Possible tumor on leg? Bleeding, Pics included

[sass.joel]

Hey all. I can't tell what this is. This is one of my first hens, and her name is Chick-Choo.

We noticed bleeding in the coop a couple weeks ago, and could not figure out what it was from. None of the chickens were acting "funny" and it only appeared one day.

Today, I noticed more bleeding, and saw what appeared to be chicken poop stuck to my Bard Rock hen's foot feathers. I saw what appeared to be bleeding on the bottom of her foot, so my wife and I took her in to wash off her foot and see if this was an infection.

What I have discovered is INCREDIBLY confusing. The... what can only be described as a growth, is hard and bony. It appears to extend up her leg about an inch, and seems to be attached. She gets agitated when I attempt to move it. I soaked her leg in water for about half an hour to see if I could wash off what I had assumed was poop, but almost nothing actually came off her leg. There was blood coming out from around where the growth meets her foot.

Notice how some of her feathers appear to be growing backward out of the growth. That's what stopped me from cutting away what I thought was poop with a pair of scissors.

I feel really bad for her

Here's a pic from the top:
http://chickenbarrel.org/images/top_foot.jpg


here's a pic from the bottom:
http://chickenbarrel.org/images/bottom_foot.jpg

Is this the end for her? Should I give her some antibiotics? Like I said, she *seems* ok, but there's really no telling.

 

[SteveBaz]

to the BYC

sorry about the circumstance though!

First off just a precaution. I would be handling that foot with gloves on for sure. You may wash and still have part of whats going on under finger nails and such. It may sound petty but infection is infection and you may or could without realizing it pass it on to another bird. I know it may seem innocent but precaution is the name in most wounds, diseases or medical issues.

I would say that it needs to be cleaned well with care. Clean it or wash it good in a tub with Baby Shampoo – No Tear Formula. I know you cleaned it but you must do it again. The foot is so swollen and Antibiotics like TAO (Triple Antibiotic Ointment) will help for the topical portion of the infection. Have you been able to keep it clean w/o it still bleeding or is it weeping fluids other than blood? Has she been punctured or cut? I know you said it was a growth but is there any type of foreign object in between any of the leg scales that you see? I will be honest it does not look good but there is lots of things that do not look good and that is exactly what it is, just not looking good but not fatal. The swelling around it can hide whats really there and since she won't let you really touch it you may need to mask her and have your wife hold her or visa versa and get in there and see it real good even with magnifiers? It may really need for you to introduce a tetracycline hydrochloride antibiotic to get the infection under control but before doing anything I would for sure contact a local vet you know or recommended to you or www.eanswer.com/pets They have given me some good advice in the past and ask some simple questions to them. Good luck.

 

[sass.joel]

Ok, thanks. I am going to be getting her to the vet on Tuesday next week after the holiday. Tomorrow I will be putting her in the tub (after washing hands, etc) and making sure everything is clean. I never envisioned one of our chickens getting this infected without us knowing, but here we are

I have new human-style amoxicillin floating around. Is that ok to give her while we are biding time until post-holidays to take her to the vet?

EDIT -- This is the first time I have actually *seen* the problem, so I have not attempted to clean it yet aside from rinsing it off. She is sleeping in a closet tonight. Tomorrow when I will be getting Chick-Choo out to properly wash her foot and get it topically clean. Again, is amoxicilling ok for chickens to take orally?

 

[GreenMeadows]

Good advice! Never thought about the gloves-ewwww, could you imagine getting it under your nails?? Hope that poor thing gets better!
Quote:

 

[SteveBaz]

sass.joel :

I have new human-style amoxicillin floating around. Is that ok to give her while we are biding time until post-holidays to take her to the vet?
Tomorrow when I will be getting Chick-Choo out to properly wash her foot and get it topically clean. Again, is amoxicilling OK for chickens to take orally?

First off the closet was nothing short of excellent. Why? Chickens are completely blind in the dark and it forced her to settle down and do the sleeping peeping thing. This is great bc it takes rest to heal and that's what needs to be done. So Good Job there!!

2nd human medicines and animal medicines are completely different mixture most of the time and the dose quantities are for sure different bc all medicine is based on body mass to adjust the mg being introduced into the system. amoxicillin or it really is penicillin. It fights bacteria in your body. Amoxicillin is used to treat many different types of infections caused by bacteria, such as ear infections, bladder infections, pneumonia, gonorrhea, and E. coli or salmonella infection. Amoxicillin is also sometimes used together with another antibiotics. Now I cut and pasted what it is from DRUG.com and notice that there is nothing there about animal stuff for birds or chickens specific. As a matter of fact there is quite a lot of different types of anti-biotics and they all have there own specialty or area it effects the most. That is specifically why I said to you, ; "It may really need for you to introduce a tetracycline hydrochloride antibiotic to get the infection under control but before doing anything I would for sure contact a local vet you know or recommended to you or www.eanswer.com/pets They have given me some good advice in the past and ask some simple questions to them before doing anything." A vet will not only direct you and put you in a good healing direction but give you the proper medicine for that type of injury and give you the proper quantity and duration the medicine should be taken to get the best result. You are doing great and on top of it. The best thing to do is isolate her for a day or 2 by putting her in a small cage or area. Keep it very clean as suggested even wrapping it if necessary. Please do not be offended by my directness bc I am saying this to you with nothing to gain for it for me and everything to gain in my advice is for you and the health of you beloved animal. Hope all goes good over the next 72 hours.​

 

[fuzzybutt love]

Nothing to add i was just wondering if you were talking about the powdered tetracycline sold at feed stores/farm stores?

