question about chicken rumps.......

[nancymiller]

hi, I have cornish x rock meat birds. Due to be processed the second week of Aug. I was looking at them tonight and noted that the area between the legs, under the vent was very red and looked swollen on several of these birds. The ones that had this had few feathers on the area that was swollen. I checked for mites, could not find any sign of that. They are eating and drinking well, poop looks normal for all. The area is very very red. I will try to get a pic tomorrow.Any ideas ??????

 

[nnbreeder]

It could be from them sitting most of the time instead of out foraging for food. Turkeys raised on wire are prone to that and also breast-blisters.

 

[nancymiller]

thanks, I hope that is all it is. they are a lazy lot, ha

 

[threehorses]

"Breast blisters" are common in broilers who tend to be heavy birds. It has a lot to do with their bedding, their roost, their keel conformation, etc.

There's a 'bursa' (thin air sac) covered by a membrane near the keel (breast) bone. If that bursa is irritated, or becomes infected by environmental conditions, the sac inflates and can even be filled with fluid. It can be as small as irritation and redness, through to actual blisters.

Some articles on it for you:
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/diseaseinfo/40/breast-blister
http://tinyurl.com/lluksh
http://tinyurl.com/n42unn (concerning poultry raised for meat)

You might also consider talking to the board that talks about meat birds here withing BYC to see how that effects them as a product.

 

[nancymiller]

hi thanks for the info ! The reddened area is no where near the breast bone, rather below the vent between the legs. I am feeling chicken stupid, ha. I am a registered nurse and have never seen a butt this red n swollen,

 

[threehorses]

The keel bone actually continues back between the legs, but not up towards the vent. It's still possible, however, that the same conditions (broilers) caused the issue as they're heavy birds and that area is all sensitive.

I've been hearing about this sort of thing in heavier birds a lot lately. But it does tend to be more toward the rear of the bird.

Really "breast blister" is a misleading name for it. But still - I'd ask meat bird people if they've had the same issues and if it effects carcass quality. I'm no good at broiler-meat quality issues I'm afraid.