Lumps on back of neck

[LaurenCG1]

Background: One of my Silkies has a respiratory disease and lice. I'm currently treating her lice, and she hasn't had a flare up of her respiratory issues in a while.

When I was bathing her (for lice) I discovered a series of lumps on the back of her neck (size of a scotch mint). She also has a smaller one by her eye. I've been doing warm compresses on the one by her eye for 5 days and there hasn't been any discharge or change.

I can't find any cause for these lumps, or how to treat them (the scab is from her scratching)

 

[CluckerFamily]

I have no idea what those lumps are.
My first thought was maybe ticks but that doesn't make sense with your description.

 

[Eggcessive]

Was she vaccinated for Mareks disease? I really have no idea what the bumps are from, but chickens can get ingrown feather cysts, pecks that can abscess, and Mareks disease can cause skin lesions. Could you see a vet?

 

[LaurenCG1]

Her bump situation never got better or worse. Unfortunately she died last night

I don't think she was ever vaccinated for anything. I adopted her from a family that couldn't take care of them. I had taken her to the vet a month ago where they diagnosed her with a respiratory disease, and said it was untreatable and would lead to death. I had been hand feeding and watering her for the past week.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. It would be important to know if she had Mareks. If you are in the US, most state poultry labs will do a necropsy and testing. The body would need to be kept cold and sent today if you still have the body and want to do this. Here is a link for state vets:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

 

[LaurenCG1]

This may be ignorant, but what's the point with testing, if all my other birds had already been in contact with her? They would all have a strain in them already.

 

[Eggcessive]

I guess it would give some relief if it wasn’t Mareks that killed your hen. Many of us do home necropsies to look for possible causes of death, and take pictures of the liver, intestines, and other organs or findings. That might show a cause of death if it was reproductive, a blocked gizzard, or other causes. It also could possibly show some signs of Mareks, even though it is not a diagnosis. Many chickens with Mareks tumors will have a spotted liver or tiny tumors along the intestines.