skin sore on chicken's belly - what is it and how to treat?

[NewFlockOnTheBlock]

I discovered a sore on Prefix's belly when I brought her inside to clean up a poopy butt last night. She doesn't appear to be in any discomfort and is her usual loud, bossy, curious self. However, it looks scary and I'm not sure what it could be and how to treat it. It doesn't feel like there is a lump under the skin; the skin is loose, sort of hanging away from the belly, and feels soft, except for the wound, which appears to be somewhat scabby/crusted over. Could it be skin cancer? Or, just skin trauma caused by an infected scratch or a feather that failed to erupt? I put aloe vera gel on it last night but I wonder if I should be using something else. I have Vetericyn spray and can easily pick up some Neosporin. And, do you all think this warrants a vet visit?

 

[coach723]

It looks like it may be a breast blister, that is like bumblefoot, but on the breast/keel. It can happen when they rest their keel on the roosts rather than carrying the weight on their legs. Heavy birds do this, or birds that have foot or leg issues like bumblefoot that make it harder to roost. You can clean it out yourself, if you are not comfortable doing it, then yes a vet visit would be best. I'll attach a couple of links. If she's otherwise healthy, and just roosts this way, then wrapping the roost with something soft may help (make sure it's nothing that can be pecked and eaten).
http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/breast-blister
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/bumble-breast-breast-blister-graphic-pictures.1096276/

 

[NewFlockOnTheBlock]

Thank you so much! Phew, a relief to hear that this is probably not cancer - although definitely still something that needs to be taken care of. I don't think Prefix has any foot/leg issues but she is one of our largest and heaviest birds and has extra long legs, so it is possible that she just roosts this way because of her weight/leg size. I'll have to think about what we can wrap the roost in. The roost is just a standard 2 x 4 (flat side up) but for her it may be too small. Will start with Vetericyn today and can pick up Neosporin tomorrow when pharmacy reopens. Might also schedule a vet visit, just in case her blister needs a deeper cleaning.

Thank you again!!!

 

[coach723]

You're welcome. A piece of foam covered in an old towel so they can't eat the foam would work. Makes cleaning roosts a bit more difficult. Or even just several layers of old towel might be enough. Hope she heals up well.

 

[NewFlockOnTheBlock]

Wish our local thrift store was open! It's a great place to buy used towels, among other things. It's closed due to the "stay home" restrictions right now. I'll see what I can find on Ebay. We have 15 chickens and three long roosts so it will take a lot of towels to wrap them all. But, it's a really good idea.

For now we'll keep Prefix in a towel-lined crate in the house overnight. It should provide a soft bedding for her to rest her breastbone against, and will make it easier to treat her sore morning and evening. She is not really into being handled.

 

[coach723]

You may not need to wrap all the roosts, just depends on your birds. Many birds will go to the same spot every night, especially if they are high in the pecking order. So you may only have to wrap part of your roosts, just depends on your birds. One of my roo's had a breast blister due to bumblefoot and I only had to wrap his spot, he has roosted in the same place for years and doesn't move.

 

[NewFlockOnTheBlock]

Ours definitely move around. Some more so, some less, but few have spots that are completely fixed. Two of the three roosts are used heavily, and Prefix almost always uses one of these two roosts, so if I just wrap those two, I should be OK.

 

[NewFlockOnTheBlock]

Got a hold of some used bath towels and will be wrapping roosts soon. For now, we bring Prefix inside for the night and she sleeps on a towel in a crate. Treating the sore morning and evening with Vetericyn followed by Neosporin. Seems like it is maybe getting a little better - or at any rate, not getting worse. If there is no obvious improvement within the next 5-7 days, we'll reach out to our vet.

In addition to her weight/size that can be causing her to roost incorrectly, another thing I noticed while administering the twice/daily treatments is that our girl appears to have swollen "ankle" joints (are they even called ankles in chickens?). Here's a pic:

Also some of her toes curve sideways, as you can sort of see in this next photo. This is something I noticed before, but never thought it could cause difficulties roosting. Her gait seems normal, and she definitely keeps up with the flock. In fact, she is probably one of our fastest-moving chickens.

Thoughts on what this could be? Arthritis? Some sort of viral/bacterial disease? Something else? Thank you!!!

 

[coach723]

MG can cause swollen joints, or it could be visceral gout. I doubt that the toes are an issue, wonky toes are not uncommon and most birds do just fine with them.

 

[NewFlockOnTheBlock]

Huh, interesting. Our rooster most likely has MG but his symptom is chronic wheezing, which gets worse in very cold or very hot weather. We also have a hen with a chronic sneeze but no other symptoms. I know that MG is highly contagious so if one chicken has it, the others likely have it too. It could be that it is manifesting in different ways within our flock.