Hard lump on Barred rock's back

[H3xan01c]

I realize this is an old thread but it is exactly what I found on my hen this morning. Barred Rock, purchased as a day old in August. Started laying a couple months ago. I have 14 hens and have found that I usually get 13 occasionally all 14. I noticed this morning the feathers missing on her back and had time to take a look. I found this cyst like hard lump. gentle probing seems to feel like a hard marble sized lump. I will post this on a new thread as well. I have separated this bird from the others to determine what it is without exposing them more to it just in case. Any help is appreciated knowledge in numbers eh.

cheers,
Wayne

 

[Eggcessive]

Cysts can be very common in chickens. Certain diseases can cause the growth of tumors all over the entire body inside and out. Mareks disease and Lymphoid Leukosis are the 2 that I know of. If she had one of those, the whole flock would have already been exposed, so I would probably let her remain with them for company, unless you are planning to cull her if she indeed has one of those. Cysts can develop anytime, and peck wounds or injuries can also cause an abscess. Watch the growth, measure it every few weeks, and then let us know what happens.

 

[H3xan01c]

thanks for the reply Eggcessive, this being the start of my 2nd year and 2nd flock I am new to the challenges and welcome any advice. I would cull any bird that was in pain or could cause a threat to the flock I have always felt that is part of the responsibility of caring for animals. Its part of the reason I took on the chickens so that I could teach that to my children. I had this hen away from the others yesterday and last night after reading about some possible causes I chose to see if it was an ingrown feather type of issue.
I cleaned the area cut back a couple feathers then disinfected the area. I made a small cut on one side in the skin, very little blood. I then used a dental pick I had to probe in around the hard spot. The hen didn't resist much but was a little uncomfortable obviously. It turned out that the object was not round but cupped like a thick potato chip. I was able to gently pry it out and pull it out with some needle nose pliers. I rinsed out the wound, with distilled water, which seemed to be only a separation of the skin from the bird so I assume didn't enter the subdermal? layer.
There was no blood. I used a cotton swab to disinfect again with hydrogen peroxide. she was left to heal overnight in the separate cage. she ate right away and drank some water. She seemed good this morning,no blood spots or redness and her wound is slightly covered. So I put her back in with the flock and watched for a while. She seemed fine and there was no attempts at pecking her back.

for reference here is a couple pictures of what I removed.



thanks again
Wayne

 

[Eggcessive]

That's interesting. Thanks for the photos. If you have any other problems with her post back here again. I hope she heals well.

 

[chocolateloversfarm]

is this what it looked like before it got pecked?

 

[renk777]

Similar boat...barred cochin bantam...hard lump the size of a golf ball in the middle of her back. Noticed she was off but I don't know that it's due to the lump. She had a developing lice infestation that I'm now treating. The lump is so hard and odd. And came pretty fast as we hold them often and this is the first I'm noticing it. I plan to give her a soak/bath to relieve the itchies and soften any scales once the poultry dust has a chance to work. Might try as you did and make an incision and see if I can see/remove whatever is under her skin. If anyone has any more info, I'd greatly appreciate it!