Boil/Cyst?

[RussC]

I noticed one of my chickens has a boil/cyst about the size of a lemon on it's breast and it is leaking fluid. What is it and what do I do about it?
Thanks, Russ

 

[Chickie'sMoma]

posting pics may help. but it sounds like it could also be that the crop got punctured if it is the size of a lemon!

what size or type of bird is this? how old? is it still eating/drinking? what have you been feeding it?

 

[RussC]

She is an 8 month old Morans. She is fed laying crumbles and occasionally free ranges in the back yard. She has a good appetite.

 

[Chickie'sMoma]

(don't take this the wrong way for the future-she is a Marans)

do you know if the fluid has any color to it, or is it thick on thin? are you able to push away the feathers from around where this cyst/boil or puncture is? you may want to pluck some feathers in case you may need to do any surgery. if the bird is acting squeamish you can put a towel over it and cover her head to keep her from panicking.

you definitely want to make sure to get this hen away from your other birds since they could be pecking at what ever it is and making it look worse than it is. do you have her inside at the moment or somewhere warm?

 

[BekahBear]

I agree, if you could post some pics it would really help us figure out what it is and what would be the best way to treat it. If it's an absess or cyst it needs to be drained and flushed out so it can heal. Like someone else said though, because of the size you said it is and its location it makes me wonder if the crop got punctured or something. I really think pics would help

 

[RussC]

Thanks for your replies. Ok here is the story. 4 weeks ago we had an opossum attach and all I noticed on this chicken had some feathers pulled out on the back of its neck and a limp. The limp went away in a few days and the feathers are growing back.

I just examined the chicken and here is what I found. There is a large abscess on the front of the throat where it meets the breast. It is about the size of a lemon. The bottom of the abscess is a light brown and it has a thin, almost watery, light brown liquid that comes out. Sometimes it squirts out when the chicken makes certain moves. On the side of the abscess where it meets the neck there is a gaping open wound about 1 1/2 inches long. It is very raw (blood red like raw meat) but not bleeding.

I have trimmed away the feathers cleaned up the area somewhat and have touched and squeezed the abscess. Here's the thing, the chicken seems to be in no pain at all. And she seems fine in every other way.

I know this could be from the opossum attack but to me it almost appears like there is something stuck in its gizzard and it is all stopped up. That is what it fells like too. Has anyone herd of such a thing? As far as the wound is concerned it almost appears as if the skin split open.

Camera will not flash or I would post pictures.

Well what do you think?

 

[hongyush2008]

Quote:
Why not take it to see a doctor? They can help you a lot, I think.

 

[Clay Valley Farmer]

True, if a vet is accessable they may be the best help, if they are not you can do alot for the chicken. The abcess is the result of infection which needs to be treated. draining the abcess is likely a good idea, but that other wound will need to be cleaned really well and best if an antibiotic cream without pain killer could be applied. I would not hessitate to put the chicken on antibiotics it is fighting a serious infection. Also chicken should be seperated from flock before they see her as sick and turn on her.

Also I think there is a need to investigate to confirm the injury does not involve the crop, if it does the crop would neat to be stitched/sealed up to prevent food and digestive guck from going where is does not belong.

Scale that lemmon sized abcess up to human size and it would be about like having a socer ball sized abcess on your neck.

Don't wait, infection is a killer.

 

[kristen2678]

It seems like that thing needs to be drained and she needs some antibiotics. I would get a shapr X-Acto knife, clean the area, make a small incision and get as much stuff out of there as you can. Clean it with saline. Squirt some in there if you can. Treat the incision with neosporin - inside and out, then put her on an antibiotic. Maybe a search on here or some advice at the feed store can tell you which one. She'll need to stay separated and given some supportive services until she is on the mend - vitamins in her water and maybe some electrolytes. Good luck.

 

[RussC]

Ok, here is the update but first let me say something I think is funny. Chickie’sMoma responded to my first post and said it sounded like the crop was punctured. Well when I read that, not knowing what a crop was, I thought she was making a joke because I said it was the size of a lemon. So I dismissed the post as a little lite hearted pun. After reading some of the other post and doing some research I found out what a crop was.

Ok, last night I isolated her and cleaned the wound and clipped back the feathers. After doing research I realized I had an impacted crop and as Chickie'sMoma suggested it was punctured. The open wound was another issue. This morning I used an eye dropper with canola oil and warm water and got that into the crop. I then gently messaged the crop to try to loosen the impaction. When I put the hen back into its pen I noticed that she was pecking her chest and was pulling out what I thought where feathers but what happen is the crop slit open and some of the impacted material was hanging out. I quickly got her up on my work bench and pulled all of the material out of her crop which now had a opening about 1 1/2" long. I wrapped her in a towel and prepared for emergency surgery. I cleaned the area and stitched the crop closed and then her skin where the wound was.

The amazing thing was that she acted like nothing was happening. She shows absolutely no sign of pain or discomfort during the entire procedure.

She is resting now. I have given her some Yogurt and I also purchase baby food (apple sauce, pear sauce, carrots, peas etc. I also got some vegetable broth and buttermilk. I have sprayed the wound with some $32 a bottle antiseptic and I'm going to pick up some Terramycin to put in her water. So now all we do is try to keep from getting an infection and keep her on a healthy but soft food diet for a while and hope for the best.

I do have one question, how do you bandage a chicken, if you do at all? And, is there some way of keeping her from pecking at the wound?

Finally, I want to thank all of you for you kind help, it is appreciated. By the way, my chickens name is Bridgett, she is French you know!
Russ