Abscess or tumor on leg. Advice needed.

[Cseigh]

Made a small (1/4”) t shaped incision on the bottom, no drainage or foul smell, just blood and fatty tissue. Tumor or cyst possibly? She was pretty stressed and it’s hot out so I just cleaned everything good and gave her the penicillin injection. She’s isolated for now and we’ll see if she makes it through the night.

 

[Cseigh]

Updated previous post with photo

 

[rebrascora]

Fatty tissue sounds like tumour to me I'm afraid, but solid yellow chicken pus could look a bit like fat I suppose. It has more of a cheesy rather than blubbery texture though.
How is she doing today?

 

[Cseigh]

Fatty tissue sounds like tumour to me I'm afraid, but solid yellow chicken pus could look a bit like fat I suppose. It has more of a cheesy rather than blubbery texture though.
How is she doing today?

Seems about the same, still moving around but lethargic and comb is drooping and pale. Heat and humidity isn’t helping that I’m sure.

 

[Kiki]

I'm sorry your bird isn't feeling good.
Are any of your other birds showing any signs of illness?


Have you thought about a necropsy yet?

 

[Kimmyh51]

Looks to me like there is some pus under the skin. Like others haven aid probably solid and cheesy. If you aren't a Le to get a vet to treat it, Id have a go at lancing it, firstly to see what you find, and secondly to try and flush out any infection.

I see you already lanced it. I've had one or two situations where i lanced it where it looked to be the best spot and it just bled and i thought there was no infection, but after cutting elsewhere or giving it a good squeeze, out came the pus, sometimes with great force! So it can be worth trying another spot and also putting iodine into the wound. Iodine, because it may be a penicillin resistant bacteria, or the area where the infection is concentrated may not have a good blood supply, meaning injected or oral antibiotics won't be effective.

I've used the following things with good results to flush out infections in the past:

Iodine (povidone iodine ointment - often sold as a cold sore cream or treatment for localised skin infections)
Colloidal silver
An antibiotic in liquid form, or one that can be diluted in water and applied locally/topically. I've used erythromycin for this. Normally local antibiotic isn't my first choice, as iodine or colloidal silver usually work just as well, and you don't have to wonder whether you choose the right antibiotic that the bacteria is sensitive to.

Also could try a different Oral antibiotic, broadsprectrim. Such as tylosin, augmenton (penicillin plus clavulonic(sp) acid), oxytetracycline.

Also dressings impregnated with silver can be helpful in drawing out an infection.

If the area is hot I still think it is more likely to be an infection than a tumor.

 

[Cseigh]

I'm sorry your bird isn't feeling good.
Are any of your other birds showing any signs of illness?


Have you thought about a necropsy yet?

No other signs of illness in the others.

Looks to me like there is some pus under the skin. Like others haven aid probably solid and cheesy. If you aren't a Le to get a vet to treat it, Id have a go at lancing it, firstly to see what you find, and secondly to try and flush out any infection.

I see you already lanced it. I've had one or two situations where i lanced it where it looked to be the best spot and it just bled and i thought there was no infection, but after cutting elsewhere or giving it a good squeeze, out came the pus, sometimes with great force! So it can be worth trying another spot and also putting iodine into the wound. Iodine, because it may be a penicillin resistant bacteria, or the area where the infection is concentrated may not have a good blood supply, meaning injected or oral antibiotics won't be effective.

I've used the following things with good results to flush out infections in the past:

Iodine (povidone iodine ointment - often sold as a cold sore cream or treatment for localised skin infections)
Colloidal silver
An antibiotic in liquid form, or one that can be diluted in water and applied locally/topically. I've used erythromycin for this. Normally local antibiotic isn't my first choice, as iodine or colloidal silver usually work just as well, and you don't have to wonder whether you choose the right antibiotic that the bacteria is sensitive to.

Also could try a different Oral antibiotic, broadsprectrim. Such as tylosin, augmenton (penicillin plus clavulonic(sp) acid), oxytetracycline.

Also dressings impregnated with silver can be helpful in drawing out an infection.

If the area is hot I still think it is more likely to be an infection than a tumor.

Appreciate the insight. She looks better this afternoon. Still drooping comb but less lethargic. I didn’t want to cut anymore yesterday because she was in rough shape (really stressed out) if she looks improved tommorow it would indicate the penicillin is effective and it is likely an infection. If that’s the case I might have another go at removing whatever the mass is.

 

[Eggcessive]

The initial picture looked like an abscess to me that had already started draining on it’s own, but the pale yellow areas looked like there might still be infection inside. Procaine penicillin G is good for 4-5 days, given intramuscularly into breast muscle daily, and 1/4 ml is a good dose for chickens. I would also make sure there are probiotics in the food, or you may give a tsp of a brand name plain yogurt mixed into some feed.

 

[Cseigh]

She looks a little better today. Definitely more energy than she has had lately. Should I just finish out the PenG and hope for the best? Last thing I want is to make the infection resistant. Should I cut out the mass?

 

[Kiki]

Finish the round of medicine...for sure.