Avian Pathology Cases: 65

For more than three years I’ve gotten together with Dr Vicki Bowes, vet/ avian pathologist on a regular basis to pore over files in my memory stick loaded with interesting chicken health issues that I’ve collected for her expert opinion. She refers to it as ‘Show and Tell’, ‘Best Guess’ or, more recently, ‘Gorefest’ and has done a good job at making diagnoses given the information we have at hand. Sometimes all we are provided with is a short paragraph from the chicken’s owner, other times nothing more than a photograph.

My job is to write them up to share with my readers as a form of skills building for small flock keepers.

---

Wait & See

I bought some hens that were delivered to me yesterday. The friend who brought them said the owner thought she was eggbound. I soaked her and cleaned her up and this is what I found. You can see her vent above the swelling, which seems fine. We did not feel any egg and the spot is soft and squishy. 

I got her into the only vet who sees chickens this morning. When I got there, the vet said she had never seen anything like this. She thought she felt some intestine in the lump so she refused to drain anything out of it. The vet wouldn’t do any testing on a $10 chicken. She sprayed silver spray on her and told me to take her home and see how she was acting. She wouldn’t even give me antibiotics. – Emily Fulbright 

Dr Bowes: This is an abnormal distension of the abdomen. A hernia would not be discoloured. It may be a localized abscess or a feather follicle cyst. This is a case of ‘wait and see’, monitor her symptoms and don’t mess with the lump unless it is growing. 

---

Ulcerated Mass

My Naked Neck has this hard lump. I cut a little slit to see if I could squeeze stuff out and it just bleeds. I cleaned it, put on antibiotic ointment and separated her for now. Does it look like squamous cell carcinoma? It doesn’t seem like she’s in any pain. I just kept putting BluKote on it thinking it was a pecking sore, but it kept growing. – Miranda Lattin

Dr Bowes: It’s an ulcerated mass which could be the result of squamous cell carcinoma or a foreign body. Is it mobile or attached to the tissue under the skin? Measure it weekly to monitor if it is growing or not. It’s in an area that is easy for a vet to surgically remove and resect. 

---

Mass On Leg

I’ve been treating my rooster for scaly leg mites. He also has a growth that is very hard and purple in colour. It came off once (I didn’t see how) and his leg was smooth underneath it. I have used Dynamite wound bomb, Bag Balm, A&D ointment. His legs are looking better. He’s been kennelled for about three weeks due to soreness and limping. – Tammy Martin Hawk

Dr Bowes: The mass needs to be soaked and debrided, and a topical antiseptic applied to the area. It could be the result of trauma or injury that eroded the subcutaneous tissue. An unlikely (rare) diagnosis would be hemangiosarcoma. What did you treat his scaly leg mites with? If it was something like gasoline or kerosene it could have caused damage to his leg. 

---

Staph Infection

I noticed my rooster limping and took him to the vet and have been back three times.  He’s been given antibiotics and pain meds for two weeks with minimal improvement. My vet thinks it might be an infection in the joint. She has consulted with her colleagues. The first week he was given Amoxicillin, 7ml increased to 10ml and then switched to Baytril 2.7%. I’m soaking twice daily in Chlorahexidine and giving Meloxicam for pain 1.5mg/ml. – Tracey Lynn Corey

Dr Bowes: He’s got an infection causing cellulitis. I’ve never seen a joint infection result in this but I have seen this cause joint infection due to erosion. The moist nature of the wound is associated with a Staph infection. Treat it as an intensive dirty wound with topical antiseptics and cover it. Baytril is intended for gram negative infections not Staph infections. Treat with Claviseptin.

---

Glossary

Cellulitis: deep infection of the skin caused by bacteria

Debride: remove damaged tissue or foreign objects from a wound

Hemangiosarcoma: a malignant neoplasm of blood vessel cells that can involve the skin as a primary or metastatic site 

---

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. Featured photo credit: Istockphoto