Swollen black tongue

[grannytaz]

Can anyone tell me what might be wrong with my hen?

 

[Eggcessive]

Have you sprayed BluKote on the thing sticking out of her beak? I haven't seen that before in pictures. She could have canker, but it looks like she has something sticking out of her beak like a balloon or toy.

Oral Canker

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Canker is a condition mostly associated with pigeons and is caused by a tiny parasite called trichomonas. This parasite is often spread through contaminated drinking water. The parasite causes a ‘yellow button’ of pus to form in your bird’s mouth. This can stop your bird from eating normally leading to weight loss.

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What to look for

• Weight loss
• Birds picking up food then dropping it
• A cheese-like plaque in your birds mouth (see photo)
• A reluctance to eat

Treatment

Treating canker or suspected canker is a job for a vet who will likely prescribe an anti-parasitic medication. (Flagyl, FishZole, or Metronidazole 250 mg daily by mouth for 5 days is used.)
Prevention

Ensure that your birds' drinking water is changed daily. Try to keep the drinkers in the chicken house to discourage wild birds from sharing your birds’ water.

 

[grannytaz]

Thank you for the information, but that "balloon" is her tongue. I gave her a drop of Benadryl and she is back to normal.

 

[Eggcessive]

Okay. Glad you fixed it. What do you think caused it? Here is a picture of a normal tongue, so you can see why I was wondering why it was so big and purple:

 

[grannytaz]

After looking on line since no one on here had the same thing, it looks like she got stung by something. I'm just glad I didn't overdose her and she is fine. Thanks again for the help