Butt Protuberance

[Eljay2]

One of my Buff Orpington hens has had this protuberance on her butt for months:



I just de-pooped her,and this is the best shot I could get. She eats and drinks normally, acts normal, lays a normal egg almost every day. I call her Miss Poopy Butt for obvious reasons. It doesn't seem to bother her. Short of taking her to a vet, does anyone have any ideas as to what this might be, and/or how it might be treated?

 

[Eggcessive]

It could be a hernia, or a tumor. Many hens with egg yolk peritonitis and ascites will have a swollen full lower abdomen, but this looks like a bulge instead. Does it feel hard or soft? Does she have trouble having stools, or have diarrhea?

 

[Eljay2]

It's soft. It doesn't seem as though it's painful when I mess with it while cleaning her off.
Her poops are maybe a little loose, but don't seem appreciably different than her coop-mates.

 

[Eggcessive]

With an intestinal hernia, you can usually push the hernia back inside the hole in the muscle, but it will eventually come back out. If you try this don't push too hard (in case it isn't a hernia, but a tumor.) a vet might be able to repair it. There is a chance of it eventually bursting, and she should then be put down right away. Here are a couple of threads to read:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/416101/swollen-abdomen-hernia-diagnosis
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...lumpy-bottom-ascities-hernia-or-other-ailment
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/224335/hen-has-a-hernia-early-laying-could-be-cause

 

[Eljay2]

Thanks. These links are very helpful. I'm thinking it's probably a hernia. I'll just let her go for the time being, and might harvest when my cockerel comes of age, and harvest him.