Chicken passed mass that looks like meat

[lisacbc]

I found this mass under where my hen roosts for the night. She is somewhat lethargic today, but is eating, drinking, and pecking around a bit with the flock. I have given electrolyte water and calcium. No sign of infection. chicken molted this fall and has had some complications as she has tried to go back to laying. She recently laid an egg with a very thin shell. And recently (within the last two weeks) laid something else that looked more like an egg without a shell.
Vent is clean. I took her to the vet this afternoon, and the vet said prognosis is not good and that her abdomen feels "a little bit squishier than I would like it to be." but the presence of liquid was not confirmed by x-ray or ultrasound. But said she didn't know what the mass was (I brought it in in a ziplock bag).

Basically I know it doesn't sound good... but I also felt like my vet left some confidence to be desired. Any help from others here identifying the situation would be greatly appreciated.

 

[MarlaMac]

That looks like lash material. It is usually a yellow or brown color, but can also be red.

@Eggcessive is probably better to confirm.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I haven't seen a red lash mass before but I suppose it's possible - do you still have it and if so, can you cut it in half and photograph the inside for verification?

Salpingitis is an infection of the reproductive tract that can be bacterial or viral. If it's bacterial it can be treated with antibiotics.

 

[Vulpes vulpes]

That's very worrying, and if she does have ascitis as well, that's a bad sign

 

[lisacbc]

I haven't seen a red lash mass before but I suppose it's possible - do you still have it and if so, can you cut it in half and photograph the inside for verification?

Salpingitis is an infection of the reproductive tract that can be bacterial or viral. If it's bacterial it can be treated with antibiotics.

I do not still have it. It was a curbside drop-off vet and they did not return the sample. I didn't see any layers to it-- but I also didn't dissect it. Just kind of prodded and pulled at it with a stick.

 

[Eggcessive]

I will tag @Wyorp Rock to take a look at the red mass.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She is somewhat lethargic today, but is eating, drinking, and pecking around a bit with the flock. I have given electrolyte water and calcium.

chicken molted this fall and has had some complications as she has tried to go back to laying. She recently laid an egg with a very thin shell. And recently (within the last two weeks) laid something else that looked more like an egg without a shell.

I took her to the vet this afternoon, and the vet said prognosis is not good and that her abdomen feels "a little bit squishier than I would like it to be." but the presence of liquid was not confirmed by x-ray or ultrasound. But said she didn't know what the mass was (I brought it in in a ziplock bag).

I'm not sure what that would be, I'd also lean toward Salpingitis.
It would be interesting to see the inside, so if she expels any more, if you can cut it open that would be appreciated.

Possible it's an accumulation of lining of the oviduct and some follicle material, but that's not quite it either...didn't seem like it could have been hollow right?

Since she's lethargic and having some troubles coming back into lay after molt. I'd definitely give her the Extra Calcium (at least 300mg Calcium Citrate+D) daily for a week to see if she's able to expel any more material or perhaps it will improve shell quality.

I'm not certain what the vet meant about the abdomen being squishier than she'd like. Did this mean she felt fluid (symptom called Ascites) or is the abdomen more full and pliable like fatty?

With Ascites, usually the abdomen is very tight, so not really squishy.
IF you did suspect fluid, you can try draining to see if that helps improve her quality of life for a while. Alternatively, giving an Aloe Detox can sometimes help with fluid. A lot depends on the condition of the bird, if she's in crisis, then draining may be a better course of action to take since you'd likely have to order the Aloe, plus wait for it to work over the course of a few days.

Do you have an antibiotic on hand?

Sorry for the rambling, I'm in a thinking and typing mode.

I'd work on hydration, get the calcium into her. Access whether or not she has fluid in the abdomen, if so, then consider draining or giving a detox. While you're at it, look her over for lice/mites. When was the last deworming?

 

[lisacbc]

I'm not sure what that would be, I'd also lean toward Salpingitis.
It would be interesting to see the inside, so if she expels any more, if you can cut it open that would be appreciated.

