Lump on chicken’s belly

[HarpersHarbor21]

Good afternoon everyone, I hope you’re all having a good Monday so far. My bf and I found what looks like a lump on one of our hen’s lower chest / stomach. I’ll go into detail below. Any help or advice is much appreciated, thank you!


1) What type of bird , age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.)
Gamefowl (cross between a white sweater and silver hatch). She’s around 2-3 years old. I haven’t noticed any significant changes in her weight.

2) What is the behavior, exactly.
She’s acting normal. The lump on her chest doesn’t seem to bug her at all from what I’ve seen.

3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?
I’m uncertain how long the lump has been there or how long it’s looked the way it does right now. She was broody back in April for a long time, and the feathers on her belly never came back. Then the lump showed up.

4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?
No.

5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
No. But the lump almost looks like it has blood underneath it, or the skin is irritated.

6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
We’re worried she could be feather picking and preventing her feathers from growing back fully. However I’ve never seen her actively do this, nor have I seen any of her feathers in the

7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
All of the girls are on Purina Layer Crumble. They also get treats, bird seed and a mealworm mix from the local feed store. But they don’t seem as interested in the chicken feed anymore for some reason. I rarely see them eat it. The hen with the lump is drinking fine, though

8) How does the poop look? Normal?
Bloody? Runny? etc.
Poop is normal.

9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
I’m going to apply sterile saline / wound wash, antibiotic ointment, and we ordered her a vest (chicken harness) just in case she is picking at her belly feathers.

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 help with treating the bird myself, unless it looks serious enough for a vet visit.

11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
Yes, I’ll add it to the post.

12) Describe the housing/bedding in use.
Large coop with hemp bedding. And we have three grain alfalfa on the floor of the run and in the nesting boxes.

 

[TheOddOneOut]

Good afternoon everyone, I hope you’re all having a good Monday so far. My bf and I found what looks like a lump on one of our hen’s lower chest / stomach. I’ll go into detail below. Any help or advice is much appreciated, thank you!


1) What type of bird , age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.)
Gamefowl (cross between a white sweater and silver hatch). She’s around 2-3 years old. I haven’t noticed any significant changes in her weight.

2) What is the behavior, exactly.
She’s acting normal. The lump on her chest doesn’t seem to bug her at all from what I’ve seen.

3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?
I’m uncertain how long the lump has been there or how long it’s looked the way it does right now. She was broody back in April for a long time, and the feathers on her belly never came back. Then the lump showed up.

4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?
No.

5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
No. But the lump almost looks like it has blood underneath it, or the skin is irritated.

6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
We’re worried she could be feather picking and preventing her feathers from growing back fully. However I’ve never seen her actively do this, nor have I seen any of her feathers in the

7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
All of the girls are on Purina Layer Crumble. They also get treats, bird seed and a mealworm mix from the local feed store. But they don’t seem as interested in the chicken feed anymore for some reason. I rarely see them eat it. The hen with the lump is drinking fine, though

8) How does the poop look? Normal?
Bloody? Runny? etc.
Poop is normal.

9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
I’m going to apply sterile saline / wound wash, antibiotic ointment, and we ordered her a vest (chicken harness) just in case she is picking at her belly feathers.

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 help with treating the bird myself, unless it looks serious enough for a vet visit.

11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
Yes, I’ll add it to the post.

12) Describe the housing/bedding in use.
Large coop with hemp bedding. And we have three grain alfalfa on the floor of the run and in the nesting boxes. View attachment 2708347

Looks like an abscess, or a breast blister?

 

[Birdie mom]

The lump on her chest is probably just her crop (which is basically just a storage bag for the hen's food). As for the scab, it is probably just a bruise from falling off the roost. It could be breast blister. Is the wound on the side of her chest, or over her keel (breast bone)? Can you tell if it is just a scab, or does it seem to be an abscess?

And btw, the missing feathers look normal. chickens tend to have very few feathers along their keel.