Feather Cyst or What?

[LateBirdFarms]

(Why is it always 2am when I manage to get things posted?)
I picked up one of my hens to do a general check on her feet and such and encountered some pretty freaky strange growths on her side, just above where her leg meets her body. Kitty is one of my more standoffish hens, so it may have been about a month since she was last handled when I did a mite check and I absolutely do not recall the beginning of any strange bumps or anything like! She's a SFH x Isbar, just over a year old. Theres 4 in total, they're hard, and almost feel like spur or finger nail material, they don't seem to bother her in the least but I can't see how they wouldn't! There's no symptoms of anything else in my flock, her appetite is great, feeding grower crumbles and oyster shells on the side. She lays an egg almost every day, there were a few slightly abnormal shells at the beginning of spring, but they've smoothed out since. She went through a very soft molt in mid winter, Januaryish. I only made it through half my flock, but the girls I did check didn't have anything similar.
I can't seem to find any info on what they may be, but I might not be using the right search terms since I have no clue how to label these! The closest I come up with are feather cyst pictures on canaries. Has anyone seen anything similar?

 

[DobieLover]

Do you have a rooster? That almost looks like an old tear in the skin that healed from the inside out leaving dried up flaps at the ends.
It doesn't look infected. Can you trim off the hard looking dried up protrusions without nipping viable tissue?

 

[LateBirdFarms]

The arrangement actually had me freaking out a bit, since when I first felt it it felt like a silkie foot grabbing back at me through the feathers! And might be a real possiblity with my terribly clumsy silkie roo. I'm going to have a closer look when I've got a second pair of hands to help this afternoon!
I super appreciate your input!

 

[Nonsuchrendezvous]

(Why is it always 2am when I manage to get things posted?)
I picked up one of my hens to do a general check on her feet and such and encountered some pretty freaky strange growths on her side, just above where her leg meets her body. Kitty is one of my more standoffish hens, so it may have been about a month since she was last handled when I did a mite check and I absolutely do not recall the beginning of any strange bumps or anything like! She's a SFH x Isbar, just over a year old. Theres 4 in total, they're hard, and almost feel like spur or finger nail material, they don't seem to bother her in the least but I can't see how they wouldn't! There's no symptoms of anything else in my flock, her appetite is great, feeding grower crumbles and oyster shells on the side. She lays an egg almost every day, there were a few slightly abnormal shells at the beginning of spring, but they've smoothed out since. She went through a very soft molt in mid winter, Januaryish. I only made it through half my flock, but the girls I did check didn't have anything similar.
I can't seem to find any info on what they may be, but I might not be using the right search terms since I have no clue how to label these! The closest I come up with are feather cyst pictures on canaries. Has anyone seen anything similar?
View attachment 2622672View attachment 2622673View attachment 2622722

Hi there - am curious as to how your hen is doing?

 

[LateBirdFarms]

Hi there - am curious as to how your hen is doing?

She's doing quite well! @DobieLover was absolutely correct in the fact that it was a very strange protrusion of dried scabs plus some dried puss (judging from the smell of gym socks). In the end I used hoof nippers to gently nip off bits after soaking for a while until it was down to the skin, this did not phase Kitty in the least! In fact she snacked, then slept through the process, until I got down to the skin level. Once at skin level it looked like waxy plugs in puncture wounds, each a little bit smaller than a quarter. She was soaked in an Epsom bath, and then the sites were cleansed with a diluted peroxide to break down the plug little by little rinsed and coated in ointment. Every few days I've been working at them a little more and they're down to the size of dimes now, and thankfully don't smell like feet anymore!

 

[DobieLover]

She's doing quite well! @DobieLover was absolutely correct in the fact that it was a very strange protrusion of dried scabs plus some dried puss (judging from the smell of gym socks). In the end I used hoof nippers to gently nip off bits after soaking for a while until it was down to the skin, this did not phase Kitty in the least! In fact she snacked, then slept through the process, until I got down to the skin level. Once at skin level it looked like waxy plugs in puncture wounds, each a little bit smaller than a quarter. She was soaked in an Epsom bath, and then the sites were cleansed with a diluted peroxide to break down the plug little by little rinsed and coated in ointment. Every few days I've been working at them a little more and they're down to the size of dimes now, and thankfully don't smell like feet anymore!

Good job! Thanks for the update.