Black Spot on Wattle

[lbgreenfield]

Hi there. My 2-year old Buff Orpington has a large black spot on her wattle (see attached photos). I usually pick her up from another angle so I don't see the affected wattle all that often, so I'm not sure how long it has been there. She has been limping for about 2 weeks now with no visible injury to leg/foot/hock, but has been acting completely normal, eating/drinking/pooping/laying/foraging/scratching consistently.

Any idea what this is? None of my other chickens have spots/marks like this. I just cleaned the area with Vetricyn spray and covered it with triple antibiotic ointment (with no lidocaine/etc.). I did not put a bandage on it (how would I even bandage a wattle?!). It seemed like she may have ripped her wattle, but it was hard to tell with the black-ish crust around the top of the spot. She just ate a few blueberries as a reward for being a good chicken while I was doing all that and happily went back to eating their head of cabbage when I put her back in the run.

Any ideas? I'll monitor for the next few days now.

 

[Eggcessive]

It looks like she has torn her wattle on something pointy and sharp, and it is probably bruised from bleeding under the skin. I would continue the antibiotic ointment or use something like vetericyn.

 

[lbgreenfield]

It looks like she has torn her wattle on something pointy and sharp, and it is probably bruised from bleeding under the skin. I would continue the antibiotic ointment or use something like vetericyn.

Thank you Eggcessive! I'm not sure what she would have torn her wattle on, but hopefully that's all it is, just a cut and bruise. I'll continue to monitor and treat with Vetricyn and antibiotic ointment for the next few days.

 

[Aryetheral Waalburgus]

I agree with Eggcessive about the wattle, but I'm still concerned about the limping. Is the limp really bad? Have you checked her feet for bumblefoot? There may not be a visible scab, so you may have missed it in your appraisal, but the normally soft and squishy sole of her foot would feel firm and there may be redness and swelling.

Other causes I can think of off the top of my head include a broken or sprained leg or muscle damage.

 

[lbgreenfield]

I agree with Eggcessive about the wattle, but I'm still concerned about the limping. Is the limp really bad? Have you checked her feet for bumblefoot? There may not be a visible scab, so you may have missed it in your appraisal, but the normally soft and squishy sole of her foot would feel firm and there may be redness and swelling.

Other causes I can think of off the top of my head include a broken or sprained leg or muscle damage.

Thanks for your reply. As for the limp on my Buff, no sign of black spot on foot pad, no swelling, no warm/hot legs, foot pads are soft and squishy (not hard lumps/bumps). She's acting completely normal too and she's not pecking at her legs/feet. I think she may have badly sprained it jumping off the roosts, so I've made a lower roost bar for her that she's been using. She also has seemingly gained a bit of weight this winter, but I did switch their feed from Purina Layena to the Purina Layena-Free Range feed. I'm considering taking her to a vet to get an x-ray to check for broken bones, but I don't know if I can afford a $500 vet bill for a chicken x-ray right now.

 

[Pigeon_chicken2016]

A chicken could have pecked her waddle during a pecking order or there could have been a accident. But it isn't that bad luckily, I would say just clean it once a day and she will be fine

 

[Pigeon_chicken2016]

What

I agree with Eggcessive about the wattle, but I'm still concerned about the limping. Is the limp really bad? Have you checked her feet for bumblefoot? There may not be a visible scab, so you may have missed it in your appraisal, but the normally soft and squishy sole of her foot would feel firm and there may be redness and swelling.

Other causes I can think of off the top of my head include a broken or sprained leg or muscle damage.

What is bumble foot? My chicken was limping before and now she doesnt even care to get up and I'm still not sure what it is its not broken or dislocated he deer still work she just won't put any weight on it I really need the help

 

[lbgreenfield]

What

What is bumble foot? My chicken was limping before and now she doesnt even care to get up and I'm still not sure what it is its not broken or dislocated he deer still work she just won't put any weight on it I really need the help

Bumblefoot is a staph infection in a chicken, it usually manifests with a black spot or scab on the bottom of the foot pad. There are plenty of articles and forums on bumblefoot here on BYC, please reference those or start a new thread for your issue.

 

[Aryetheral Waalburgus]

I'm considering taking her to a vet to get an x-ray to check for broken bones, but I don't know if I can afford a $500 vet bill for a chicken x-ray right now.

I completely feel your pain about that vet bill. It hurts when it can't be done.

I had a hen a few years ago who got attacked by a dog, and she had a really really bad limp, to the point of not being able to move, for a few months. I was much newer to being a chicken parent and couldn't tell what was wrong with her leg, so I just left it alone (with, of course, topical wound care) and over time it very slowly got better. After about half a year she could run again, albeit with a little help from flapping her wings. The point being, chickens are resilient and your hen may just get better on her own after a while.

She also has seemingly gained a bit of weight this winter, but I did switch their feed from Purina Layena to the Purina Layena-Free Range feed.

One question about the weight gain - Where is that weight distributed? Is it healthy normal fat (you can feel a layer of fat on her keel), or could it be a build-up of fluid or something (excess volume on the area in between legs and under all those fluffy bum feathers)? That could be causing her to limp...? I had a hen with a reproductive disorder which basically caused an enormous amount of fluid build up in between the legs which made her develop a limp.

 

[lbgreenfield]

I completely feel your pain about that vet bill. It hurts when it can't be done.

I had a hen a few years ago who got attacked by a dog, and she had a really really bad limp, to the point of not being able to move, for a few months. I was much newer to being a chicken parent and couldn't tell what was wrong with her leg, so I just left it alone (with, of course, topical wound care) and over time it very slowly got better. After about half a year she could run again, albeit with a little help from flapping her wings. The point being, chickens are resilient and your hen may just get better on her own after a while.


One question about the weight gain - Where is that weight distributed? Is it healthy normal fat (you can feel a layer of fat on her keel), or could it be a build-up of fluid or something (excess volume on the area in between legs and under all those fluffy bum feathers)? That could be causing her to limp...? I had a hen with a reproductive disorder which basically caused an enormous amount of fluid build up in between the legs which made her develop a limp.

Thanks for your reply, AW. As for her weight gain, it seems pretty even along her keel/underside. It doesn’t seem to be fluid (like water belly), but I’ve never had a chicken with water belly so I’m not sure I would know what a fluid filled belly feels like in real life. She’s acting totally normal, is eating/laying/pooping/foraging just fine. Her limp started about 2 weeks ago and got a more noticeable this week (so much so that my husband noticed) but like I said, she’s acting totally fine and I’ve felt all around for injuries with nothing. Not sure what else I can do, other than a $$$ vet trip. I love my chickens but with all the COVID19/recession stuff going on, I need to save as much as I can. She’s been through a lot and is a tough chicken so I’m hoping she gets well soon!