d'anver lovers,discuss the breed and post some pics!

[speckledhen]

D'Anver hens are usually pocket pets, completely willing to be carried everywhere and to sit with you 24/7. I've had them for four years and it's always difficult to hold three or four at a time, LOL. They're worse than any other breed I've ever seen for the hens loving attention.

 

[bhj123]

I recently hatched out a buff chick with stripes down its back. What colors could it possibly be?

 

[Backwoods Bntms]

Most likely buff columbian, what were the parents?

 

[speckledhen]

I may lose my porcelain hen, Maura. She started walking with her tail down weeks ago. Thought she felt bad, examined her over and over, didn't find anything, nothing in abdomen, no leg injuries that I could tell. She was eating, drinking and flying and roosting fine, still is. Then, about a week ago, I tried again to find the cause, ran my hand over her back and she squawked loudly like it hurt. Then I had DH hold her so I could raise the feathers and see and her entire back end on top around the oil gland is a huge knot, purplish with stretched skin. I didn't know if it was an infection, impaction or a tumor but in case of infection, the only thing I can really treat with it being so painful, I started her on strong antibiotics (Cipro we had on hand) and a few days of aspirin. She has been on it for a week and the area doesn't seem as taut but it's still a huge ball of something on her entire back end. I fear it may be an oil gland tumor or it may be something completely unrelated to the oil gland and just happens to be in that area. I am not going to take her to the vet, just an executive decision, because she seems that she only has issues with the males messing with her (understandable, considering where the problem is) and otherwise, doesn't seem like she is really hurting unless we mess with the area.

This is how it looked the first day we found it--it probably wasn't as enlarged at first, which is why I didn't feel anything the first few times I examined her. I've never had anything like this before, any ideas?

From my thumb on the left of the picture, that is where the swelling begins, goes down the sides, like a huge golf ball under the skin back there. Her feathers seem okay, like the oil gland is still working so it may have nothing to do with that at all, just deceptive.

 

[bhj123]

Most likely buff columbian, what were the parents?

That's the thing they were hatched from shipped eggs.
It also has yellow feet.

 

[chickee]

That's the thing they were hatched from shipped eggs.
It also has yellow feet.

Does it look like the chick with stripes on the right? That is a buff Columbian that turned out to be a rooster.

 

[LavenderCrow]

I may lose my porcelain hen, Maura. She started walking with her tail down weeks ago. Thought she felt bad, examined her over and over, didn't find anything, nothing in abdomen, no leg injuries that I could tell. She was eating, drinking and flying and roosting fine, still is. Then, about a week ago, I tried again to find the cause, ran my hand over her back and she squawked loudly like it hurt. Then I had DH hold her so I could raise the feathers and see and her entire back end on top around the oil gland is a huge knot, purplish with stretched skin. I didn't know if it was an infection, impaction or a tumor but in case of infection, the only thing I can really treat with it being so painful, I started her on strong antibiotics (Cipro we had on hand) and a few days of aspirin. She has been on it for a week and the area doesn't seem as taut but it's still a huge ball of something on her entire back end. I fear it may be an oil gland tumor or it may be something completely unrelated to the oil gland and just happens to be in that area. I am not going to take her to the vet, just an executive decision, because she seems that she only has issues with the males messing with her (understandable, considering where the problem is) and otherwise, doesn't seem like she is really hurting unless we mess with the area. This is how it looked the first day we found it--it probably wasn't as enlarged at first, which is why I didn't feel anything the first few times I examined her. I've never had anything like this before, any ideas? From my thumb on the left of the picture, that is where the swelling begins, goes down the sides, like a huge golf ball under the skin back there. Her feathers seem okay, like the oil gland is still working so it may have nothing to do with that at all, just deceptive.

I'm so sorry about your hen! My first reaction would be to lance it with a sterile needle. You can buy them at Tractor Supply for a couple bucks. It may be incredible painful, though, and might not even help if it's badly impacted or a tumor...

 

[speckledhen]

Quote:
We have plenty of needles since we have administered penicillin from time to time for injuries and such but I hesitate to even try to penetrate it and introduce possibly more infection. She's been on the most powerful antibiotic I can imagine, the one that saved my rooster Zane after one after the other failed on a stubborn soft tissue infection. She acts normal except for not being able to raise her tail and completely avoiding the roosters. The reason I think it may be something other than the actual oil gland now is her feathers are not drying out and my fingers feel slightly greasy after touching the gland.

 

[LavenderCrow]

We have plenty of needles since we have administered penicillin from time to time for injuries and such but I hesitate to even try to penetrate it and introduce possibly more infection. She's been on the most powerful antibiotic I can imagine, the one that saved my rooster Zane after one after the other failed on a stubborn soft tissue infection. She acts normal except for not being able to raise her tail and completely avoiding the roosters. The reason I think it may be something other than the actual oil gland now is her feathers are not drying out and my fingers feel slightly greasy after touching the gland.

I've read that birds can get infected feather follicles or feather cysts. Maybe it could be that as well?

 

[speckledhen]

Quote:
I've thought of that, seen some over the years, but that would be one heck of an infected follicle. Holding a tiny bird still enough to find something would be hard. I'd have to start pulling on feathers poking through the skin to see if one was curled up in there and needed some encouragement to come out but this is tricky, involving so much area, I'm not sure where to start. She isn't one who loves being held in the first place and this breed is so small, just the exam could dislocate something while she's struggling.

Thanks for your help and suggestions. I've thought of pretty much all that I've seen personally plus researched what could be wrong with the oil gland. Beyond that, it could be just about anything. If a tumor, of course, nothing I can do for her. Sometimes, I've seen birds rally and their bodies take care of an issue on its own. I've seen cysts on hens like the ones humans get with tissue from other body parts in it, forgot the name but they can have teeth and such in there. One hen has one now on her bum. One who died a few months ago had one and I opened it up and found odd stuff in there, but it was not the cause of death (she was older and had lived with it for years).