Large Lump on Chest Near Crop

[ArrowheadG]

I haven't been able to check on my girls for a bit, but this still came up extremely fast. There's a large lump next to my Speckled Sussex's crop. I never noticed it before. It's hard to tell whether it hurts her, because I can't touch it without her trying to run away (I either grab her by her sides which she hates and will struggle to get free or try to touch it on the ground, and she doesn't like anything other than her back being pet while on the ground.) If anyone can tell me what this may be (other than the most obvious assumption of what this could be), please tell me! I will try and get her to a vet, but I can't be 100% sure that will happen, as my family isn't very wealthy and have very many money issues. I would like to be able to avoid this.

 

[micstrachan]

Honestly, I think it actually is her crop. Can you check on her after she goes to roost? Then check her crop again in the morning.

 

[Kessel23]

It is hard to see anything from this angle. It just looks like an oversized crop to me. Has she been off feed recently? If a hen does not have food available she will eat a ton when food is made available. Their crops get very big when this happens and they usually go up onto the roosts to rest and process the food. Is their two lumps or is their just one? If it is just the one massive lump then it is probably just from her eating more than usual in a short period of time. Chickens had crops to store food, in the wild feed is not available all the time so if they stumble upon a big stash of seeds or other feed they will stuff themselves with as much as they can before another chicken comes and eats it.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

The angle makes it hard to tell what's going on but without more info it looks kind of like she just pigged out.

Check her in the morning and see if there is any improvement.

 

[ArrowheadG]

Honestly, I think it actually is her crop. Can you check on her after she goes to roost? Then check her crop again in the morning.

She has two crops if that's the case. I might be able to get a picture of her front, but I used that one because you were able to see the lump much better.

 

[ArrowheadG]

It is hard to see anything from this angle. It just looks like an oversized crop to me. Has she been off feed recently? If a hen does not have food available she will eat a ton when food is made available. Their crops get very big when this happens and they usually go up onto the roosts to rest and process the food. Is their two lumps or is their just one? If it is just the one massive lump then it is probably just from her eating more than usual in a short period of time. Chickens had crops to store food, in the wild feed is not available all the time so if they stumble upon a big stash of seeds or other feed they will stuff themselves with as much as they can before another chicken comes and eats it.

There's two lumps: her crop and then this unusual lump. And we've fed her as normal, there has been no lack of food to her. Even if there one, I doubt that would explain the two lumps (again, one being her crop.)

 

[micstrachan]

There's two lumps: her crop and then this unusual lump. And we've fed her as normal, there has been no lack of food to her. Even if there one, I doubt that would explain the two lumps (again, one being her crop.)

Ok, if you are certain that is not her crop, that changes things. I suspect a tumor or cyst. Is it firm? Squishy? Can you part the feathers and examine the skin? See if it’s inflamed/pink or vascularized (with lots of blood vessels). See if there is a wound that could have gotten infected. Does it seem to be affecting her behavior, eating, drinking, breathing? Posting a video of her body language might be helpful. Sorry about your girl.

 

[micstrachan]

Oh! Another thought! It could possibly be an air sac. Again, parting the feathers and looking closely at the skin, along with feeling it’s consistency, will probably help us all help you figure it out.

 

[Kessel23]

Can we have a picture that shows both lumps at the same time?

 

[ArrowheadG]

Oh! Another thought! It could possibly be an air sac. Again, parting the feathers and looking closely at the skin, along with feeling it’s consistency, will probably help us all help you figure it out.

Okay! Thanks for your help. Unfortunately, it's too dark out right now to check, and she's probably asleep, but I will look at it more closely tomorrow!