Buff Orpington lethargic, possible abscess?

[robyncaseynelson]

Howdy! I notice one of my 2.5 year old Buff Orpingtons isolating herself yesterday, and then again today. When I picked her up this evening to check her out I found what seems to be a swollen, but closed, abscess or swollen spot about the size of a tennis ball on her backside, underneath her vent, along with a few poopy feathers. No other birds have these symptoms. I soaked her briefly in warm water and epsom salts to clean her up and help me get a better look at it. That's why her feathers look wet in the photos. I haven't noticed her not eating or drinking with the others, but she did not eat the yogurt I set out for her just a bit ago. I'm not sure what her poop looks like, will have a better idea of that tomorrow now that she is isolated. I just got her set up in the "chicken hospital" (large dog crate in the garage lined with pine shavings) so she has her own space. I've set out water and electrolytes for her. She's mostly just isolating herself from the others (but slept in the coop last night) and not running around much. She's standing up but is remaining pretty still.

Some background: I treated her for flystrike on her backside back in early June of this year. After a few baths in the first couple of days, then keeping her isolated, and twice daily applications of vetirycin but she recovered, and reintegrated with the rest of the flock in July. She's eaten and acted normally since then. I checked her every week or so for the next month and there were no signs of infection or swelling.

Her vent looks fine. My best guess is that there is some sort of mass or abscess or infection underneath where that old wound was. The white circle in the photos is pretty much the exact footprint of where she had the flystrike earlier this year. I'm wondering if y'all had any ideas about what could be going on or any ideas about treatment? My vet has been willing to see chickens in the past, but it's not a super routine thing for her to do, so that is an option if it came down to it. I'm figuring she'll likely need antibiotics and maybe for the area to be lanced/drained if my suspicions about what's going on with her are correct. I appreciate any thoughts or ideas y'all have, thanks in advance!

 

[MysteryChicken]

How does it feel? Looks abit like a hernia.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Howdy! I notice one of my 2.5 year old Buff Orpingtons isolating herself yesterday, and then again today. When I picked her up this evening to check her out I found what seems to be a swollen, but closed, abscess or swollen spot about the size of a tennis ball on her backside, underneath her vent, along with a few poopy feathers. No other birds have these symptoms. I soaked her briefly in warm water and epsom salts to clean her up and help me get a better look at it. That's why her feathers look wet in the photos. I haven't noticed her not eating or drinking with the others, but she did not eat the yogurt I set out for her just a bit ago. I'm not sure what her poop looks like, will have a better idea of that tomorrow now that she is isolated. I just got her set up in the "chicken hospital" (large dog crate in the garage lined with pine shavings) so she has her own space. I've set out water and electrolytes for her. She's mostly just isolating herself from the others (but slept in the coop last night) and not running around much. She's standing up but is remaining pretty still.

Some background: I treated her for flystrike on her backside back in early June of this year. After a few baths in the first couple of days, then keeping her isolated, and twice daily applications of vetirycin but she recovered, and reintegrated with the rest of the flock in July. She's eaten and acted normally since then. I checked her every week or so for the next month and there were no signs of infection or swelling.

Her vent looks fine. My best guess is that there is some sort of mass or abscess or infection underneath where that old wound was. The white circle in the photos is pretty much the exact footprint of where she had the flystrike earlier this year. I'm wondering if y'all had any ideas about what could be going on or any ideas about treatment? My vet has been willing to see chickens in the past, but it's not a super routine thing for her to do, so that is an option if it came down to it. I'm figuring she'll likely need antibiotics and maybe for the area to be lanced/drained if my suspicions about what's going on with her are correct. I appreciate any thoughts or ideas y'all have, thanks in advance!

Also, chicken pus, isn't liquid like a ours, or other animals. It can't be drained by lancing, if it were an abscess.

 

[MysteryChicken]

@azygous
@Wyorp Rock
@Eggcessive

 

[robyncaseynelson]

How does it feel? Looks abit like a hernia.

