Is this bumble breast? With photos

[Yvonne49]

Hi All, I have an Orpington hen who has been acting a bit off the last few days. We are unsure of her age, as we inherited her when we purchased our house. She is at least 6 years old. She has been withdrawn and not eating as she usually would. I picked her up a few weeks ago and she was her usual chunky self (she is usually quite a big heavy Orpington). But last night when I went to investigate her (check her mouth, feet, body etc) I found what looks like scabs on her breast bone. It doesn’t appear to be inflamed or irritated. She is a favourite of our rooster, so has been wearing a saddle for the past couple of weeks as her back was irritated, so I am unsure if this injury has been caused by him mounting her and her breast bone hitting the ground - he is quite large and heavy, so an injury could have been caused to her keel due to him. As she is quite elderly, I am unsure of what to do. I don’t want to cause her any excess stress. Should I be treating this like bumblefoot and debriding it?

 

[dawg53]

She is probably rubbing her breast bone on the roost at night causing the injury. You can put round pipe insulation foam on the roost, duct tape it so it doesnt come loose or fall off.
It would be best to get her started on amoxicillin for the injury.
Dosage is one 250mg capsule or tablet once a day for 10 days.

 

[Eggcessive]

That is a breast blister which can become abscessed or scabbed over. It comes from pressure on the breast bone from lying on a rough roost or on damp or rough bedding. It could just be that she spends a lot of time lying, causing a pressure sore. Chickens can have those also with a lameness issue, such as mycoplasma synovitis. That causes swollen ankle and knee joints. But it sounds like she is just more sedentary. I would clean it with Betadine or chlorhexidene daily. If it seems abscessed you could remove the scab and drain it. There could be solid yellow pus inside.

 

[Yvonne49]

Thank you both for your response. I didn’t think she put her breast on the roost at night, but now I’ve been checking every night, she does! I have isolated her with another antibiotic chooky and wrapped their roost in a few layers of fabric until I get a pool noodle. Thank you!

 

[arubio92]

Thank you both for your response. I didn’t think she put her breast on the roost at night, but now I’ve been checking every night, she does! I have isolated her with another antibiotic chooky and wrapped their roost in a few layers of fabric until I get a pool noodle. Thank you!

Did you end up removing the scab? I have one girl with the same issue and I'm not sure on how to proceed

 

[lizo97]

That is a breast blister which can become abscessed or scabbed over. It comes from pressure on the breast bone from lying on a rough roost or on damp or rough bedding. It could just be that she spends a lot of time lying, causing a pressure sore. Chickens can have those also with a lameness issue, such as mycoplasma synovitis. That causes swollen ankle and knee joints. But it sounds like she is just more sedentary. I would clean it with Betadine or chlorhexidene daily. If it seems abscessed you could remove the scab and drain it. There could be solid yellow pus inside.

I have a chicken like this and everyone is telling me not to drain it!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Please note that @Eggcessive is an Educator. See the black tag by her name? That means she is one of the most respected individuals here on BYC and her advice can be trusted. You will do well to listen to her.

 

[Yvonne49]

I have a chicken like this and everyone is telling me not to drain it!

I didn’t have to drain it on our hen, it was hard and flat, and thick. Almost like a callous. She still has a very small scab there, but it continues to improve. I covered their perch in a pool noodle which has helped a lot. Progress was slow as I changed their perches in their house and didn’t realise that it was too high for her to get onto in her old age, so she was sitting on the floor she’s doing really well though - she is approx 4.5kg, so she’s a heavy girl.

 

[Eggcessive]

I have a chicken like this and everyone is telling me not to drain it!

Could you post any pictures? You can clean the breast blister callous with povidone iodine (Betadine or wound wash,) disinfectant or Hibiclens daily. Do you know what caused the blister? Does she have a rough roost bar, or does she lie on the floor or ground much of the time? Make sure the bedding is not damp. Breast blisters are usually from extra pressure on the breast bone (keel) and seen in some birds who spend a lot of time lying down or on the roost.