Rooster has bone sticking out of neck!

[Avian Allie]

It looks like something he ate is pushing through almost. Maybe just clip off the end so it doesn’t snag on anything and just let nature do whatever wacky thing it wants to do? As long as pretty boy doesn’t seem bothered by it the best thing might be leave it alone. I have heard of cats who have their plastic cat toys do similar and live perfectly normal lives.

 

[azygous]

I would first determine if it's a bone or a feather. Snip and inch off the end and look at it. If it's hollow, it's a feather shaft. You can safely yank it out of his neck if it is.

If it's solid, it's probably a bone. If you look at the center with a magnifying lens, and you see pores, it's a bone. Then you would need to guess how it got there. There is no bone like that in a chicken neck.

Just looking at it, it looks like a damaged neck feather. But photos are not reliable for such a diagnosis.

 

[JadeFarms]

That is crazy, I’m really curious as to what it is.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

It's a great conversation piece.
If the rooster is eating and drinking normally and acting like a rooster should, I'd leave it alone and not mess with it.

X2 I agree.

 

[em_dawson]

For what it's worth, I'd put money on it being an echidna quill. I have one somewhere in my house, and it looks just like that. I can't find it to take a picture, but here's one from the internet. The darker end is on the tip, which is embedded in the skin, which has grown over it. Likely an older injury. The part that goes into the echidna's back is the part you can see sticking out, which is flatter. Here's a side by side of the two pictures.

 

[Punkybrewster]

Roll it between your fingers as you gently pull it out.

 

[ewachacha]

I am an RN who is a wanna be Vet Tech. I would agree that it looks as if something is sticking in, as opposed to, sticking out. I do also agree that it looks like a really hard feather as well.
Take him to a vet ASAP. If that's not realistic for you...
My suggestion is to get some pliers and boil them (to sterilize,) get some super glue, normal saline, prophylactic antibiotics, clean rags, and an appropriate antimicrobial solution from your feed and seed and start the roo on them prior to the procedure. Clean the area thoroughly with the antimicrobe. Pull the the object out with your clean pliers. If you cannot remove it with minimal difficulty I would leave it alone. Especially if it feels as if it's attached to something inside the body. If you get the object out, flush the wound with normal saline. Apply pressure to clot the bleeding. Clean the area with the antimicrobe again. Super glue the wound shut. Take care not to let any feathers get in the wound or it will not heal. Isolate the bird a couple days so he can heal.

 

[LaFemmeKatia]

For what it's worth, I'd put money on it being an echidna quill. I have one somewhere in my house, and it looks just like that. I can't find it to take a picture, but here's one from the internet. The darker end is on the tip, which is embedded in the skin, which has grown over it. Likely an older injury. The part that goes into the echidna's back is the part you can see sticking out, which is flatter. Here's a side by side of the two pictures.

View attachment 2279859

I am betting on this! It looks like what your rooster has.

 

[LaFemmeKatia]

I am an RN who is a wanna be Vet Tech. I would agree that it looks as if something is sticking in, as opposed to, sticking out. I do also agree that it looks like a really hard feather as well.
Take him to a vet ASAP. If that's not realistic for you...
My suggestion is to get some pliers and boil them (to sterilize,) get some super glue, normal saline, prophylactic antibiotics, clean rags, and an appropriate antimicrobial solution from your feed and seed and start the roo on them prior to the procedure. Clean the area thoroughly with the antimicrobe. Pull the the object out with your clean pliers. If you cannot remove it with minimal difficulty I would leave it alone. Especially if it feels as if it's attached to something inside the body. If you get the object out, flush the wound with normal saline. Apply pressure to clot the bleeding. Clean the area with the antimicrobe again. Super glue the wound shut. Take care not to let any feathers get in the wound or it will not heal. Isolate the bird a couple days so he can heal.

I would go with this plan of action.

 

[ChickNanny13]

I'm gonna go with it being one of these:

For what it's worth, I'd put money on it being an echidna quill. I have one somewhere in my house, and it looks just like that. I can't find it to take a picture, but here's one from the internet. The darker end is on the tip, which is embedded in the skin, which has grown over it. Likely an older injury. The part that goes into the echidna's back is the part you can see sticking out, which is flatter. Here's a side by side of the two pictures.

View attachment 2279859

I'm agreeing it does look like this ... Do you have this critter at your location?