Help! My chicken has a lump under her beak!!!

[HappyClucker7]

Hey everyone!
So, one of my BRs has developed a small lump under her beak. It's flesh colored and seems to be in an oval shape. I noticed it yesterday and it was about a 1/4 inch long, and has not seemed to have grown since then. It starts about where her mouth starts, and then continues towards the tip of her beak.

She is still eating and drinking normally.

I will try to get a photo but she is very skittish and it is hard to get close to her.

Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[azygous]

Anything but a closeup photo is useless, and to get a closeup, you will need to have someone hold the hen.

 

[ShannonR]

It's possible that a sticker or sliver or something sharp got stuck in the mouth and is effecting the beak. But this is a wild shot in the dark, without any pics or details to go on. Catch that bird, give us some close up photos, and look inside her mouth, to start with.

 

[HappyClucker7]

Ok, thanks for your replies. I will try to get some photos, but in the meantime I am pretty sure it is an abscess. How should I treat her?

 

[azygous]

Chicken pus is waxy and semi-solid. So you need to make an incision across the top of the abscess and push out the pus. Then spray with Vetericyn and glob a bot of antibiotic ointment on it. That ought to do it.

 

[HappyClucker7]

Seriously?! Won't that hurt her? And how am I supposed to hold her head still enough to make the incision? I mean, I'll do it if there really is no other way, but I would rather not have to cut her face open.

 

[azygous]

Your first step is reconciling yourself to doing this and the necessity of it. If this is an abscess, that means infection, and if it's going to heal, the pus and bacteria need to be removed and the wound flushed.

This is a very superficial surgery, if you can even call it that. You're merely making a small very shallow cut in the very thin outer layer of skin. Of course it will be easier if you can enlist a helper to hold her steady.

Wrapping her in a towel tightly to secure her movements with a drape over her eyes will help the process go smoothly.

Or skip it and let nature take its course.

 

[littlepip]

I would cut it open. You should drain out the pus to speed up the recovery. I would also cut a towel (an old one of course.) into strips and wrap her body up, o she can't flap her wings or squirm. Make sure to clean any supplies you might use with rubbing alcohol so they stay sterile. get some poultry wound spray, and spray it on the cut once you're finished. it will help keep out infection.

 

[azygous]

A word about chicken pus. It's solid like cheese curds, not runny like human pus. It doesn't "drain". You need to press it out through the incision.

 

[HappyClucker7]

Ok, thanks everybody. I guess I'll have to do it since it's not improving. Wish me luck!