Please help!! Hen with tumors not doing well!?!?

[Farm life101]

Hello fellow chicken lovers,
Unfortunately I have a young hen with a bad genetic background not doing good. I hatched this hen in my hands and raised her from a chick. Her father who was also my rooster died at 3 with a cancer tumor in his butt. We had taken him to the vet and that’s what they had said and told me there wasn’t anything I can do except make him comfortable. This hen has abnormal bumps on one side of her face and is keeping her eye almost fully closed. She also has a large bump on the bottom of her leg above her foot. She’s gotten very skinny which I didn’t notice until I picked her and I felt her chest bone and she was as Very light. She has been distancing herself far from the flock which is extremely unlike her and I have to go and chase her into the coop at night. I really don’t want to lose her, she is my baby. What can I do to help her, if I can? So far I’m offering her food 24/7 and probiotic water. I put her in a cage on our porch so I can monitor her food and water intake and her pooping. So far she hasn’t eaten and if she dosent by morning I think I’m going to try to get some yogurt. Please help me. Here are some photos

 

[azygous]

Did you happen to have that rooster necropsied? It would be instructive to identify the virus responsible for these tumors.

My flock happens to have lymphoid leucosis. Producing cancer tumors is its specialty. It's probably the most common avian virus and is carried by more flocks than one could imagine. It wouldn't surprise me if your flock also carries LL.

While most of my flock has built up resistance, I've lost my share of chickens to cancerous tumors. Not all have died from it. My oldest hen, a twelve-year old Light Brahma, has a very slow growing tumor over her eye. She's lived half her life with it. I monitor her daily for signs that it's causing her pain and dragging down her enjoyment of life. So far, in the six or seven years she's had the tumor, she has continued to be active and bossy, retaining her status as Queen of The Flock. But the day I notice her eyes close like your hen, if she stops eating, if she loses weight and appears to be barely hanging on, I am prepared to euthanize her to spare her suffering.

The signs that a chicken is in pain and is suffering are:

-Self isolation, usually facing a wall or corner to protect herself.
-Weight loss and loss of interest in eating.
-Tail held low and flat
-Eyes closed indicating pain or weakness or both
-A preference to remain inactive, not able to ascend to a roosting perch, are signs of pain and weakness.
-Pale floppy comb and unkempt feathers indicate decline of overall health and vigor.
-Sleeping most of the day.

If your hen is exhibiting these symptoms, life has become intolerable. It's time to muster the courage to end her suffering.

 

[Farm life101]

Did you happen to have that rooster necropsied? It would be instructive to identify the virus responsible for these tumors.

My flock happens to have lymphoid leucosis. Producing cancer tumors is its specialty. It's probably the most common avian virus and is carried by more flocks than one could imagine. It wouldn't surprise me if your flock also carries LL.

While most of my flock has built up resistance, I've lost my share of chickens to cancerous tumors. Not all have died from it. My oldest hen, a twelve-year old Light Brahma, has a very slow growing tumor over her eye. She's lived half her life with it. I monitor her daily for signs that it's causing her pain and dragging down her enjoyment of life. So far, in the six or seven years she's had the tumor, she has continued to be active and bossy, retaining her status as Queen of The Flock. But the day I notice her eyes close like your hen, if she stops eating, if she loses weight and appears to be barely hanging on, I am prepared to euthanize her to spare her suffering.

The signs that a chicken is in pain and is suffering are:

-Self isolation, usually facing a wall or corner to protect herself.
-Weight loss and loss of interest in eating.
-Tail held low and flat
-Eyes closed indicating pain or weakness or both
-A preference to remain inactive, not able to ascend to a roosting perch, are signs of pain and weakness.
-Pale floppy comb and unkempt feathers indicate decline of overall health and vigor.
-Sleeping most of the day.

If your hen is exhibiting these symptoms, life has become intolerable. It's time to muster the courage to end her suffering.

The only symptoms you listed that she has is self isolating. She’s not showing interest in her normal food but she did eat oats and mealworms when I offered them. Sadly I didn’t think to have the rooster necropsied however the vet told me it was a cancerous tumor when I took him when he was alive. Is LL contagious to my entire flock or is it just genetically inherited?

 

[azygous]

If this hen dies, locate a state agricultural lab and get a necropsy. Then you will know what you're dealing with.

Avian leucosis, another name for LL, is very contagious. I figure I brought it home on my shoes after shopping at the feed store where another flock keeper had tracked it in on their shoes. The virus is hardy but lives only a few days, unlike Marek's, a close cousin, which lasts years in the soil and on surfaces.