It mostly just feels soft and the skin feels really tight. I didn't feel a defined mass or anything. Also saw your comment about chicken pus not being liquid, I'd never realized that -- that's super helpful to know!

 

[MysteryChicken]

It mostly just feels soft and the skin feels really tight. I didn't feel a defined mass or anything. Also saw your comment about chicken pus not being liquid, I'd never realized that -- that's super helpful to know!

Still maybe a hernia. How does the rest of her abdomen feel?

 

[robyncaseynelson]

Still maybe a hernia. How does the rest of her abdomen feel?

Her abdomen does feel normal, not swollen anywhere. However, when I checked her again I noticed that her crop feels like its full of air. I didn't feel anything solid in her crop at all, just soft and sort of like it had air or liquid in it, so maybe there's more than one issue going on here.

 

[azygous]

The well defined white area would indicate poor blood circulation for whatever reason. I admit to never seeing anything like this before. Then there appears to be an accumulation of fat just under the skin. At first, I thought it might be pus, but you say it's soft. That makes me lean toward the lumpiness beneath the skin being fat, not pus. Does the white area feel much cooler than the surrounding area? If so, that's another indication of a circulation problem. If it feels much warmer than the surrounding tissue, it then would indicate infection, not fat.

It's possible her fly strike ordeal resulted in nerve damage in the epidermal layer. Perhaps other damage to blood vessels. Since you say it appears to be swollen and it may be causing her to feel sick, there's a chance this is more than just fat. Unless one of our diagnostic prodigies shows up and has some ideas, I don't have anything to suggest other than convincing your vet to take a look at it.

Do you have a friend that is a nurse? I've found that nurses, having had a few as friends, have irresistible curiosity and a willingness and eagerness to practice surgery since they are denied that joy in their jobs. If your vet refuses to see the hen, a willing nurse could make an incision and examine that lumpy tissue and probably tell us what it is. If it ends up being pus and there's a raging infection under that white skin, a nurse could clean it out and disinfect and sew her back up. Then the hen would need an oral antibiotic to combat further infection.

A word of reassurance about surgery like that on a chicken without pain killers. While chickens do experience pain, it's not the mind bending traumatic way humans experience pain. Chickens will compartmentalize the pain, and it will be more like an incidental "side show" going on that they generally are able to handle calmly.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I treated her for flystrike on her backside back in early June of this year.

y best guess is that there is some sort of mass or abscess or infection underneath where that old wound was. The white circle in the photos is pretty much the exact footprint of where she had the flystrike earlier this year.

However, when I checked her again I noticed that her crop feels like its full of air. I didn't feel anything solid in her crop at all, just soft and sort of like it had air or liquid in it, so maybe there's more than one issue going on here.

I have no name for it LOL
I'd like to see @Eggcessive chime in, but agree, if she had FlyStrike in almost that exact location, then the white spot/circle is very likely from that. Whether it's an accumulation of scar tissue, possibly some residual pus under a layer of skin...I have no idea.
It's interesting though and makes me want to see what it is...

I would also say she has more than one issue going on - OR more likely, she has more than one symptom going on.
Her crop filled with air, I would address that symptom. Airy or Liquid crop, ime, is a crop that is sour or turning sour. Usually this is a symptom of an underlying condition like reproductive disorders. Possibly worms or Coccidiosis. I'd treat as Sour Crop according to the article linked below.

You don't mention when she last laid an egg. My guess would be the decline is probably reproductive, but that's what I've mainly seen in my own hens.

If vet care is an option, then having them access her is always the best route to take.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[Eggcessive]

I haven’t seen anything like the white area before. But I would agree that it might be pus or something residual from the flystrike. Azygous may be right about no circulation innher skin there. It could be explored with a needle or disposable scalpel. To me it looks like the skin would just peel off if you touched it. But then I would not know what to do from there. You could have a huge gaping wound where her organs might come out. Then you would need to put her down to prevent suffering. I’m sorry that you are dealing with this.