Hen with mass in abdomen, acting normal

[Kmarten]

I have a 3 year old Easter Egger named Eggnog from a hatchery. 1 year ago she presented with vent gleet, as did several other hens. I separated the rooster (to stop transmission), treated them all and everyone had a full recovery with no reoccurance. Eggnog was the only chicken that didn't start laying again. In fact, she hadn't laid since.

Over the summer I noticed she was being picked on, losing weight and seemed lethargic. So, I brought her inside, gave her nutridrench and babied her. She quickly perked up, plumped up and seemed great. I have kept her inside as a house chicken since.

I have been mildly concerned about her not laying, but everything seemed fine otherwise. I made sure she had access to Oyster shell, which she would consume.

Three weeks ago, a softball sized mass appeared in her abdomen. It become big enough to notice within 5 days. It is very hard, not at all like Ascites. So my next thought was internal laying/egg peritonitis. I gave her 2 doses of oxytetracycline 3 days apart in case of bacteria, but noticed no change. I've also been giving her Nutridrench - at first directly in her mouth, and then in water, with access to fresh water.

Here's the weird thing, besides standing a little awkwardly and being a bit off balance, which seems expected given the mass, she's acting completely normal. Her stools are great, never runny. She has a healthy appetite and is drinking water normally. She's not panting, squinting her eyes, or hunched down/ruffled. She does happy noises when I give her favorite treats and today I took her outside to her own run today and she's taking a dust bath. Also, the mass has not gotten any bigger in the three weeks.

Unfortunately, I can't take her to the vet because I just had to spend $10,000 on two of my dogs in the past 2 months, so financially I'm in a big hole right now. I recognize that she's probably not going to recover from whatever this is and most likely doesn't have long, but she's been happily living her best life weeks longer than I expected. At the first sign she's in distress I do intend to have the vet euthanize her because I don't want her to suffer.

Any thoughts on what this could be and any other treatments I could try? TIA!

(pic included after a bath and blowdry because she's adorable!)

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Sounds like the mass could be reproductive which unfortunately is not uncommon.

If she's happy, eating/drinking, pooping and acting normal, then that's all you can expect for the time being.
It could be that she lives with a mass in the abdomen for many years to come or whatever is going on could take her quickly.
For me, when I notice something like this, I let them just keep on chickening until they can't.

 

[MyFeatheryFriends]

Sounds the same as our hen. We tried draining with a needle like previous hens but no fluid was there. Upon palpation of the lower abdomen it isn't just evenly firm from fluid instead it feels lumpy . I believe it's a tumor or several. It's been going on for several months now. She does heavy panting at times it's visible during day. Other than that she is mostly normal. I don't imagine she will live past this summer. She's a 3 years old golden comet.