OMGosh - WHAT is this growth?! Warning gross graphic

[ElkMtnCove]

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Thank you. There are pics at the beginning of the thread and I really should tweak to make the color right. The end that I was able to remove the outer hard scab, it was very pink and pointed. Even tho close up, the photos do not show it in much detail. I try to fix and repost when I post the others, hopefully tonight. My husband is curious too and wants to take a close look at it. He's a hunter and has come across some strange things, but nothing like this.

Of course, this afternoon she laid an egg and stopped pecking at it. The blood is no longer fresh. UGH! However, a growth's a growth and many start out benign but left untreated can turn to cancer. Plus given her age, I think overall that thing actually grew pretty fast.

I'm REAL uncomfortable eating her eggs, especially when I sell or give away extras. One family has little kids that just love our eggs and they'll devour as many as we can spare (like 4 dz a wk!).

Everyone on this board has been great about trying to help figure this out and I so appreciate it!

I have no place to keep a solo hen (I will have a bachelor pad for winter but that would be horrible on her and they would all start fighting, they all play nice now).

So, she will be given up for education. It's hard but at least this way her life was not total loss. I will post pics.

Thank you again,
julie

 

[ElkMtnCove]

Ok, it's done with. Feel bad because it did not come from inside her body, it was in the skin only. Her pecking at it made it shrink so keep in mind this originally was at least 2" long, sticking out of her body.

I have to apologize as we did this outside and I had to use the tiny viewfinder (too bright to see the screen) so it didn't capture entirely what I thought I was getting.

What we saw of the pink end was it. The rest was white, not really pus, probably a cyst (?). It was solid, not watery, kinda like fat just not yellow (think prime rib fat, looked just like that). We could see some tiny blood veins going from her skin to the top of the growth. My husband removed it by cutting under the skin, there was not any blood loss. Surprising as when it tore away from her body at the initial wash, a lot flowed out fast.

Here is a photo when I initially tried to wash it and had removed the scab from the top 3/8". I added flash so you can see it better:

This is after she was culled and before removing anything but feathers. Notice it was smaller, probably from loss of blood.

This is what was underneath the growth...surprisingly appears to be normal chicken.

We then sliced the growth in half:

Then removed the scab/shell:

One last closeup of the growth with the outer shell (scab) next to it, but unfortunately the view finder cropped the top:

If I could go back with what I know, I 'may' not have culled her. But looking at such an abnormal ugly thing coming from a food source was not something I want in my flock. Also, since it formed in under 6 months, I can imagine it may have continued to grow or spread and become either an infection or cancer. You all know what would happen once visible to other birds.

So there's the ending to the story of my hen with a weird growth... wish I had some wine.

 

[Davian]

Looks like a cyst on the inside...with keratin (that yellowish hard stuff).

 

[ElkMtnCove]

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I agree about the cyst but the yellowish stuff was chicken fat. Inside was clear, soft but not liquid.

j.

 

[Davian]

Quote:
I agree about the cyst but the yellowish stuff was chicken fat. Inside was clear, soft but not liquid.

j.

Ah...looked just like the cyst I had removed once...the yellow stuff anyway.

 

[nurse_turtle]

I agree that there is some keratin present which leads me to conclude that the growth was a keratinic horn originating from the skin. The fast growth rate usually does indicate malignancy and so I think you did the right thing. If you don't wanna eat the egg, microwave scramble it and give it back to your girls. They will love you for it. I sorry you had this happen to you and your hen. I commend your actions and thanks so much for posting pictures.

 

[OvertheHenHouse]

Quote:
Thank you so much for sharing the photos, and for dissecting the growth so we could all see and learn from it. I hope it wasn't too difficult after all you've been through - what a couple of days you've had!
Can't be sure what was underneath was 'normal chicken' because it's possible there are cancerous cells in there. Given the quick growth, I vote for malignant now or soon from now. But we'll never now, and the bottom line is you did right by her because she was in pain and stressed and probably not long for this world anyway. And you did right by your flock because you kept them safe.
I learned a lot today. Thank you for that. I've got wine in the fridge and really wish you lived close by so we could toast your bird, and more importantly you, for all you've been through in the past two days and what you've taught us as a result -

 

[MaureenL128]

I want to say thank you for educating all of us. And thank you for being brave and cheking it all out after she was gone. I am so sorry you and your little girl had to go through all of this.

 

[ElkMtnCove]

To everyone: Thank you for helping me feel I made the right decision. I really appreciate it!

To Amy: Would have loved to sit down with a chicken friend and enjoyed that glass of wine!

Thank you everyone, you've been a huge help through this chicken drama.

julie

 

[ElkMtnCove]

Quote:
I agree about the cyst but the yellowish stuff was chicken fat. Inside was clear, soft but not liquid.

j.

Ah...looked just like the cyst I had removed once...the yellow stuff anyway.

Davian, you better go back to the Doc and quick! Your chickens transmitted chicken fat to ya!

But seriously, thanks for the help!

j.