Yet more drama

[iopele]

Okay, so in addition to the chick who died of mysterious causes and the one who got impacted and had to have help to poop, I've just found a tumor on another chick. (It promptly got named Lumpy, naturally) I can't seem to get a good picture of the tumor but it looks like a lipoma to me--a fat deposit, not dangerous if that's what it is. So does this mean I can't breed this chick? Anyone know? Lipomas aren't hereditary in people, but I dunno about chickens. Sigh... and this is one of the tufted ones, too.

 

[tiffanyh]

Where is it? The lump....

 

[iopele]

Directly in front of the right wing. I can't seem to get a good picture because the chick is wiggly and in order to hold it to expose the area, I have to use both hands, and my sons aren't great at taking good pictures yet, lol. We'll try more tomorrow. It's definitely NOT on the neck, though--it was suggested that it might be the crop, but it's not in that area. It's over the ribs and just in front of the wing.

 

[Malibufarmer]

i would keep it for a while and she what happenes

 

[iopele]

It's gotten larger after 24 hours. I've got to take our dog to the vet for a heartworm test and rabies vaccine next week, so I might take Lumpy along for the vet to look at. In my experience, lipomas don't tend to grow very fast.

 

[schmoo]

I am 100% new to this, but I was reading a chicken book today and I read something about breast blisters on chickens, maybe thats what it is??

 

[iopele]

I don't know, schmoo. My father thinks it looks like an impacted crop even though it's not really in the right place, so I gave Lumpy a few drops of olive oil to help it clear just in case.

Lumpy was NOT a fan of that procedure!

I'll keep y'all posted... hopefully Lumpy's got an off-center crop and it's full of feed, and will now get better. Personally I'm not terribly hopeful but what do I know!

 

[allen wranch]

It sounds like an impacted crop. Check and see if it is gone or smaller in the mornings. If so, it just may be eating more than the others.

If it is an impacted crop, you need to separate it, take away any food, and provide some vitamin & electrolyte water for 24 hours. Then give it yogurt with some boiled egg in it so that is more liquid than solid. Feed this for a couple of days gradually adding some chick starter until it naturally empties its crop every night.

Are you giving the chicks any treats ? Are you giving them any grit ?

 

[iopele]

It's definitely not an impacted crop. I've done the treatment for that, just in case, but it hasn't helped at all. Plus the lump doesn't change size through the day, is quite soft and it's very mobile. I can move it from its natural starting point (just in front and below the right wing joint) to all the way under the wing, and back all the way in the middle of the breast area, without the chick acting like that's uncomfortable at all. I don't think the crop would move that much, or at least, it'd hurt.

I've been doing research online and the best guess I can come up with is a fatty tumor. I can't afford to have it removed (even if there was a vet around here who'd do it, which is doubtful), and bleeding's supposed to be a big problem in birds, so I guess I'll just have to let Lumpy keep his/her lump. It's not bothering Lumpy at all--still eating, drinking, and pooping as normal, running around with full energy, etc. Too bad I won't be able to breed him/her, because s/he has one of the best, fullest tufts of the whole crew.

(edited to add)

They do get treats--a crumbled boiled egg yolk between the 10 of them every day or two--and have gotten a bit of grit, too, sprinkled over the top of their crumbles every other day. Mostly, however, they're just on medicated chick starter.

 

[allen wranch]

If it is a fatty tumor, those are usually not hereditary, and there shouldn't be a problem with breeding him/her.