Cyst??? Help please!

[Crofters Quail]

My 4 month old rooster appears to have a soft fluid filled cyst? at the bottom right of his breastbone. He is eating and drinking and walking around fine. The cyst doesn’t seem to be painful or hot to touch. He had surgery a couple of months ago to stitch up wounds after being attacked by a cat, not sure whether this could be relevant to the curremy problem. Any experience with this, thoughts or advice much appreciated.

 

[Shezadandy]

The colors are a little hard to make out but it seems like there might be a green patch kind of in the middle of this. Their skin turns green when they bruise. Just double checking (sorry if that comes off wrong) that we're not dealing with is crop (also located on the right side). It looks too low for that. Anyways, assuming it is a swelling of some variety, you could always aspirate it (or lance it) with a needle and see what's in there and drain it provided you have iodine soap and other means of keeping the area clean and clear of infection. If it is an abscess, initially flushing with hydrogen peroxide until the foaming stops, then caring for it with antibiotic ointments and so on until it goes away.

 

[Crofters Quail]

Hearty thanks Shezadandy, yes I initially thought of the crop but it does seem too low for the crop. It’s not so easy to avail oneself of veterinary supplies here in Australia however I may ask a GP friend if he can help with the correct needle for aspiration so I can drain it and see what’s coming out! Many thanks once again.

 

[Shezadandy]

Hearty thanks Shezadandy, yes I initially thought of the crop but it does seem too low for the crop. It’s not so easy to avail oneself of veterinary supplies here in Australia however I may ask a GP friend if he can help with the correct needle for aspiration so I can drain it and see what’s coming out! Many thanks once again.

No problem, the more I look at it the more it looks like a bruise in the middle.

Apologies for the crudeness, but chickens are great at making pus- hard cheese like pus- so it's possible a needle might not give much unless it really is fluid. Here's a video with a guy draining a cyst in a more delicate spot- on the top of the poor chicken's head, if you skip to about 3:45 in the video he starts to see "results".

If there's no needle available then a sharp knife (not serrated) can work too, properly sterilized. If I was going to do it that way, I would lance it at the lowest point of the abscess/cyst where you think fluid might naturally drain were it to break open on its own, i.e. the lowest point on the balloon, not. the lowest point on his body mass where it attaches.

Ideally, assuming it's fluid and/or pus that drains, a syringe with a "feeder" tip on it would work well for flushing the whole thing with hydrogen peroxide after it's done draining, and I would leave it open. If no syringes are available, a cheap new turkey baster would also do the trick. Wouldn't use an old one because of what can live there!!! The peroxide is only used for the first treatment - if you can get some Vetricyn and antibiotic cream (to keep the opening moist, open and draining so it doesn't just refill with icky stuff).

 

[Crofters Quail]

No problem, the more I look at it the more it looks like a bruise in the middle.

Apologies for the crudeness, but chickens are great at making pus- hard cheese like pus- so it's possible a needle might not give much unless it really is fluid. Here's a video with a guy draining a cyst in a more delicate spot- on the top of the poor chicken's head, if you skip to about 3:45 in the video he starts to see "results".

If there's no needle available then a sharp knife (not serrated) can work too, properly sterilized. If I was going to do it that way, I would lance it at the lowest point of the abscess/cyst where you think fluid might naturally drain were it to break open on its own, i.e. the lowest point on the balloon, not. the lowest point on his body mass where it attaches.

Ideally, assuming it's fluid and/or pus that drains, a syringe with a "feeder" tip on it would work well for flushing the whole thing with hydrogen peroxide after it's done draining, and I would leave it open. If no syringes are available, a cheap new turkey baster would also do the trick. Wouldn't use an old one because of what can live there!!! The peroxide is only used for the first treatment - if you can get some Vetricyn and antibiotic cream (to keep the opening moist, open and draining so it doesn't just refill with icky stuff).

very many thanks once again, I have syringes but no needles for aspiration but am in the process of trying to acquire some. Thanks for the video and all the great advice I really appreciate it.