LL is passed chicken to chicken through dust and dander in the air, through mating, and through the egg from hen to chick. Chicks getting LL through their eggs almost always are handed a death sentence upon hatching. Of the chicks hatched in my flock, most died in the egg. If one chicken has been diagnosed with LL, the entire flock has it. Just like Marek's.

But, as I mentioned, if a flock is healthy and well managed, few will become symptomatic and the majority will live out normal lives. My twelve-year old hen has her "club" of old biddies, aged nine, ten, and eleven years. Of those, only two have benign symptoms. But those chickens that have died were hopelessly riddled with cancer. Cancer in chickens, by the way, is caused by avian viruses.

 

[Farm life101]

If this hen dies, locate a state agricultural lab and get a necropsy. Then you will know what you're dealing with.

Avian leucosis, another name for LL, is very contagious. I figure I brought it home on my shoes after shopping at the feed store where another flock keeper had tracked it in on their shoes. The virus is hardy but lives only a few days, unlike Marek's, a close cousin, which lasts years in the soil and on surfaces.

LL is passed chicken to chicken through dust and dander in the air, through mating, and through the egg from hen to chick. Chicks getting LL through their eggs almost always are handed a death sentence upon hatching. Of the chicks hatched in my flock, most died in the egg. If one chicken has been diagnosed with LL, the entire flock has it. Just like Marek's.

But, as I mentioned, if a flock is healthy and well managed, few will become symptomatic and the majority will live out normal lives. My twelve-year old hen has her "club" of old biddies, aged nine, ten, and eleven years. Of those, only two have benign symptoms. But those chickens that have died were hopelessly riddled with cancer. Cancer in chickens, by the way, is caused by avian viruses.

So if I am reading the right right information, then the disease LL you are talking about causes tumors internally but not externally and they typically don’t have tumors. Since the virus attacks the white blood cells they have weak immune systems and typically fall ill from other virus or diseases and they typically die from that. However they LL and mareks disease have a lot of similarities. That what I concluded off the the research I’ve done but I could be wrong. However I researched other cancer causing disease and I found her symptoms to be alike with the virus call squamous cell carcinoma or SCC. I couldn’t find much about this illness however it dose cause lack of appetite and tumors most commonly on their face however they have been found on legs as well, which is what lead me to believe this could be a possibility. It said that SCC is one of the more common cancer cell tumor viruses. It’s most common in chickens 3 years or older and my hen that has fallen ill is 2 1/2 yrs old

 

[azygous]

Yes, I stand corrected. There are other forms of cancerous tumors besides those caused by avian viruses, but they're far less common.

The tumor my hen has had half her life is caused by the leucosis virus, and they are most common on the face.

Those tumors your hen has are truly awful and disfiguring. I wonder if they are painful. They certainly look like they would be. This is my hen with her tumor. It's blinded her right eye, but it seems not to be causing her pain.

 

[Farm life101]

Yes, I stand corrected. There are other forms of cancerous tumors besides those caused by avian viruses, but they're far less common.

The tumor my hen has had half her life is caused by the leucosis virus, and they are most common on the face.

Those tumors your hen has are truly awful and disfiguring. I wonder if they are painful. They certainly look like they would be. This is my hen with her tumor. It's blinded her right eye, but it seems not to be causing her pain.View attachment 2099954

Yeah I’m making sure to colsely watch her to make sure she isn’t suffering as I have made that mistake before of having to much hope. I did touch the tumors to figure out if they were stiff or liquid (they were stiff) and she didn’t seem bothered except for one that was near her eye but I figured it was because she was done with me touching her.

 

[Farm life101]

She is no longer eating by I believe she’s still drinking but not much. I gave her some Gatorade and yogurt by hand and she took it okay. Her poop is a normal color but it’s diarrhea. She’s still alert and walking around in her cage and she’s able to root on my hand Which has always been her favorite spot to sit when I hold her. I’m looking into vets that will euthanize inexpensively just in case she dosent get any better.

 

[Farm life101]

This morning I went out to give her Gatorade and I felt her crop and she had some food in it and it did look like a bit of the food was missing. I tried to give her some nutri-drench but she only took maybe a half a ML because I’m sure I’d dosent taste good but last time I had an ill hen who wasn’t eating I gave her some and the next day she was a lot better so I’m hoping it will help. I’m going to get more mealworms today also since that was The only thing she was eating at first.

 

[Farm life101]

She’s sadly not getting any better, she’s only getting worse and I can’t stand to keep her heat out of my own selfishness. She’s gotten pretty weak and can barley keep her balance and all she dose is sleep all day now. I’m going to be calling the vet to get an appointment for her to be euthanized as there is no way I could do it. Thank you so much for your help