Please help with large tumor!!!

[chickens really]

No one here are Vets. So giving you information to cut it open is pointless. Then what will you do once you cut it open? Look at it and do what?..I would either get a Vet to see her or leave her be. If she is happy and eating fine it might be a benign tumour.
Best wishes...

 

[Akrnaf2]

My 2 year old Speckled Sussex had a huge tumor (?) On her lower left front breast. It is hard. Lots of veins in it. My husband remarked to my daughter about a week ago he thought she had a growth, but we thought he was talking about her crop. Picking her up tonight, we found this, probably the size if a large peach.
Any idea what this is?? Really hoping it isn't Mareks. We haven't added any new birds for about 9 months, when we added a flock of silkies.
AnView attachment 1400570 View attachment 1400572 View attachment 1400572 y Any is greatly appreciated!

It is a hernia.

 

[casportpony]

Oh, very hard is not a hernia then. If it’s not soft then probably don’t need to aspirate it. If it’s hard I would get a very sharp knife, preferably scalpel, and make a small cut in between the veins where the skin is stretched tight.

If you see yellow mush, kind of like paper mache, then it’s an abscess and that’s probably the best outcome. If you see virtually anything else (purple or red flesh, a lot of bleeding) then it’s a tumor that may or may not be cancerous and you won’t get anywhere without a vet.

Before cutting you need to get a sharp knife/scalpel, some betadine, a saline solution, lots of gauze, and a syringe. Trim or pluck surrounding feathers if they’re in the way and clean the area with betadine (but know this is not a sterile procedure at all and infection risk is very real). If it’s an abscess then you can squeeze the muck out or scrape it out if it’s very compacted. The cut will need to be at least an inch long to do this, this will be tricky because of all those veins there. Once you have most of the muck out then start flushing it with syringe and saline. I can’t say whether wrapping should be done without knowing what it will look like but I probably wouldn’t wrap it. Keep the chicken in a clean area and clean the area at least once a day with betadine. Antibiotics may need to be started if it gets hot, red, puffy, or excessively draining. If it’s an abscess I might start antibiotics anyway. Tylan 50 is at most feed stores, along with the other supplies.

If there’s no pus in there to get out, then you need to stop. If it starts bleeding a lot (a little is normal) then be prepared to hold gauze over it until you can get it under control. Also know that if it is a tumor, there is a risk of agrivating it by cutting into it like that, but it’s your call.

Hope that all makes sense, it’s very early here, I’m a little scatter brained still.

This is a great post!

 

[casportpony]

It is a hernia.

She said it's on the breast. If on top of breast muscle or bone I don't think it can be a hernia.

 

[Akrnaf2]

I would not cut anything befor checking it more.

 

[casportpony]

I would not cut anything befor checking it more.

What would you check for?

 

[Akrnaf2]

She said it's on the breast. If on top of breast muscle or bone I don't think it can be a hernia.

could it slide under the skin? I think that a vet should see it.

 

[Akrnaf2]

What would you check for?

IMHO a professional opinion. I have never seen something like this. And acording to the OP it had a very fast growth it is to big for an abces growth of one week.

 

[Tesumph]

It is a hernia.

A hernia would be squishy, you would literally be able to feel (and sometimes see) the intestines inside.

A vet is 100% the way to go, but if that’s not an option (no vets who see chickens or unwilling to spend money on livestock) then the only options are: put the hen down, leave it alone and see what happens, or cut it open. If someone’s going to cut it open I’d rather they do it the right way..

Also this isn’t a weeks growth, they only noticed it a week ago. It’s not uncommon for things hidden in feathers to go totally unnoticed on an otherwise healthy chicken for a long time.

 

[casportpony]

@windychicks, is this her breastbone?