What is wrong with my hen?!

[SuperKingCheese]

I noticed one of my bantams was walking a bit off balance and limping so I picked her up to take a look and found this huge mass beneath her vent that is covered in very hard dried crust.
The area around t is very swollen and hard to touch, her vent is clear and looks healthy although you can't see it in the photos. She is eating and drinking fine and her poop is normal, currently going through a molt so she's not laying at the moment.
So far I have bathed her in an epsom salt bath for 30 minutes and it still hasn't softened this crusty area so I can't even clean it or see what is under it.
Does anyone have any ideas what this could be and how best to help her?
Thank you.

 

[azygous]

Good closeup shots, but it would be helpful to also include a shot of this wound in then context of the entire chicken so we can see exactly where it is.

From what I see and interpret from just a two dimensional image is a skin abrasion on the skin area below the vent, rather than a prolapse of the inside portion of the cloaca. If it's the case that prolapse isn't the main issue here, I would treat the lesion with Vetericyn spray a few times a day until it heals. Blu-kote can also help pretect the wound while camouflaging it to avoid it being pecked.

If, on the other hand, this involves vent prolapse where the inside of the cloaca is protruding from the vent, this article of mine addresses treatment for it. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ng-from-vent-prolapse-oh-my-what-to-do.76124/

 

[Eggcessive]

Has she been sitting on damp bedding? Are the others pecking her bottom? Is she with bigger or more aggressive chickens? I would place her on a soft old clean towel inside a dog crate with food and water. Change it often. Keep the area clean and if it weeps or drains, clean with some Hibiclens or Betadine. Flystrike can be a deadly problem with wounds or poopy vents in hot weather. Flies lay eggs and maggots emerge eating the flesh, so you will want to prevent that from happening.

 

[SuperKingCheese]

Has she been sitting on damp bedding? Are the others pecking her bottom? Is she with bigger or more aggressive chickens? I would place her on a soft old clean towel inside a dog crate with food and water. Change it often. Keep the area clean and if it weeps or drains, clean with some Hibiclens or Betadine. Flystrike can be a deadly problem with wounds or poopy vents in hot weather. Flies lay eggs and maggots emerge eating the flesh, so you will want to prevent that from happening.

Thanks for your reply, all my hens are free range, they don't have a coop rather they just roost on the eves in the barn so there is no damp bedding for them to sit in. They lay their eggs under the hedge rows which is very dry this time of year. She's actually my smallest hen but she is 2nd in the pecking order so none of the other hens have been picking on her. Everything has been normal with her except for this morning when I noticed her walking funny which is when I found this.

Currently she is in crate with food and water, drinking and eating very well. I have cleaned her thoroughly with Betadine.

I tried to remove some of this yellow crusty stuff and it caused some bleeding so I'm thinking this whole area is one big scab, I'm also concerned about the amount of swelling as she is only a tiny bird and this swelling is so big she cannot walk properly.

 

[SuperKingCheese]

Good closeup shots, but it would be helpful to also include a shot of this wound in then context of the entire chicken so we can see exactly where it is.

From what I see and interpret from just a two dimensional image is a skin abrasion on the skin area below the vent, rather than a prolapse of the inside portion of the cloaca. If it's the case that prolapse isn't the main issue here, I would treat the lesion with Vetericyn spray a few times a day until it heals. Blu-kote can also help pretect the wound while camouflaging it to avoid it being pecked.

If, on the other hand, this involves vent prolapse where the inside of the cloaca is protruding from the vent, this article of mine addresses treatment for it. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ng-from-vent-prolapse-oh-my-what-to-do.76124/

Thanks for your reply, the vent is just above this mass, you can see in the photo there is a bit of poop coming out of the vent. The vent appears normal and there is no prolapse. The large mass is locate between the legs and the vent, I will take some more photos but I don't want to disturb her again this evening. She's currently in a crate under the veranda, eating, drinking and pooping as normal.

 

[SuperKingCheese]

Just to update: I am giving her antibiotics and bathing her/applying Betadine daily. The large swollen area is still there and feels warm to touch although it hasn't grown any larger it hasn't reduced in size either. The scabby area still looks the same.

She can only stand on one leg, I think the leg closest to the swelling is being affected by pressure.

She is eating lots of food, drinking and pooping well. Apart from standing on one leg she doesn't look sick, no ruffled feathers, eyes wide open and alert etc.

I'm going to continue the antibiotic treatment and daily bathing and see how she goes.

Still have no idea what the cause of this wound is, the swollen area is shaped like a doughnut with a depression in the center which is where the scabby area is located.
The swelling is very firm, it's not soft and cannot be moved around. The hen doesn't appear to struggle or make any movements when I'm touching it or cleaning it so I'm not sure what her pain level is.

If anyone has any more ideas or suggestions I would really appreciate the help.