Cheek bump/growth on 3 month old Buff Orpington

[ShermanOaksCoop]

I haven't had any luck finding a vet in my area. The responses I got were that they don't treat backyard chickens or they only treat commercial flocks.

 

[casportpony]

I haven't had any luck finding a vet in my area. The responses I got were that they don't treat backyard chickens or they only treat commercial flocks.

Google avian vet and the name of a large city near you. Can you remove the scab/crust and post new pictures?

 

[casportpony]

I haven't had any luck finding a vet in my area. The responses I got were that they don't treat backyard chickens or they only treat commercial flocks.

Are you in Sherman Oaks, CA? If so, I will help find a vet for you.

 

[ShermanOaksCoop]

I am in Sherman Oaks Ca, zip 91423.

@casportspony I neglected to mention that we tried opening the growth with a sterilized razor blade last Friday, 8/25. The growth felt firm and solid, and nothing but blood came out of the incision. I put neosporin on it, gave her some alone time to scab up, and let her back in the flock.

Some of the increase in size since then could be inflammation, but overall it just looks like her infection is progressing in or just under the skin.

 

[rebrascora]

When you opened it up, did you squeeze it really firmly. Chicken puss is solid like cheese, so it won't just oose out like normal puss. I've seen video footage on You Tube where they put a finger inside the mouth and squeeze it out by pushing firmly with that finger once the incision has been made. It looks really brutal but obviously works.
I must confess that I had one where the bulge on her face got huge and I was too much of a wuss to deal with it and eventually she died. I felt bad about that and I have since learned to be more proactive about these things, but it is scary and it does take courage.

 

[casportpony]

I am in Sherman Oaks Ca, zip 91423.

@casportspony I neglected to mention that we tried opening the growth with a sterilized razor blade last Friday, 8/25. The growth felt firm and solid, and nothing but blood came out of the incision. I put neosporin on it, gave her some alone time to scab up, and let her back in the flock.

Some of the increase in size since then could be inflammation, but overall it just looks like her infection is progressing in or just under the skin.

Here, try this place:
https://allanimals-veterinary.com/

 

[ShermanOaksCoop]

All Animals Vets was very nice, but they did not have any openings until next week. They referred me to Capri Plaza Veterinarians, and they were able to see my hen this afternoon.

Dr. Tamura at Capri Plaza was great. It's clear they see a lot of birds, although I don't think many people bring in chickens for economic reasons. Dr. Tamura has a calm, reassuring and knowledgeable manner that put both me and the hen at ease immediately. I explained how the growth has progressed, and what treatments I had administered. She said that the growth was probably not canker, that her best diagnosis without further testing was an abscessed infection, and that it even if the infection is controlled with an antibiotic, the growth would not shrink without surgery to drain the abscess. The estimate for surgery and post op care was just over $1000.

I like my chickens, but I'm not as wealthy as Jeff Bezos. I told Dr. Tamura I could not afford the surgery and asked if I could just give my hen the recommended meds (2 weeks of doxycycline, meloxicam for pain, and nolvasan to clean the wound daily) and worry about draining the abscess down the road. She said that was a reasonable treatment regime, so that's what we're doing. One of her assistants gave me a great demonstration of how to give a chicken a pill.

The plan now is to give her the new meds for five days, hope there is enough improvement to warrant another draining effort, and take it from there.

I have a new sense of optimism, and I pray the doxycycline knocks down the infection soon.

If anyone out there has any reactions or recommendations, I'd love to hear therm.

 

[Kiki]

How is she doing today with the meds so far?

 

[ShermanOaksCoop]

The meds perked her up a good bit. She's slower than normal, but better than just before the trip to the vet. She's active and eating reasonably well, particularly if she has her own dish away from the rest of the flock.

On the other hand, the bump has gotten bigger, to the point that her right eye is now closed by the swelling. I've tried peeling away some of the scabby covering on the cheek in front of the eye the last couple days, which she tolerates pretty well, but so far it doesn't seem to be making any difference.

The rest of the flock seems fine. I am putting a 4 in 1 antibiotic in their water to head off any new disease before it gets established.

I had planned to try cleaning out the abscess two days ago (Friday), but I've been reluctant to go after the growth aggressively because it has been extremely hot here, and the girls are already stressed by the heat. The weather should be better today, and more or less normal (low 80's) starting tomorrow, so if I don't see some dramatic improvement from the meds I'll try some surgery.

Does anyone have any suggestions on the best approach? I'm leaning towards an incision perpendicular to the line of her beak on the theory that is less likely to damage nerves.