This series is a partnership between Bitchin’ Chickens and Dr Vicki Bowes, vet/avian pathologist. We get together to chat about interesting chicken health issues and attempt to come up with a diagnosis based on the information we have, which often isn’t much.
We’ve been going through case notes, necropsy reports and photos to reach what Dr Bowes terms her ‘best guess’. We recently got together to sift through 20 mystery cases wanting to be solved. Most of them were old hat for her, although there were a few that presented some challenges.
I’ve grouped them by type. This file is called ‘Lumps & Bumps’, a medley of all kinds of abscesses, cancers, infections and more, just waiting for Dr Bowes to give me her diagnosis. Again, she did not disappoint and I present them here for your learning.
Lump
This 2½-year-old bantam Cochin has a fast growing lump the size of ping-pong ball. I’ve cleaned it with Chlorhexidrine shampoo. What else can I do? – Gamble Nelkin
Dr Bowes: It could be one of several things: a feather follicle cyst, an impacted preening gland or squamous cell carcinoma. Regardless, the bird requires vet care or humane euthanasia.
Lump
Please help. Is this a tumor? I just got back from being out of town for the week. My husband said my 18 month old Cochin frizzle rooster was bleeding by his tail feathers but it didn’t look bad. When I got home to check him out, I found this. It’s a huge mass about the size of a golf ball right by his preening gland. Skin around his vent and tummy are red and inflamed. I separated him in a crate but he was more stressed and seemed happier in the flock with the others.
I’m wondering if he started bleeding because he was pecking at the mass and then it got infected, or maybe the pecking caused an infection that led to this. At any rate, he’s acting normally – eating, crowing, drinking, talking to his ladies, but this can’t be good. – Juliette Farmer
Dr Bowes: The mass is huge and requires surgical removal by a vet. If it is squamous cell carcinoma it can be cleanly removed with wide margins. However, the risk is it will recur at another site, in which case I’d recommend humane euthanasia.
Lumps (photos: M Runion)
Dr Bowes: I’d like to know the history of these lumps. If they are hot I would suggest it’s a bacterial infection. If not, a biopsy is required for an accurate diagnosis.
Abscess Or Tumour?
She’s about four years old and otherwise healthy; no sinus or respiratory issues, no lesions or other bumps anywhere, and no odour. – Melanie Ragan Denzler
Dr Bowes: It appears to be soft tissue from the edge of her beak and could be an abscess or tumour. I would loop an elastic thread or dental floss around it and tie it tightly at the base of the lump to constrict blood flow. It should become necrotic and drop off. Have you noticed how long has it taken to get to this size? Has it stopped growing?
Abscess Or Cancer?
I just got this handsome boy a few days ago and this morning noticed an odd lump under his eye on one side. Could this be fowl pox? If so, is there anything I can do to help him? If it isn’t, what is it and any treatments? Update: I removed the contents of the lump, which were white and soft like cottage cheese. – Hannah Morgan
Dr Bowes: It appears to be an abscess or squamous cell carcinoma. The location, close to his eye, makes it vulnerable to infection. I would clean it out with an antibacterial wash and apply a topical antibiotic. The wound should contract and form scar tissue in 10-14 days. If it remains soft and the proliferative margin gets larger I would suspect it is cancer.
Tumour
This strange, hardened growth smells like a dead animal. I took her to an exotics vet who said it could be a keratoma or HPV-wartlike growth. He prescribed 21 days of pain meds, Baytril (antibiotic) and a topical steroid spray. She is eating, drinking and is alert, but not laying. I had another hen with a similar growth, which didn’t smell that just fell off one day, leaving a big wound. This one has grown in the same general area. Any idea what it could be? – Rebecca Gregory
Dr Bowes: A tumour can restrict the blood supply, which can produce the smell of infection. There is lots of keratin and skin components of a tumour and areas of necrosis. You’ve made a good attempt at treatment: I agree with the prescribing of a pain medication and Baytril. Topical steroids can stop the bird from pecking at the area but they compromise healing. My recommendation is humane euthanasia.
Glossary
Abscess: a localized collection of pus in a cavity formed from tissues that have been broken down by infectious bacteria. An abscess is caused when bacteria such as staphylococci or streptococci gain access to solid tissue.
Keratoma: An area of hardened skin – often called a callus – which is usually a response to frictional trauma to the skin.
Proliferative: Proliferation is the growth of tissue cells. In many diseases, it is abnormal. Cancer cells are very prolific because they have high rates of cell division and growth.
Tumour: a swelling of a part of the body, generally without inflammation, caused by an abnormal growth of tissue, whether benign or malignant.
Well, that wraps up another edition of Show & Tell With Bitchin’ Chickens and Dr Bowes. I hope that it’s been a learning experience for you.
If you’d like help with a case drop me a line using the ‘contact’ button on my home page. Remember to wear gloves, take good close up photos from several angles and supply us with plenty of information (e.g. timelines, symptoms, medications, general flock health, etc) so we’re able to more accurately pinpoint what’s going on.
Thanks again to Dr Vicki Bowes for her willingness to share her wealth of knowledge and experience to build capacity and skills in small flock keepers.
Bitchin' Chickens 
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