Earlobe blister/bubble

[r41316]

Hi, I’m new to this site and trying to figure out what’s going on with my white leghorn that is almost 2 years old. She’s seemingly healthy..laying eggs, eating, normal poops.

She has had this little bubble on her earlobe for a few months now, at least. It’ll get smaller then bigger, but never really go away.

We live in very mild winter weather in CA - barely even gets down to freezing in winters, so is not related to freezing weather. They also get to free roam during the day on about 1/2+ acre.

Any ideas what it is/the cause? She’s my favorite of my 13 hens. She’s friendly and sooo chatty and the best egg layer!

 

[coach723]

It may be from an injury, from pecking etc. Does it feel hard, or fluid filled? If it's not bothering her or getting worse then I might just watch and wait. If it feels like fluid then it could possibly be a hematoma, I've had birds get them on combs and wattles, since that is a large earlobe, it's possible. A hematoma is basically a bad bruise that causes blood to pool under the skin. They can take a fair amount of time to resolve. I have drained large ones with a syringe, but they usually fill back up again, so I just leave them alone unless they are causing a problem and they eventually resolve. If it feels hard then it could be pus from infection (chicken pus is very firm) and in that case might need to be lanced and cleaned out. If it gets larger or starts to bother her then you could take a small syringe and needle and see what draws out of it.

 

[r41316]

It may be from an injury, from pecking etc. Does it feel hard, or fluid filled? If it's not bothering her or getting worse then I might just watch and wait. If it feels like fluid then it could possibly be a hematoma, I've had birds get them on combs and wattles, since that is a large earlobe, it's possible. A hematoma is basically a bad bruise that causes blood to pool under the skin. They can take a fair amount of time to resolve. I have drained large ones with a syringe, but they usually fill back up again, so I just leave them alone unless they are causing a problem and they eventually resolve. If it feels hard then it could be pus from infection (chicken pus is very firm) and in that case might need to be lanced and cleaned out. If it gets larger or starts to bother her then you could take a small syringe and needle and see what draws out of it.

Thank you. It does feel soft - like a bubble. I’ll keep an eye on her. It’s just so strange.

 

[coach723]

In both pictures I can see a dark spot on the swelling. Is that an injury or is it just a bit of dirt?

 

[r41316]

In both pictures I can see a dark spot on the swelling. Is that an injury or is it just a bit of dirt?

Must have been dirt because it’s not there now (but bubble still is.)

 

[coach723]

OK, just wanted to check. Since it's soft and feels like fluid I would just watch to see if it gets bigger, or resolves. I've had hematomas take weeks and weeks to go away, if that's what it is.

 

[coach723]

For comparison, a picture of my roo's wattle, three hematomas, top, middle and bottom along the edge. Confirmed by needle aspiration, just full of blood. He also had a large one on his comb which has gone down enough that it doesn't really show anymore, but I can still feel a bit of squish there. He has really large wattles, so they are always getting beat up. Since yours is a hen, could have been a spat over a nest box.