Please help with large tumor!!!

[Tesumph]

...if I cut it, what am I going to do then?

Well if it’s a tumor I would put her down and do a necropsy to rule out some things (including mareks), and if it’s an abscess then you provide aftercare until it’s all healed up.
I’m no expert on mareks but it doesn’t sound like it to me.. and if it is then all your birds have it anyway.

 

[TheYLWFlock]

Well if it’s a tumor I would put her down and do a necropsy to rule out some things (including mareks), and if it’s an abscess then you provide aftercare until it’s all healed up.
I’m no expert on mareks but it doesn’t sound like it to me.. and if it is then all your birds have it anyway.

I believe @windychicks is also wondering what exactly the aftercare would involve?

I’m not really sure what it is, but lots of great advice has been given to you, especially the advice of going to a vet before cutting. If you do cut and there is more than just hardened pus, then what exactly are you going to do? If you haven’t found a vet that will treat chickens, then you have nowhere to go if something goes wrong. I’m sure there are some vets on here. I believe that @Golden Brahma 64 is... maybe you could get help from him?

 

[Tesumph]

Anyone here familiar with air sac anatomy? Is it possible that is an infected air sac?

I would think if it was it would have ruptured and killed the hen long ago.. at the very least she would be in extreme respiratory distress and not running around. As for actual anatomy I’m not 100% sure, but I know they use their bones in the movement of the front air sac so I always assumed it was much more tucked up into their body. This lump looks too superficial?

 

[rebrascora]

I had a bird with Marek's that had a couple of subcutaneous tumours. It is not the norm, but with Marek's there seldom is any norm..... just some quite classic symptoms which may occur (or may not) and can point you towards the diagnosis and lots of spurious ones that could be anything or nothing. This particular bird of mine had a tumour on the thigh and the other just below the rib cage. I was not aware of them until I did a post mortem exam as she had other classic symptoms of paralysis. The substance of them looked a lot like that but they were not so pronounced and when you cut into them it was quite firm and looked like a mixture of scrambled egg and sausage meat.
I'm not saying this is Marek's but I think your initial assessment of it being a tumour is probably correct with that large blood supply. I appreciate that this is on her breast, but what does the other side feel like? Is she reasonably well padded or does she feel a bit scrawny. If it is a tumour, it will probably cause her to waste away as it grows. I'm not sure there is much to be gained by cutting into it, but then that is because I think it probably is a tumour..... if I thought it was an abscess then my opinion might be different, although with such a large blood supply, there is a good chance that the infection could be released into the blood stream by surgical intervention whereas it would appear to be contained at the moment since she looks quite bright and healthy. Unfortunately that healthy look does not rule out Marek's either as often they are bright eyed and red combed in the initial phases.
If she is a favourite pet then you might be wise to seek veterinary assistance but personally I would be reluctant to cut into it and would just keep a close eye on it... perhaps monitor growth and her weight and appetite (and poop) and give her as happy a life as you can but be prepared to euthanize if she starts to decline.

 

[Ducksandchickens]

How is she doing today?

 

[windychicks]

She's still doing fine! The first to run up to me when i go out there, as usual.
Casportpony, I took your advice and emailed the person in charge of diagnostic lab at UKY.
Thanks to all of you who have taken time to give me advice! This forum is invaluable! I will continue to check here for more advice and I'll keep y'all posted! Much gratitude!

 

[microchick]

Reading this with some interest. Lots of good replies and I have to agree with @rebrascora about the Marek's as I have it in my flock also.

I did an internship in a vet's office once and did surgical scrub ins with him. I still remember him saying while removing a lump from a dogs anal gland that vascular equals malignancy. That holds true for human cancers also. The greater the blood supply the higher the probability of it being malignant.

What I noticed is that there doesn't seem to be any redness or inflammation in the lump to indicate that it is an abcess. I suspect also that it is a tumor.

But not all tumors are Marek's related. I think if you had a rampant Marek's infection in your flock, you would be seeing other birds with problems. That is how it hit mine. One after another with unusual symptoms and deaths. Hopefully, and really I use that term without being morbid, if it is a tumor, it is a glitch in this hen's anatomy.

 

[Tesumph]

The above posts on tumors are great points. My advice was in the eyes of it being an abscess.. and thinking that if it turned out to be a tumor I would have put her down.
Now that I’m thinking about it, if you don’t want to euthanize her then don’t cut into it. The risk is too great. Also, reading about the above mareks has me rethinking abscess altogether. It is very vascular but I’ve seen muscular abscesses like that.

Whatever you do, keep updating us! This is a great learning opportunity!

 

[casportpony]

I started a thread with pictures of abscesses if anyone is interested. Maybe I'll change the title to abscess and tumors at some point, 'cause I think I have a few tumor pictures too.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/abcesses-graphic-pictures.1247132/

 

[casportpony]

She's still doing fine! The first to run up to me when i go out there, as usual.
Casportpony, I took your advice and emailed the person in charge of diagnostic lab at UKY.
Thanks to all of you who have taken time to give me advice! This forum is invaluable! I will continue to check here for more advice and I'll keep y'all posted! Much gratitude!

I hope they can help!