Help! WHAT is this?? Graphic photo!

[burnyourmoney]

FWIW If she was a rabbit, that would be caused by dirty bedding.

 

[Chicklette 1]

My coop and pen are cleaned at least once a day and usually more. I do not leave any poop laying around because I don't like it so I highly doubt it would have come from that. It is almost as if there is a slit with a round mass in the middle of it. It could be the spider bite that was suggested but I do not understand the split it the tissue. I cotton balled her with lots of HP and then put a triple antibiotic ointment on her. She seems to be resting comfortably. I will continue to do this 2 to 3 times a day and see if I make any progress . I do not have an antibiotic to give her. Every time I take a chicken to the vet, it is very expensive so I will see what I can do.

 

[BunnyMomma]

Hi, I agree with the other person that thinks it is a spider bite. The maggots probably did the hen a favor and cleaned up the damaged flesh. Get some betadine (provodone iodine) (you can get it at the dollar tree or dollar store). cleanse the tissue every day for at least 3 days with the betadine. You can use some (blood stop) on the wound, or some ashes from a wood stove. Keep her dry and quiet for a few days and it should heal up in a few weeks. You could also stitch the wound up after dressing it with the iodine. I have stitched up a few chickens and ducks with good results. Betadine is the key. Antibiotics in her water would be great as well. Tetroxy HCA 280 is pretty good and you can get it at TSC of your local farm supply store.
If you stitch her up, you can cover her head with a dark sock while you sew the wound shut. They go to sleep when you cover up their eyes with something dark. I would attempt to sew it up, because of the location. You can also add a small liquid bandage of (super glue) over the stitches to seal up the wound and help to keep it clean. It will be hard to keep clean and dry on her lower abdomen. I hope she is OK. That looks like a pretty bad wound.
Best of luck with her.

 

[Chicklette 1]

Thank you all for your responses. I will try to get the antibiotic and the betadine asap. I really do not know about the stitching because the tissue is very leathery and somewhat necrotic. I do not know if stitches would hold. There is only one little dot that is actually open and moist. The big round center is mostly dry and tough feeling. This is just about the strangest thing I have seen on any of my chickens. The slit is not like a wound. Oh well, I will try my best and thanks everyone.

 

[Tracyree]

Years ago I had a rooster with something like that. It was Really big and on his chest. Vet said it was some sort of absess that became infected. Mine was so far gone by the time I found it that he had to be put down. (he had been acting fine)

May be a tumor/absess or a wound that got infected?

I'd saybthe only thing you can do is antibiotics and antiseptics.

Good luck!

 

[LuvinChickens]

Quote: Cell Migration by Shagbark Bantams

This may help for future problems. It come from http://www.shagbarkbantams.com/contents.htm

 

[josebeth1]

I was amazed to see this pic!! This is absolutely, 100% identical to what we experienced in a 3 yo Comet about a month ago!! Exact same place on her behind, exact same description of the maggots, etc. Therefore, I don't believe this could be a spider bite and we would both have such an identical occurrence! We also picked out all the maggots, cleaned it well with mild soap/water and triple antibiotic the first day, then kept it sprayed with bluekote after that. I also injected 1.5cc Tylan50 for 3 days. She acted well out with the flock, but I kept checking her abcessed wound and found that it just became very hard in that area but skin never seemed to regrow. With time, I also saw that she had less and less color in her comb and also her feathers lost color like crazy. I found that her abdomen had become swollen and hard as a rock. It felt like someone had literally put a rock in it that was too big and the skin was going to burst any minute. I really became sadly convinced that there was no saving her and called a friend who is a veterinarian from South America. Before coming to the USA, he worked for a time overseeing poultry production houses in his country and therefore has more than the usual amount of chicken knowledge for a small animal vet. Since I just cannot bring myself to kill my own birds, he kindly offered to euthanize her and then opened her up and did a thorough gross examination. He said she was full of material that looked like cheese--all the result of malfunctioning oviduct. He saw how other organs had been affected, including some fatty liver, but thought that everything was a result of the oviduct situation.

Are these two things related? Who knows? But my vet friend does want to look for powdered Tylan to put in the water as I'm suddenly having many more problems with my flock. He says the Duramycin which I suggested (easy to get at TSC) has been overused which is why he preferred the Tylan. He also says this needs to be a long-term treatment which is why he doesn't feel that injections will work.

My whole flock turns 3 years old in one week and I had never realized before how much this seems to be the age for so many problems to set in. Not a happy discovery!!

 

[lynn1961]

diluted betadine will also help knock out the infection, but it is hard on the tissue like hydrogen peroxide is, hp debrides tha area somewhat, betadine will dry the area out, i would cleanse it with the peroxide, rinse it with the diluted betadine and put an antibiotic cream on it, the cream will not hold the drainage on like an antibiotic ointment will, that would be an hard area to put a dressing on since the vent is near by.

 

[Hellinahelmet]

Looks like a brown recluse bite

 

[Red Barn Farms]

I'm glad you used the triple ointment because I was going to suggest treating any sign of infection with Neosporin Ointment. Could she have been attacked by a small predator? The wound almost looks like a shallow cut. You think there is any chance of a nail or any other sharp foreign object in the coop or run areas?

You might also want to add a sprinkle of garlic powder to her food for awhile to ward off any further signs on infection. The main thing at this point is watching her for sighs of shock.


Symptoms: fluffed feathers, not moving, rapid shallow breathing, head may be turned with eyes partly closed.

Treatment: Place bird in warm (86-90 degrees F), secluded, dimly lit environment.