Tumor? Or cyst? Or what? Help!

[mathyou]

Hello! I'm new to chickens and I recently discovered a large bump on my Lavender Orpington rooster's upper thigh. It is the texture of his comb. Has anyone ever seen this? He is 10 months old. I don't know what to do. The rest of my flock is fine.

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. I am not a vet and can only guess, but it is probably a tumor. It might be a teratoma which is a tumor made up of cells from other tissue elsewhere in the body. Tumors and cysts can be common in chickens, and some diseases such as avian lymphoid leukosis or Mareks can cause tumors. I would make sure that it is not an injury from a spur that has gotten infected. Tumors tend to feel hard, while an abscess may be softer and contain solid pus.

 

[azygous]

You can't know what that is unless you take a tissue sample and have it biopsied.

Chickens will let you know if they are sick. If this boy is behaving normally, eating normally, pooping normally, breathing normally, etc, I would just keep an eye on him and not do anything right now except you may want to paint the mass with Blu-kote or Blue Lotion to disguise it so the other chickens don't peck at it which could start an infection.

I have a very old hen, almost nine years old, who has a slow growing tumor over her eye. She's had it for at least five years. It's probably from the lymphotic leucosis diagnosed in my flock, but it causes her no problems other than occasional eye irritation, which I treat when it occurs. She's perfectly normal in every other respect.

Just make sure the mass doesn't appear to be infected. If it begins to bleed, you may then have a problem that needs to be addressed.

 

[mathyou]

Thanks for the quick replies. It is possible it could be an injury. I had 6 roosters at one point since I bought all of my first chicks straight run. It feels hard though. I will examine it better in the morning. My first instinct was to leave him alone and just keep an eye on him (thinking it was like a tumor in humans-- non-contagious). Now, after reading posts on these forums, I'm afraid it's a contagious disease causing the tumor and my whole flock will be wiped out.. making me want to cull the poor little guy. I'll probably just chance it and let him live.

 

[Eggcessive]

If it is a disease, it won't matter if you kill him, so I would let him live. It still could be just a random tmor or growth. If you do notice any strange symptoms or deaths, you should try to get a necropsy by the state vet or poultry lab to look for a cause.