My dad thinks it's a brain tumor...

[Moochie]

Quote:
What is coryza? I'm guessing a respritory sickness... Can I get these things at a feed store? Is it worth trying? (Actually I'm rather desperate at the moment.)

 

[aubreynoramarie]

I'm very sorry you're going through this. I hope she pulls through.

 

[spish]

Quote:
erm pardon my questions but, would a brain tumour not be....in the brain? as in under the skull?? how would a swelling in the skull cause things out of the skull to be moved..i dont get it?can a skull stretch?? this is a swelling/mass under the skin on the head not under the skull...?
also id like to add that i find your posts a bit mean, you are trying to sound superior to everyone else here...why? because your a nurse? do you have any idea how many nurses are on here, and ive never seen one act like you have done on this thread. please stop trying to make the owner feel bad and perhaps try and use your skills to help them rather than belittle them? we all care about our chickens here the last thing people want to here is that they are hurting there chicken! and comments like 'try lancing yourself and see if it hurts' are just uncalled for. what did you hope to achieve with that? a simple 'i think it may be a brain tumour and if it were me i would cull her to prevent further pain' would have been a better approach......



to the owner of the chicken....kudos to you on trying to help your little hen...when you lanced her lump did you squeeze out ALL of the fluid or just a bit...if it is infection/abcess you need to squeeze out as much as you can, then flush out the hole with saline solution. then apply an antibiotic salve maybe?

does she have any other symptoms at all apart from oss of balance/the swelling?
is there any crackling sounds in her chest, any sneezing/dischage around the nose/mouth area?

i had a hen with a respitory infection who's head swelled up terribly, sadly she died before i got the right meds but it is an option worth looking at.
if you dont have an avian vet in your area...do a quick search online for ANY avian vet that you could perhaps email some pictures to? i know its not the same as seeing the patient in the flesh but may help you on your search for help.....good luck, my fingers are crossed for you little hen

 

[FireTigeris]

Moochie- hows she doing, she should feel better without all that pus in the head.

If she starts eating again, I'd give high protein/fat foods and supplement with fresh veg and boiled egg.

If she will not eat today take her for her last visit. Many prey animals do not 'remember' pain like we do-

If she stays with you you will have to drain it again.

My boy (rat) got a sebaceous cyst that abscessed the bottom was black w/blood involvement- with the areas clean and no pressure on it (drained and debrided) the black part feel off. he lived 4.2 years (total) and his name was Garfunkel, he died of succumbing to secondary infection after Myco stress 2 years later.

 

[schellie69]

To the OP

I think since puss and liquid came out the black thing might be an infection that the body trapped kind of like bumblefoot. I would push on it to get all the stuff to drain and use a saline solution to flush the wound out. Keep doing this until it heals. I would also look into some type of antibiotics. Now about lancing it. I have done bumble foot surgery on a few of my girls which means I had to cut on the foot they laid there and had no reaction to it. I am not sure they feel pain the same way we do. I don't think you hurt your chicken. You are trying to help. This is what I would do if it was my chicken If the black think is out side the skull I don't think cancer I still think infection maybe a something that got pushed into her neck area and the body fought it by covering it, just like the body does in bumble foot. I would keep squeezing to get all the liquid out and flush and keep it wrapped with an antibiotic cream. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[featherz]

I am also a nurse, and if white stuff is coming out I too would be tempted to lance it, as I have done several times with bumblefoot. Remember, with chickens often the infection is a hard chunk, not liquid goo like in humans. It's worth a shot, although that looks like a pretty big abscess. I've seen several huge ugly sinus infections here on BYC that looked just like that.

 

[AinaWGSD]

Quote:
While I tend to agree with the first half of this post (I work for a vet and I have seen too many pets suffer because their owners couldn't bring themselves to make the decision to end their suffering by ending their life) the second half is totally unnecessary and extremely arrogant. I find your insistence that a brain tumor is the only possibility and that the OP is being selfish and cruel by "ignoring" that "fact" and attempting to do their best to treat it with the resources they have available to them to be extremely offensive. I have seen animals suffer for days, weeks, even months while the owner put off the inevitable when it was painfully obvious to everyone I work with that the best choice for the animal was euthanasia. I have also been wrong. I have seen animals that I would have euthanized with the firm conviction that it was the kindest thing and the right choice struggle through the recovery and go on to live many years of quality life once they recovered from what seemed like a disease that was impossible to recover from. I have seen animals that were literally dying when they walked through the door to the clinic (literally, had their owners been another hour later the pet would have been dead) come back from the brink of death and live a normal life. While euthanasia may be the best thing, who is to say that given the choice the animal would rather give life every possible try?

You can not tell just by looking at pictures online if something is cancer or not. A licensed veterinarian can't even tell for sure if something is cancer just by looking at it (although they may be able to be 80-90% sure). At the vet where I work we see balance problems and trouble breathing (often at the same time) on a weekly basis and they are almost never caused by a brain tumor. The downward deviation of her eyes is due to the swelling in her face. And swelling of the face is usually caused by things other than cancer. In fact, looking at the pictures and having seen hundreds of animals with both cancer and other diseases I personally feel that an abscess is much more likely than a tumor. Cancerous masses are almost always firm and would not drain if lanced.

To the OP, now that you've gotten the swelling lanced you need to flush it really well with sterile saline. You may also want to apply a warm compress for about 15 minutes twice a day to help draw out any more discharge that may build up. Antibiotics would be good, if you can get a vet to recommend or even prescribe some that would be best. But if that isn't an option you can buy some antibiotics at feed stores (they're usually labeled for cattle or other large livestock) and I would defer to the more experienced members of this forum on which one would be the best to try.

 

[Chickenaddict]

Quote:
What is coryza? I'm guessing a respritory sickness... Can I get these things at a feed store? Is it worth trying? (Actually I'm rather desperate at the moment.)

I think it looks alot like bumblefoot so possibly some sort of staph infection? I think if your gonna medicate it should be something like penecillin injections. I have never heard of coryza causing a massive lump on the back of her head like that, swollen eyes yes but never something like that but then again I am certainly no vet but I am rooting for poor little sugar to pull thru this for you moochie

I hope you can get in to see the vet and they are able to give you a clear picture on what is really going on with your hen. I am betting she is loving the extra attention you are giving her. I would have done the same thing had it been my bird. I tend to go above and beyond because they are not just chickens to me, but my dear sweet pets just like a dog or a cat IMO. Please keep us posted on her and know we all have our fingers crossed for both of you

 

[Pickaduck]

How's Sugar this morning? I agree with others - you may have to get the rest of the infection/pus out of there.

Hoping she is doing better!

 

[Sjisty]

Moochie, how is your girl this morning?

I think she is lucky to have a caring owner like you.