Unknown Type of abscess?

[IcarusII]

My chicken was sitting in the nesting box longer than usual today and finally when it was way past laying time I took her out of the box and noticed a discharge and bad smell. I was actually waiting to give her a bath all day so I took her to the bath and noticed on/near her vent there was a huge abscess looking mass. I’ve never seen this and can’t tell what it is. I’ve been researching diffeeent things like vent gleet, vent prolapse etc. but nothing seems to match the description. She’s been feeling fine and I haven’t noticed any issues in her health but today she seemed unwell. I’m not sure if this is some type of tumor or abscess but it does have a smell which leads me to believe the latter. Has anyone seen this before or knows what it could be?
I’ve isolated her and plan to go to the vet on Monday but I’d like to know how to better treat her if someone could identify it.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Welcome To BYC

I agree, it doesn't look very good.

Do you notice if there's maggots on the wound?

Hard to tell if it's a prolapse along with Flystrike or not.
The bad odor says there's infection. If you wish to try to treat, wash up the affected area really well, take note of any maggots, if there's any, then they need to be removed.
Access the wound to determine how deep those wounds go. Chlorhexidine would be a good choice to use for cleaning and flushing the wounds.
Take more photos once you have done that. Hopefully we can tell more about the location and what's going on.

 

[Eggcessive]

I think that she was probably vent pecked by the other chickens, possibly because she might have had a prolapse. Her abdominal contents, possibly intestines, look to be exposed. Hopefully, the abdominal wall is still intact. Either way, her vent or cloaca was damaged, and there is some infection. I would give her one or two shallow soaks each day in warm water. You could add a little salt to make saline or use some Hibiclens or betadine in the water to help fight infection. Epsom salts also works. When she is drying, apply a little plain Triple Antibiotic Ointment. This may take some time to heal, but try to keep it clean. She may die from infection if the abdominal wall is pierced, or she could herniate. She needs to be kept away from flies, since maggots would kill her. I hate to separate chickens since it is hard to get them back into the flock later. But she needs to be separated while she is healing. You could let her visit the flock each day with supervision, just so they remember her. I hope that she can survive this. Let us know how she gets along.

 

[IcarusII]

I think that she was probably vent pecked by the other chickens, possibly because she might have had a prolapse. Her abdominal contents, possibly intestines, look to be exposed. Hopefully, the abdominal wall is still intact. Either way, her vent or cloaca was damaged, and there is some infection. I would give her one or two shallow soaks each day in warm water. You could add a little salt to make saline or use some Hibiclens or betadine in the water to help fight infection. Epsom salts also works. When she is drying, apply a little plain Triple Antibiotic Ointment. This may take some time to heal, but try to keep it clean. She may die from infection if the abdominal wall is pierced, or she could herniate. She needs to be kept away from flies, since maggots would kill her. I hate to separate chickens since it is hard to get them back into the flock later. But she needs to be separated while she is healing. You could let her visit the flock each day with supervision, just so they remember her. I hope that she can survive this. Let us know how she gets along.

Thank you for your suggestions. It just seemed to happen so fast. She's our biggest chicken and never gets pecked at as she's at the top of the pecking order but they could've done it the day it happened and I wouldn't have known. I do not see any blood in the area so it hasn't appeared to have had any bleeding which I can only assume is a good sign. I do hope its not her intestinal track. It's just awful I don't want her to suffer from this again. Now that I know this I am keeping an eye on the rest of the flock and will check their vents weekly. She does lay the biggest eggs so I don't know if that has something to do with it. She's never shown any health issues so it came by surprise. I will do another epsom salt soak today. I dont have Hibiclens or Betadine but I do have Iodine. I will try the antibitoic ointment also.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sometimes vent pecking can be caused by overcrowding or boredom, but a lack of protein can also be a possible cause. A prolapse would attract pecking because of the red tissue exposed. Hopefully, she will survive with your good treatment.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Hard to tell by your pictures. That looks like a prolapse to me, but could be a tumor. I'd cull for either issue as I've had no luck fixing a prolapse myself. Hopefully someone else can be more helpful. Sorry.

 

[IcarusII]

Hi all,

I'm delayed in updated but have been so busy. I went to the vet last week and they told me it was her intestines that were protruding out and that she had an infection. She must've had he infection and it got cut open or it was cut and the infection grew from there but I'm sure the day I found it was the day her intestines came out because of how fresh looking it was. This is not part of the vent but on the stomach area below it. There was a black area around the skin they said was keeping the rest of her organs from falling out. They did not want to attempt to push it back in since the tissue had dried. The vet said she has a 50/50 chance of survival and the best hope is that the skin will start to grow around the intestines once it's healed.

I have her on antibiotics and applying an antibiotic cream (normally we treat our chickens naturally but since her condition was so bad I wanted something that works fast). She is still isolated in a big crate to minimize her activity levels. She does not appear to be in any pain and she still has an appetite and drinks. Her energy levels are good.. it's really hard to tell how bad her condition is based on her attitude because she acts like a healthy chicken. Her poop looks healthy and I'm continuing to give her epsom salt baths but just every other day or when I have the time.

As of today the area doesn't look worse and the skin looks better like the infection is gone but the intestines just look a bit dry and dark I think from being exposed for so long. The vet told me that if she starts getting worse we need to put her down but she doesn't seem to be getting worse however I'm worried about how long she can go with her intestines in that condition. I'm not sure what to do because I feel keeping her in a crate for much longer can't be good for her either and I do let her out in the grass (away from our other chickens) once in a while.

I guess I will just have to wait it out longer to better see how she does. If anyone has any advice I'd appreciate it. I feel pushing the intestines in at this point wouldn't be good and also I was advised not to in order to avoid risking her other organs falling out.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I guess if you want to try saving her you could glove up and gently push that back in. If it's damaged tissue she may just push it back out. Hemorrhoid cream is said to help shrink tissue.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Is this mass below the vent?

 

[Tookie]

I don't think that's a prolapse, it looks like it's underneath the vent. Is the stuff coming out of her vent or is it underneath it?