Hard bony lump high on left hand side of chickens neck?

[PopsAndHen]

This morning I noticed a small, hard lump on the left hand side of my bantams neck. She doesn't seem completely herself but she is eating and drinking as normal, her combe is bright red and her poo seems to be normal in terms of quantity, consistency and colour.

I have noticed after drinking water she gasps, and its followed by a gurgling noise.

I initially though that this could be impacted or sour crop, though I'm not sure given her normal eating/drinking/pooing and the fact the lump feels quite bony and is located high on the left of the neck, not the right.

She was wormed with Flubenvet 1 month ago.

Has anybody experienced this before?

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[azygous]

Can you post closeup photos of this lump? Is it pushing out from the feathers so it's visible without parting the feathers? If you palpate it (move it with your fingers) does it seem to "float" under the skin or does it feel "anchored" in one spot?

If you can't get a photo of it, answer the above questions and measure how far the lump is from the ear lobe, how far from the beak, and how far from the wing shoulder. (triangulation) This will allow is to picture where the lump is on the neck without seeing an actual photo.

Chickens get cancers all the time. Sometimes they are malignant, and others are benign. Sometimes the lumps are cysts. Tumors are rock hard. Cysts are softer. Cancers have a root and won't move around when you try to move them with your fingers. Cysts "float". If your chicken has a malignant tumor, some of it may be growing into her esophagus and airway. Is she having trouble eating? Is she losing weight?

We've had a few cases of poultry ticks and regular ticks embedding into chickens here lately. If it's a tick, you will see it's bloated body, usually silver and shiny. If that's what your chicken has, put Vaseline on it, wait until it suffocates and then pick it off and treat with an antiseptic.

 

[PopsAndHen]

Can you post closeup photos of this lump? Is it pushing out from the feathers so it's visible without parting the feathers? If you palpate it (move it with your fingers) does it seem to "float" under the skin or does it feel "anchored" in one spot?

If you can't get a photo of it, answer the above questions and measure how far the lump is from the ear lobe, how far from the beak, and how far from the wing shoulder. (triangulation) This will allow is to picture where the lump is on the neck without seeing an actual photo.

Chickens get cancers all the time. Sometimes they are malignant, and others are benign. Sometimes the lumps are cysts. Tumors are rock hard. Cysts are softer. Cancers have a root and won't move around when you try to move them with your fingers. Cysts "float". If your chicken has a malignant tumor, some of it may be growing into her esophagus and airway. Is she having trouble eating? Is she losing weight?

We've had a few cases of poultry ticks and regular ticks embedding into chickens here lately. If it's a tick, you will see it's bloated body, usually silver and shiny. If that's what your chicken has, put Vaseline on it, wait until it suffocates and then pick it off and treat with an antiseptic.

Hi Azygous,

Thanks for your reply!

I've tried to get a picture but unfortunately nothing shows up on camera.

The lump isn't visible without parting the feathers and feels anchored to one spot.

The lump is about an inch from the earlobe, 1.5 inches from the beak and around 2 inch from the wing shoulder.

I've checked for ticks but there's doesn't appear to be anything of this description.

Could this potentially be a cancer?

 

[azygous]

Yeah, sounds like a cancer tumor. They have roots that anchor them in place so you can's move it around under the outer skin layer. The worst thing about tumors is, like ice bergs, often most of it is growing where you can't see it. If it's growing inward toward her esophagus and airway, she's going to have trouble eating and drinking if she doesn't already.

Watch her eat. See if she does weird neck contortions as she swallows. She may cough.

Examine her keel bone to see if she's lost weight. If she has, then the tumor is already affecting her eating and making it difficult for her to get enough calories. If she isn't laying, she may already be too thin to ovulate.

 

[PopsAndHen]

Yeah, sounds like a cancer tumor. They have roots that anchor them in place so you can's move it around under the outer skin layer. The worst thing about tumors is, like ice bergs, often most of it is growing where you can't see it. If it's growing inward toward her esophagus and airway, she's going to have trouble eating and drinking if she doesn't already.

Watch her eat. See if she does weird neck contortions as she swallows. She may cough.

Examine her keel bone to see if she's lost weight. If she has, then the tumor is already affecting her eating and making it difficult for her to get enough calories. If she isn't laying, she may already be too thin to ovulate.

Hi Azygous,

Thanks for your reply. Is there anything that can be done to treat a cancer tumour? Is it worth taking her to a vet?

 

[azygous]

Only if the vet knows their way around a chicken anatomy and won't make matters worse by trying to dig it out. If you live in a large city, you have a better chance of finding an avian vet than around farm and ranch country.

Be aware that not all tumors are cancer. I have a thirteen-year old hen with a slow growing benign tumor on her head that she's had for half her life. It caused blindness in the eye under the tumor but she leads an otherwise normal and happy life and is top of the pecking order.

Please assess the hen's ability to eat and drink. If she's choking when she tries to swallow, then I would use an avian vet if you can find one. If it doesn't seem to be interfering with her life, I would just leave it alone.

 

[PopsAndHen]

Only if the vet knows their way around a chicken anatomy and won't make matters worse by trying to dig it out. If you live in a large city, you have a better chance of finding an avian vet than around farm and ranch country.

Be aware that not all tumors are cancer. I have a thirteen-year old hen with a slow growing benign tumor on her head that she's had for half her life. It caused blindness in the eye under the tumor but she leads an otherwise normal and happy life and is top of the pecking order.

Please assess the hen's ability to eat and drink. If she's choking when she tries to swallow, then I would use an avian vet if you can find one. If it doesn't seem to be interfering with her life, I would just leave it alone.

Ok, thank you so much for your help and advice!