 

[SteveBaz]

Quote:
Yes almost all animal infections can be helped by introducing tetracycline hydrochloride antibiotic into the system but my reservation and biggest reason for not doing a thing is swelling is deceiving. They said that it is a tumor? They also said in the same statement; "It appears to extend up her leg about an inch, and seems to be attached." There is a conflict in the statement. A tumor is a growth and they did not clean it well enough to see what it is to call it anything. Then at the bottom of the page they added; "Notice how some of her feathers appear to be growing backward out of the growth" That may indicate a break. These are two different things if not 3 and if its a tumor which split yes the tetracycline would be beneficial. If its a break indicated in the second statement "Notice how some of her feathers appear to be growing backward out of the growth" this may be indicative of a break and the foot is at an angle but you can not tell bc of the swelling and the filth of the wound. Then the splinter is a consideration. What if the feathers are just stuck to it by chance and are not even part of the injury. So first things first. Like it or not by the chicken they need to get a tub of lukewarm to warm water and put Chick-Choo standing while being forced to stand there in a tub, let it soak to soften the stuff surrounding whats on the foot and leg and very gently hold her there and start slowly and easily clean it and you will at least be able to take and post a clean picture of the wound so we may assess what it really is. We have not even eliminated the idea that it may be a foreign object like a 1" spike of wood impaled in the leg. The skin is so swollen you can not see it for what it is bc of the filth and the dirt and the puss and the blood. Right? So first things first. Clean it bc it must be clean to do anything bc that has to be done regardless if not daily to keep it clean. ID what it is so we can proceed in fixing what needs to be done. Prepare the area for the treatment and have a plan of attack. Then execute the plan we decide. Then decide what medicines will help it further to heal if that is part of the equation. That's why the medicine is the least important thing to get going especially first. JMHO

 

[sass.joel]

Ok, just to clear some stuff up:

The chicken appears to be "well" aside from this growth from her foot. It's apparent to me now that this is not a tumor, but it either an infection or some other strangeness. Earlier when I was saying that her feathers are growing out of the nodule that has appeared on her leg, I mean to say that her trademark foot feathers as a bantam have been somehow distended from her body, and have been displaced by the growth. The growth resembles that of an ingrown toenail I once had as a kid, but extends up her leg about one inch. Since I have taken her inside, she has not started bleeding from the sore since.

Referencing this picture: http://chickenbarrel.org/images/bottom_foot.jpg , you can see that the skin has grown outward. It is hard to the touch, as if there were bone throughout, and when dry, it had resembled feces. The more I think about this, it could be a fungal infection. Pertaining to the picture from the bottom of her foot, she appears to be bleeding from the connection point between herself and the infection. Since we have isolated her, she has not bled at all. Upon further inspection, the infection almost like wood.

Our treatment thus far: being the holidays, getting her to a vet is difficult. We will be taking her in tomorrow for further inspection. Thus far, we have thoroughly cleansed the area. I am still unsure about what it is exactly, but it appears to be an infection that has somehow distended the skin on the left foot, and moved some of the feather-producing pores away with it, which is why some of the feathers appear to be facing away at strange angles. For the last two days, we have been drawing a warm foot bath for her, and putting epsom salts in it, before putting her in the bathtub. She appears content to just stand there, and also lays down. This has submerged what appears to be the infection, which seems to be the same size as it was prior to our treatment. After about an hour soaking in the bath, we pull her out, dry her off, and apply an anti-bacterial cream to the entire wound area. She is now quietly resting back in her cage in the closet.

Once I get her to a vet, I will have a full report pertaining to her well-being.

 

[SteveBaz]

I hope my post above makes perfect sense to you. I see in your written statement you are a bit calmer in tone LOL if you know what I mean? The idea mostly that I wanted to convey was you have to look at it in a logical/clinical way so it has an order to the reason and there is no Rime to it at all, it is what it is. First in any medical issue is to stay calm and write down the events and times so you have a journal of some sort to refer back to what you have done, what has taken place, and what attempts have been made to where you are now so while it is still clear write it down for the vet. Make sense? I am very glad to hear Chick-Choo is doing much better. It sounds like now you have a game plan of some sort and you have a finger on the pulse of the issue. NO meds until the vet has given you the go ahead. It does sound like some tetracycline may be in order but the Vet will more than likely use a very strong inject-able first dose and have you continue with her care and treatment at home. Don't get sucked into return visits, If you see it going in a positive direction. If she starts failing or continues to plummet in a bad direction don't panic call first, It's FREE!! Great news and this is a wonderful Christmas present for your family with Chick-Choo doing better. Best of luck to you and the Family.

Now just sit back you cant do anything but observe until tomorrow hopefully the office will be open if not be patient until he is open.

 

[Pickaduck]

Updates on Chick-Choo? Hope all is well.