Weird bump on chickens wing

[beb444]

So my 18ish week old Australorp has a weird bump on her side(like wing). I moved her feathers around to try and see it and it looked like some little feathers all crumpled together(like a mat that dogs/cats get) and then a weird bone like thing(it wasn't one I am 99% sure but don't know how to describe it any other way). I couldn't really get a good look of it because she wasn't very happy. Any one have any experience with this? It wasn't a cyst or anything...
ANY help is appreciated Thanks so much for your time!!

 

[beb444]

@TwoCrows @Hholly I know you both are pretty knowledgeable. Do you have any idea on what this could be?

 

[ryanhodapp]

Look up thread Chicken Cyst and another about a cyst on a peacock.

See if it looks like that.

Some cysts are formed from feathers not growing properly.

 

[Hholly]

Could you post a pic of it?

 

[TwoCrows]

Definetly post a pic here. But sounds like an ingrown feather. It will look like a small cyst an can be quite hard. One of my birds had one below her vent last year. What I did was wait until it wad about a 1/4 or 1/2 inch in diameter. The top of the bump developed a tiny hole in it. At that point I knew I could break the feather out.

Then I wipped it with an alcohol wipe and gentely picked away at this hole, enough to see a tightly wound up feather. I was then able to pull this curly feather out of the hole. I poured peroxide on the hole as well and watched for infection, which there never was after this, although the cyst itself was starting to infect.

So far after her fall molt, the folical grew normal on my bird.

Don't ignore this if it is infected as it can turn into something huge. It would help us greatly if you have a picture.

Keep us posted!

 

[beb444]

Definetly post a pic here. But sounds like an ingrown feather. It will look like a small cyst an can be quite hard. One of my birds had one below her vent last year. What I did was wait until it wad about a 1/4 or 1/2 inch in diameter. The top of the bump developed a tiny hole in it. At that point I knew I could break the feather out.

Then I wipped it with an alcohol wipe and gentely picked away at this hole, enough to see a tightly wound up feather. I was then able to pull this curly feather out of the hole. I poured peroxide on the hole as well and watched for infection, which there never was after this, although the cyst itself was starting to infect.

So far after her fall molt, the folical grew normal on my bird.

Don't ignore this if it is infected as it can turn into something huge. It would help us greatly if you have a picture.

Keep us posted!

So I am going to go out soon to check on her. Should I make a hole or wait for one to form? I would prefer not to wait that long if it could get serious

 

[TwoCrows]

Definetly post a pic here. But sounds like an ingrown feather. It will look like a small cyst an can be quite hard. One of my birds had one below her vent last year. What I did was wait until it wad about a 1/4 or 1/2 inch in diameter. The top of the bump developed a tiny hole in it. At that point I knew I could break the feather out.


Then I wipped it with an alcohol wipe and gentely picked away at this hole, enough to see a tightly wound up feather. I was then able to pull this curly feather out of the hole. I poured peroxide on the hole as well and watched for infection, which there never was after this, although the cyst itself was starting to infect.


So far after her fall molt, the folical grew normal on my bird.


Don't ignore this if it is infected as it can turn into something huge. It would help us greatly if you have a picture.


Keep us posted!

So I am going to go out soon to check on her.  Should I make a hole or wait for one to form? I would prefer not to wait that long if it could get serious

Do you have a picture of it? Just in case, before I suggest messing with it, I would like to see if it looks like an ingrown feather. It is still possible it is something else. Along with a picture, describe the size and texture. My birds bump was fairly white, it was firm, round, and didnt appear to be infected horribly.

 

[beb444]

Ok so I got a couple good photos and they are emailing to me now. The "bump" part was white with a hint of yellow it was in the shape of a cylinder. Very hard. It might have also had the cartilage/folicles of the wing(not sure what the correct term for it is-but like the white part that is plasticy) in parts of it. It appeared to have small, firm feathers growing out of it. Adjectives that come to mind when describing it would be long(it was longer than wide) and very hard.

 

[beb444]

Here are all the semi-decent photos I got. Sorry if they're hard to see. The bottom part of it is covered in feathers(so you can't see it from certain angles) and the top the cyst is visible. I am fairly certain it's an ingrown feather. If you all agree, how do I deal with this, step by step?

 

[TwoCrows]

It looks like it could be an ingrown feather, but mine was not hard like bone. BUT...that doesnt mean yours isnt a feather either. But it does look like it needs attention, especially before it infects.

I would gather so supplies like alcohol, corn starch or some sort of blood stop, (mine did not bleed, but if yours is infected it might) tweezers, dental picks, scissors, even a scalpel...any instrument you use should be boiled in water for 5 mins and soaked in alcohol for a couple of mins after boiling. You dont want to cause infection.

I would either towel her up if possible or have someone hold her. Poor some alcohol on the area and then start working on it. Pick open the tip and see what is in there. If you hit feather right away, gentely pull it out until it unwinds. It will be curly. There may be several of them in there. If you hit blood or pus, you may need to squeeze it all out like a zit. Only use the tools if you have to go deep. Use your judgement. But like bumblefoot, if there is infection, make sure to get as much as possible out of it.

Once you are done, give it another douse of alcohol or even a one time only douse of hrdrogen peroxide. Then I would apply some sort of antibiotic lotion. I dont care for BluKote, but if it is all you have, use it. Moist is usually better for deep wounds at first, hence the ointment type lotion. Then, if you have a hen saddle, I would keep it on her over the wound for a week or so. Even a scarf tied on around her. Dont let any roosters mess with her until it is healed. Same with other hens. Check it daily for infection and keep applying the antibiotic ointment for a week or so, or until the skin has hardened over.

Please keep us posted on how the surgery goes!!