Possible tumor - warning - graphic photo

[redhawkou812]

We have had a hen that has not been doing well over the last 6 months and was dead in the coop this morning. Upon opening up her abdominal cavity, this was taking up the majority of the space there. It is very lumpy and bumpy. Her organs were all intact that I could tell - at first, I thought it was her liver, but it was not. Is cancer common in chickens?

 

[snowflake]

We have had a hen that has not been doing well over the last 6 months and was dead in the coop this morning. Upon opening up her abdominal cavity, this was taking up the majority of the space there. It is very lumpy and bumpy. Her organs were all intact that I could tell - at first, I thought it was her liver, but it was not. Is cancer common in chickens?

very interesting. yes chickens can get cancer, don't know how common it is. does it look at all like egg yolk? could be internal egg lay.
Isn't always contained in the shell

 

[realsis]

yes mareks disease causes tumors . not sure if that's what's happened here or not. I believe you can send the liver in to test to your state vet and they can confirm or deny Marek's. its known as a chicken cancer very common and is a airborne disease. that's a huge tumor! maybe someone more knowledgeable can chime in here and say what they think..I don't know too much about it but do know Marek's causes tumors. I'd send it in for testing to find out what exactly it is! I think or I've heard they do the testing very cheaply. best of luck and sorry for your loss!

 

[redhawkou812]

Thanks for the feedback. I did cut into several of the areas, and didn't see anything that looked like an egg or an egg without a shell. Does marek's cause liver cancer? I know this was not her liver, because I found it and it looked fine. This is an older hen.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would think if it were Mareks you would have seen other symptoms, but who knows. Sorry you lost your hen to cancer.