Older Golden Comet hen with growths on head and beak

[lwphilbeck]

Good evening! I've got a Golden Comet hen who is around 4 years old. About a year ago, I noticed wart-like bumps on her skin around her comb. They never turned black with scabs like pox. And are still on her. Yesterday, she had blood all over her face and thought something had gotten to her. Once I got her cleaned up, I found that she had one of the growths on the bottom pallet of her beak and protruding out the side.

She seems to be fine except she will shake her head frequently. Sometimes the growth goes inside the beak and then it comes out after another shake. I'm worried it will keep her from eating. Should I cut it off? Would that help?

 

[Tonyroo]

@Eggcessive , @Wyorp Rock , this one looks tough.

 

[Eggcessive]

First thoughts were a bad case of fowl pox, but that usually lasts about a month. Does she have any yellow patches inside her beak? Unless there is a chronic form of fowl pox that I don’t know about, I would say this must be tumors, possibly due to a virus such as lymphoid leukosis or Mareks disease. Did any other birds have what looked like fowl pox or any that have had tumors that were unexplained? I am going to tag a few other people to have a look at the pictures above. @casportpony @azygous @Wyorp Rock @dawg53 do you all have any thoughts?

 

[Kanekoded]

Good evening! I've got a Golden Comet hen who is around 4 years old. About a year ago, I noticed wart-like bumps on her skin around her comb. They never turned black with scabs like pox. And are still on her. Yesterday, she had blood all over her face and thought something had gotten to her. Once I got her cleaned up, I found that she had one of the growths on the bottom pallet of her beak and protruding out the side.

She seems to be fine except she will shake her head frequently. Sometimes the growth goes inside the beak and then it comes out after another shake. I'm worried it will keep her from eating. Should I cut it off? Would that help?

My guess would also be fowl pox.

 

[dawg53]

They might be feather follicle cysts:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18646468/

 

[Kanekoded]

Good evening! I've got a Golden Comet hen who is around 4 years old. About a year ago, I noticed wart-like bumps on her skin around her comb. They never turned black with scabs like pox. And are still on her. Yesterday, she had blood all over her face and thought something had gotten to her. Once I got her cleaned up, I found that she had one of the growths on the bottom pallet of her beak and protruding out the side.

She seems to be fine except she will shake her head frequently. Sometimes the growth goes inside the beak and then it comes out after another shake. I'm worried it will keep her from eating. Should I cut it off? Would that help?

Upon closer inspection I might have to change my mind about the fowl pox. You say your bird has had this for a year? Fowl pox tends to come with a lot more scabbing and that doesn't look to me like it's scabby. If I had to second guess it at this point I'd have to say it's some sort of viral papilloma. This definitely peaks my interest. Please keep us all updated.

 

[azygous]

That's right up there with awful stuff happening to a chicken. The lack of crusty lesions and the long duration would lead me to believe this isn't pox. I've never seen anything like this on a chicken. @Kanekoded may be on to something here.

Papilloma warts do happen to dogs and cats and pet birds, so I suppose it could also happen to a chicken. Unfortunately, the usual treatment, surgical removal may not be an option in this case since the area affected is the face and is so extensive. A vet should be consulted if you are interested in treating it. Otherwise, euthanasia would be the best option if these lesions are seriously affecting ability to see, eat, drink and preen.

 

[Kanekoded]

Good evening! I've got a Golden Comet hen who is around 4 years old. About a year ago, I noticed wart-like bumps on her skin around her comb. They never turned black with scabs like pox. And are still on her. Yesterday, she had blood all over her face and thought something had gotten to her. Once I got her cleaned up, I found that she had one of the growths on the bottom pallet of her beak and protruding out the side.

She seems to be fine except she will shake her head frequently. Sometimes the growth goes inside the beak and then it comes out after another shake. I'm worried it will keep her from eating. Should I cut it off? Would that help?

Has this bird been separated from the rest of your flock for a year? Is anyone else in the flock showing signs of it?

 

[Kanekoded]

Okay, so I just got off the phone with my mother after sending her pics of your bird (She has 80 years of experience raising chickens). At first she said, "oh for God's sake that's pox - you know that!" (Insert hard eyeroll here.) Anyway, when I pointed out the lack of crusty scabs associated with pox, she went and took a closer look at the pictures and said she can't recall ever seeing anything like it on a chicken but has seen it on a dog with food allergies. She suggests using the process of elimination. If the bird has been with the rest of the flock for a year and it's the only bird showing signs of it and the bird shows no other signs of sickness, you can rule out anything transmittable. It could tumors or some kind of cancer, if so, you're likely going to have to cull the bird eventually but before you do change the bird's diet to a whole-grain no soy, no corn, organic feed to see if there's any improvement.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Can you get photos of the inside of her beak?