Possible it's an accumulation of lining of the oviduct and some follicle material, but that's not quite it either...didn't seem like it could have been hollow right?

Since she's lethargic and having some troubles coming back into lay after molt. I'd definitely give her the Extra Calcium (at least 300mg Calcium Citrate+D) daily for a week to see if she's able to expel any more material or perhaps it will improve shell quality.

I'm not certain what the vet meant about the abdomen being squishier than she'd like. Did this mean she felt fluid (symptom called Ascites) or is the abdomen more full and pliable like fatty?

With Ascites, usually the abdomen is very tight, so not really squishy.
IF you did suspect fluid, you can try draining to see if that helps improve her quality of life for a while. Alternatively, giving an Aloe Detox can sometimes help with fluid. A lot depends on the condition of the bird, if she's in crisis, then draining may be a better course of action to take since you'd likely have to order the Aloe, plus wait for it to work over the course of a few days.

Do you have an antibiotic on hand?

Sorry for the rambling, I'm in a thinking and typing mode.

I'd work on hydration, get the calcium into her. Access whether or not she has fluid in the abdomen, if so, then consider draining or giving a detox. While you're at it, look her over for lice/mites. When was the last deworming?

No mites present, and I don't know that she's ever been de-wormed.

Her abdomen honestly doesn't feel much different to me than the rest of our little flock. The vet said it seemed a bit distended... but honestly, I am not putting much stock in this vet. She did not sound terribly confident. She said she didn't know what the mass that was passed was and declined to offer me any medication even though I specifically asked about likelihood of these symptoms being caused by infection. She just basically told me she's probably going to die and to just try and keep her comfortable. Which.. is a leap since she didn't do any test for infection or any x-ray and there are no visible outward signs that she is sick other than loose stool, the mass she passed, and moderate lethargy. I also read that distention/swelling is also a normal symptom of infection-- so if there is some distension, then it is could be just from that.

I was able to get some baytril from another local chicken owner, so as of this morning I have her on a course of that for the next week in case of what seems like a probable bacterial infection. I know I will need to give her probiotics as well during and in the wake of that.

I have been giving her 400mg caps of Calcium citrate every couple of days. I can certainly ramp that up and be more consistent. We do need to improve her shell quality so that she is not having any more issues with that.

She is still eating and drinking. We have been providing refreshed electrolytes daily and that has seemed to help with her energy levels some.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

No mites present, and I don't know that she's ever been de-wormed.

Her abdomen honestly doesn't feel much different to me than the rest of our little flock. The vet said it seemed a bit distended... but honestly, I am not putting much stock in this vet. She did not sound terribly confident. She said she didn't know what the mass that was passed was and declined to offer me any medication even though I specifically asked about likelihood of these symptoms being caused by infection. She just basically told me she's probably going to die and to just try and keep her comfortable. Which.. is a leap since she didn't do any test for infection or any x-ray and there are no visible outward signs that she is sick other than loose stool, the mass she passed, and moderate lethargy. I also read that distention/swelling is also a normal symptom of infection-- so if there is some distension, then it is could be just from that.

I was able to get some baytril from another local chicken owner, so as of this morning I have her on a course of that for the next week in case of what seems like a probable bacterial infection. I know I will need to give her probiotics as well during and in the wake of that.

I have been giving her 400mg caps of Calcium citrate every couple of days. I can certainly ramp that up and be more consistent. We do need to improve her shell quality so that she is not having any more issues with that.

She is still eating and drinking. We have been providing refreshed electrolytes daily and that has seemed to help with her energy levels some.

Good.
I'd give her the Baytril and extra calcium.
Eating/drinking is promising.

Hopefully these will make a difference, you're doing all you can for her.

 

[lisacbc]

Thank you for the reassurance and for your input. I know I can't fully control the outcome, but I do want to make sure I am giving her the best chance to recover.