicks than chickens. No, they're not tame as chicks and I have to tame them. Since Red trusts me, she allows the chicks to come around me when I'm feeding them. She raises every one she hatches, so I won't get upset about taming them.
I'll have to brood them myself to get a broody from her and I doubt I'll make as good a mother, but she deserves to have her genetics keep going.

I have kept Rhode Island Reds, Golden Comets, Buff Orphingtons, Light Brahmas, Americaunas and Barred Rocks. My Barred Rocks have to be my favorite chickens and Rhode Island Reds are a close second. They are durable, resourceful, quiet, calm, excellent foragers and occasionally go broody. I don't currently have a rooster but I've been told that if you have a broody hen that raises her chicks successfully those chicks will be wiley and almost predator proof. As far as sick chicks I've had excellent results with a herbal product called VetRX which is available at most feed stores. Probiotics are the way to go for sure. Good luck with your chicken!

Red went outside with the other chickens last night after dark. She had a tough time this morning since the only chicken she's seen in months was the one in the mirror.😄

I checked on her after dark and she was on the roost.

Thats so nice to hear Liz!  Sounds like it has been a long winter for you.

I think it was harder on me than her when she went outside, but she still runs toward me when she hears my voice. She has now moved from the last roost to "the second stringers". The rooster has his favorites, then comes the "second stringers", and on the last roost are the ones who he really doesn't care about.

Red had another lump come up in August. After last year I knew it wasn't contagious and left her with the flock. I wasn't sure that anything I did helped last year, so I didndidn't try to medicate. I figured I'd just watch and learn.
She was dead this morning when I went to feed. Her balance was off so she hasn't been roosting for awhile. Her appetite was good, but when I held her a few days ago, she was skin and bone. After that, I noticed the other chickens chasing her from the food. I also noticed that she was having trouble swallowing.
I'm as sure as I can be that it was a fungal infection. The swelling becomes a cone, which breaks open and becomes a crater. Last year I applied cayenne salve, this year with no treatment it became crusty. It had a bad odor, but she never felt hot. That may be why she had less balance this year.
If I see this again I'll know to feed softened wet food separately from the flock, while still keeping her with them. She seemed happier. I'll keep that area moistened with salve that I've put crushed garlic in.
Now I get to dissect her head; maybe I can see something else.
She left no offspring, but she did lay again this summer. Eggs were in the incubator and the power went out.