Mass on the underside of my chick

[sparkle]

My Wyandotte chick (1 of 8 some are Dominique and some are Oprington) is exactly one month old. As I picked her up today I noticed a mass on her underside.

It was squishy to the touch and appeared reddish through her white skin.
It is the size of half of a ping pong ball attached to the underside (rump end) of her.

It also has only a few feathers (as opposed to the rest of her which are coming in like gangbusters.

She seems normal otherwise. rooting in the dirt and playing with the other seven. None of the others appear to have anything wrong.

She eats purina start grow and I have fed them some cantalope as well.

Her poops have looked normal, solid with a white cap.

She is bedded on hay.

I am new to this and any help would be great.

 

[sparkle]

Help is anyone out there?

 

[Judy]

I would guess that it is a hernia. Just a guess. Does it look or feel like there could be intestines moving around inside?

 

[sparkle]

I can feel things inside there, but not sure if it is intestines or other organs. If it is a hernia, what should i do?
THanks!

 

[Judy]

I really do not know.

In people, you wear a truss, simply a pressure band of some sort to keep it from popping out further, or to hold it in. Or, most often, you have surgery, which usually requires an artificial replacement for the ruptured or missing piece of abdominal wall. I have not read anything about treating it in a chick successfully. Have read a few posts where the chick died when it ruptured or strangulated (the latter means the circulation to the contents of the hernia gets cut off.) In people, a truss does not cure anything, only aids managing discomfort, and perhaps keeps it from strangulating. And yes, a hernia is uncomfortable. However -- my experience is mostly with adults with hernias, not newborns. Human newborns do get umbilical hernias, and sometimes they do resolve on their own.

Many on here would no doubt recommend culling. I suppose you could try a band of vet wrap around the body and hope it improves with growth. I have absolutely no idea whether that could work.

Also, remember, hernia is only a guess. I imagine it could also be some sort of blister, for example, and could heal. But yours rather looked like it was at the umbilicus, a common site for a hernia. Perhaps do some chicken anatomy research and see if that is how it looks to you.

I know this sounds pretty negative; I am trying to be realistic, only. I do wish you and the chick well.

 

[threehorses]

First thing I would do would be make sure she's up in bedding of soft compressed-type pine shavings, very clean, very dry. She's a heavier baby and if this is a blister (hard to tell from the pictures) then this will help. Clean the area gently. See if you can see loops of intestines through the section. Keep her away from all the others in case they decide to peck this very sensitive skin there.

Make sure she still is in the right temperatures, is eating, drinking, etc.

I'd like to see a hernia ruled out. Can you look (do this gently) and actually see intestines through the delicate skin? When you say you can feel things, are you feeling them through a thin layer of muscle too or just through skin?

I'm with ddawn in that I suspect this is a hernia but hope that it's not.

 

[sparkle]

Thanks for the advice ddawn and three horses.

I don't feel anything specific inside of the mass today. It feels like a solid lump. Hernia sounds likely to me tough because it seemed smaller when I first felt it, then larger after she wiggled a little and jumped on and off of my hand a few times.

She still seems happy though so I think I will leave her be and see what happens. Any further suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[threehorses]

Not really, just monitor the situation, keep looking at it to see if you see a split in what is supposed to be the membrane that is usually closed where the intestines are. That membrane (a muscle) usually is covered by another membrane (the skin).

If you see that area start to sag, you will want to either cull the bird or have the hernia opening (inside the skin) closed up surgically so that the intestines don't come out and pinch, "strangulate', and cause issues.

I'd compare your situation with this one:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=2515530

See if that looks similar, etc. In other words it would be nice to rule this out. There are two posters on the same board who talk about their experience with hernias, etc. Unfortunately this story didn't have a good ending, but it's better to be prepared and think in advance to be prepared.

I wouldn't worry terribly about it as worry usually heals nothing but the stress can make you sick.

/hugs

 

[sparkle]

I read the whole thread and it does sound similiar to what my girl has.

The pics look a lot like it too.

The worst part, as one of the other owners described, is she seems so happy.

I'm going to wait and see a little bit more to make sure it is what it seems - if so I'll have to cull her before something tramatic happens.

Thanks so much!

 

[PineBurrowPeeps]

Hi,
I have a Salmon Faverolle Rooster chick who has this same issue. In his case, I did exploratory surgery on him to see what was going on and what I found was that his keel bone was curved upwards, and his ribcage was too small to fit all of his organs.
In the protruding lump was his entire gizzard and a few loops of intestine. There was no way to fit it in the body cavity.
I opened up a nearly 2" incision and closed him up with 8 stitches. That was about 3 weeks ago and he is perfectly fine and healed, sutures removed. I could do nothing for him but put him back and sew him up.
It does not appear to affect him at all, he eats perfectly fine, drinks, poops, runs, etc.
It looked exactly like what you have going on. If she is acting normal, I would let it be.