A sudden change in how your chicken’s face, or eye, looks, will be quite concerning to any chicken owner, but this does happen in birds.
This article looks into why your chicken may have a lump under its eye.
Table of Contents
Chicken has a lump under its eye:
Healthy chicken faces are pink or red and the skin is somewhat flat, healthy chicken eyes are bright, wide open, and have no swelling or discharge in sight.
If there is a lump under your chicken’s eye then this is why:
Abscess:
One of the simplest reasons why your bird may have a lump under its eye is that the bird has an abscess under its eye.
An abscess is a pus-filled mass under the skin and can form in the bodies of humans or animals.
What to do:
Abscesses can be drained or you can leave them alone and they may be absorbed back into the bird’s body. If you choose to drain it, you can drain the abscess yourself or have a vet drain it.
If you do choose to drain the abscess yourself then you’d need to thoroughly disinfect the area before making an incision on the skin and then draining the absess.
You may however still need to take the bird to the vet as your bird may need antibiotics after the abscess is drained.
Infectious coryza:
Another reason why your bird may have a lump under its eyes may be that the bird has a condition called infectious coryza.
This is a respiratory bacterial infection that can cause a variety of symptoms including a swelling of the bird’s face, this may start off as swelling under the bird’s eye.
Other signs of this condition in your bird include eye discharge, coughing, sneezing, a drop in egg production, and swollen wattles
What to do:
The treatment for this condition is antibiotics, you’d need to get these from your vet so making an appointment for your bird is a must.
Antibiotics that are usually given to birds suffering from this condition include oxytetracycline and erythromycin.
Your vet will not only be able to recommend the correct antibiotics for your birds, the vet will also be able to give your bird the correct dosing regimen.
Fowl pox:
If your bird starts off with one lump under its eye and then continues to develop lumps on the rest of its face then your bird may have fowl pox.
This is a fungal infection and there are two types, dry fowl pox, and wet fowl pox. The fowl pox that causes lesions to develop on the non-feathery parts of a chicken’s body is dry fowl fox.
These lesions will eventually break open and secrete pus, they will then turn from flesh-colored to yellow to brown and then to black.
Other signs of this condition include a lack of appetite, red inflamed mucus membranes, a reduction in egg laying, weight loss, and lethargy.
What to do:
Unfortunately, there is no known cure for fowl pox at this present time.
That being said, you can keep your bird comfortable while it is suffering from this condition by applying antiseptic ointment to the bird’s scabs as well as limiting stress on the birds.
It is also recommended that you disinfect the coop, you can even go as far as scrubbing surfaces down with sandpaper and retreating the wood
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other bird related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Why Is My Chickens Skin Green?, Why Is My Chicken’s Skin Yellow?, Why Is My Chickens Face White, Chicken Swollen Under Beak, Why Is My Chicken’s Skin Red?, Red Skin On Chicken Head, Why Is My Chickens Face Red?, Why Does My Chickens Face Change Color?, Chicken Pale Around Eyes
