Is this a tumor? Please help be determine the best course of action for this hot mess.

[mrsmistoffelees02]

Please help. Is this a tumor? I just got back from being out of town for the week. My husband said my Roo was bleeding by his tail feathers but it didn’t look bad. When I got home to check him out, I found this. It’s a huge mass about the size of a golf ball right by his preening gland. Skin around his vent and tummy are red and inflamed. I started to separate him in a crate but he was more stressed there and seemed happier in the flock with the others.

No clue what caused this. I’m wondering if he started bleeding because he was pecking at the mass and then it got infected, or maybe the pecking caused an infection that lead to this. At any rate, he’s acting normally - eating, crowing, drinking, talking to his ladies… But this can’t be good.

Cochin frizzle rooster, 1.5 years old. Out of my 12 chickens, he and my favorite hen are the only ones left of my original flock. I don’t want to lose him but I don’t want him to suffer, either. Unfortunately I don’t have the resources to use a vet.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Preening gland looks pretty normal then.

So the location of the scab and swelling is more like his tail. Does he have his normal tail feathers or are they gone?

Like he's had his tail feathers pulled/plucked out and he's been picked at. I'd try the compresses but treat as a wound for the time being as well. See if when any scabs come off, if there's evidence of broken feathers there.

 

[coach723]

You can try warm, wet compresses see if it loosens any thing up. I'm not optimistic with it being that large. If there is a scab, if you can loosen it to remove it, then what you see underneath might make a difference. I cannot tell from a picture if it's just full of pus from infection, or if it's a tumor. Tumors usually have a blood supply and can bleed a lot if opened up. If it's pus (and chicken pus is firm rather than liquid) then removing it, flushing it out and applying and antibiotic ointment might allow it it heal. It's also possible that it could be a feather cyst, that would contain pus and usually a curled up or malformed feather in it. Treatment would be the same, remove all the gunk and clean it out so it can heal. I just can't tell you for sure from a picture. I will tag a couple of others to see if they have any other ideas for you.
@Eggcessive @Wyorp Rock

 

[coach723]

So this popped up in a week? That's awfully fast for tumor growth. Is vet care an option? Uropygial gland tumors happen, it also could be infection from a plugged or blocked gland. Vet care would be best since it's so large and inflammed. They can determine if it's an infected blockage, or if it's a tumor and whether it can be removed or not.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Can you get a few more photos at different angles including the top of the swelling?
Is the preening gland "normal" size with the swelling beside it or is it all just very swollen?

I would follow the suggestions made by @coach723 to try compresses and see if that helps.

 

[coach723]

I agree with @Wyorp Rock . I would treat it as a wound for now, If he was picked, and drew blood, it would have attracted much more picking.

 

[Eggcessive]

Would it be possible to place his lower end in a bucket or dish pan of warm water, and add a bit of either Betadine, Hibiclens, or Epsom salts, and soak him for about 15 minutes to soften the scab? Then I would try to clean off the scab to see if you see solid yellow pus or just bleeding. Then apply some triple antibiotic ointment to the wound when dry enough. If this isn’t an abscess from something, it could be a skin cancer. Those are fairly common in chickens.

 

[Eggcessive]

Peroxide should not be used repeatedly for wounds, but sometimes can be helpful in one time use to soften a scab or flush inside of an abscess to get pus out.

 

[mrsmistoffelees02]

Is that mostly just the tail? Can you get a picture of the preen gland itself from the top?

Will get more photos ASAP when I get home. These are the tail/mass.

Preen gland didn’t look off putting, normal size and color as of yesterday night.

 

[coach723]

Once you've cleaned and flushed and are ready to apply ointment, I would use the neosporin since it's petroleum based and will stick better and keep the area moist. Veterycin is good for cleaning, but it will not stay moist as long. Softening and removing the scab may happen slowly over several tries depending on how thick and dry it is. The neosporin in between sessions will also help soften it. I often use hibiclens when cleaning wounds on my birds.