Infected injury or tumor or abscess...??

[BrutalNoodle22]

Hi! I've been a long time reader on here, but this is my first time posting.

My 3 year old cuckoo maran has a large mass on her neck, with some scabbing and discoloration.

Does anyone know what this might be, and/or how I might be able to help her??

Is it just a bad wound infection, or some kind of tumor, or even mites... something else perhaps??

She was moved inside yesterday and is confined to a crate now. I am now giving her 125mg of amoxicillin twice a day (potentially expired), and I am slathering the entire mass and scabs in Neosporin twice a day.
I also gave her one dose of pour-on ivermectin in case there are mites causing this.

She's eating and drinking normal. Her poop is definitely runny but I don't see worms or anything.

I did see a massive hawk stalking her one day a few weeks ago that I chased away, but I wonder if he tried to grab her when i wasn't looking and injured her...idk!

Thank you all in advance for any guidance you may have!!



Here is some background information, using a super handy questionnaire I found elsewhere on this forum (thanks!):

1) What type of bird , age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.)
Peggy is a 3 yr old cuckoo maran and weighs maybe 2-3 pounds. Thinner than her 2 sisters.

2) What is the behavior, exactly.
Large discolored mass on her neck and scabbing. Skinnier than normal, but otherwise eating and drinking normal, runny poop though.

3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?
Noticed a smallish mass ~2 weeks ago. A week later it was bigger and more discolored and she had lost some weight.

4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?
No

5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
Yes, some hard scabs and maybe bruising? And lots of swelling. A tiny bit of fresh blood this morning I think from her scratching at it a little.

6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
Idk, but there was a huge hawk sitting on the coop roof about to swoop down on them 2-3 weeks ago that I chased away (which is very unusual for us)...idk if it tried to grab Peggy at some point but I never saw it happen....also occasional she'll get pecked by her sisters but never anything extreme ever.

7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
She has been eating her layer crumbles, various grass and bugs in the yard, fresh fruit treats, and water that contains apple cider vinegar, garlic, a vitamin/electrolyte powder mix, and a few drops of VetRx which is their usual water.

8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
Runny. Not bloody

9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
5 days of 125mg amoxicillin, twice a day. 2 day break, then restarted. 1 dose of pour-on ivermectin. Lots of vet wound spray and Neosporin. Just started applying a warm towel compress on the mass too for 20 mins, will try to do that twice a day.

10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?
I would like to try treating this at home first to avoid a huge vet bill, but if my attempts are not working at all, I will try and find the funds to get her looked at by an exotic vet

11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
Included

12) Describe the housing/bedding in use
The coop has a
tile floor over wood. Nest boxes are pine shavings

 

[DLA]

Sounds like she might have gotten injured and it's infected. What you're doing with compresses and wound spray and antibiotic will hopefully help her heal up, keep treating it and see if it improves.

Regarding below - The flock should also have access to a waterer with just plain water and you typically don't need to give vet rx regularly, only when there's a specific reason for using it. I understand being proactive and trying to keep them healthy but you can overdo it with the apple cider vinegar and vitamin/electrolyte mix. Standard layer feed with optional calcium (like oyster shell) on the side should have sufficient nutrients if they're also getting foraging time in the yard. Treats in moderation, fresh fruit can cause loose poop.

7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
She has been eating her layer crumbles, various grass and bugs in the yard, fresh fruit treats, and water that contains apple cider vinegar, garlic, a vitamin/electrolyte powder mix, and a few drops of VetRx which is their usual water.

 

[WingsysRoost]

That does look like it might be infected. It's possible that the hawk tried to get her and the wound was hidden, or something else might have happened. Hopefully, the antibiotics and everything else will help her heal.

I second what was mentioned above about the water additives. When I was first starting out with keeping chickens, I added too many extra things to their water and it didn't go well. I just give plain water now and haven't any issues related to that since.

If it is an infection, which does seem likely based on appearance, a soak in warm water with Epsom salts might be worth a try to help push the infection out. It is quite far up on her neck, so it might be difficult to get her to stay in for long enough, but I've found even a few minutes worth of soaking to be helpful.

Best of luck with her. I hope she heals up quickly.