Strange Growth - cyst? Eggbound??

[jnine]

My barred rock hen has been moulting the last few days and today we noticed a large lump at the base of her belly. She is eating and acting normally, but has not been laying. Not sure if the moulting is due to the lump, but she is growing back new feathers while losing them at the same time.

The lump is soft to the touch, but firmly formed (rounded) and is about the size of half a tennis ball. Any advice would be most appreciated - not sure if it is something terminal or requires medical attention.

 

[poultrycrazy]

i am no expert but that doesnt look good. But dont trust me cuz i could be totaly wrong. Hopefully someone else will know what it is and how to treat it?

 

[jnine]

1) What type of bird , age and weight.
- 15 month old barred rock hen, normal weight to heavy
2) What is the behavior, exactly.
- normal, behaviour, eating and drinking - not sure if still laying
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?
- I first noticed that her feathers were hanging low a couple of weeks ago. There has been alot of rain here and they were always wet. The last few days she started moulting
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?
- we thought one other hen was eggbound, but she is acting normally. We have had a few soft eggs the last few weeks but not sure who is the culprit (we have four hens)
5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
- no bleeding or injury, but the lump is red and pulsates
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
- no, nothing we can think of
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
- eating normal pellets and veggie straps as well as alot of grass from our lawn
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
- normal, lots of grass residue
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
- warm bath and checked internally for egg but could not find/feel anything
10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?
- take to vet if necessary or if bird shows signs of stress
11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
- see above
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use
- four hens housed in a 5" square and 6" high converted shed. They all roost on a high mounted perch. Nesting box is an old mower catcher filled with straw. Weather here has been very wet, but warm (subtropical and rainly season). They are all free to roam our backyard during the day with free access to food and water.



Just reading irgardens thread, soulds similar to our problem, but our 'bulge'is lower?

Update: after her warm bath and check for stuck egg she happy sat being cuddled in a towel for about half an hour before getting up, doing a large poo.. and wandering off to start preening. She seems not to be suffering any ill-effect of her little examination

 

[speckledhen]

It's not egg bound. Could be internal laying, which is entirely different. That lump could be cooked egg gunk in her abdomen indicating internal laying or it could be a tumor or cyst. No way to really know for certain. Some things are just hard to diagnose, especially without actually feeling for myself.

 

[jnine]

Thanks speckledhen, after doing a bit of research about internal laying I think you may be right. Is there any treatment at all?

 

[speckledhen]

Sadly, no, there is no treatment or cure other than complete hysterectomy. I've lost 9 hens to that and it's a chronic condition, especially in high production layers. I'm not sure that's what's going on, though. Time will tell. They usually will begin to lose vast amounts of weight and get weaker and thinner then they die. Feel her keel bone (breast bone). There should be meat on either side of it. If not and it's very sharp, she's losing weight already.

 

[jnine]

Just an update on our hen. She is growing her feathers back and does not seem to be losing weight. You can feel her breasbone, but she definately has fleshy pads on each side which have not changed. The lump is still there, but does not seem to have grown any. She is still eating well, but not laying - she does seem happy and runs around with the other chooks, dustbathing and chasing grubs.

Another 'problem'? I may have with one of my other hens, a RIR though - she hasn't laid for weeks. She will sit in the nest and then sing like she has laid before taking a big drink and then going about her normal business. Apart from that - she seems fine - is this very out of the ordinary??

 

[speckledhen]

That RIR could be starting to malfunction. That is usually how I notice something is wrong if they do that over and over and don't lay. Eventually, they stop going to the nest then start losing weight. I've lost three RIRs to that, all hatchery girls. Hatchery stock, at least in the most common breeds, are more prone to that condition. Usually, it begins after they reach two years of age, but can start earlier. If they aren't eggbound, I would suspect internal laying. Nothing you can really do if that is what is happening.

 

[jnine]

Another update - and some good news! The Barred Rocks feathers have all finished growing back, and she has been laying us beautiful big brown eggs

She still walks with a bit of a waddle due to the the lump (which hasn't grown), but she is eating well, looks healthy with bright red comb and isn't losing weight, so very good news.

The RIR is still laying 'phantom eggs' acting like she has laid a real one after nesting. She is still very well, is well conditioned and active - so will have to wait and see with her...