Rooster With Swelling in front of wing

[TompkinsGarden]

Hello all. I've combed through a bunch of threads and haven't found anything yet that quite fits with what I've been dealing with for the past few weeks. I have a black copper marans rooster who is 6.5 months old. Initially we thought his wing was injured but upon further inspection it appears to be swelling in front/above his wing...as in where it attaches to his body. His only real symptoms are he's mildly lethargic and moves awkwardly. He's eating and drinking normal and I haven't noticed any abnormal poop. He also doesn't seem to mind me extending his wing. I'm adding a couple of pictures to show his stance when he's just watching over his ladies. I'm at a loss for what to do and cannot find a vet in the area who will take a look at him. Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Welcome To BYC


Any indication of discoloration of the skin/lump, green like bruising, abrasions, etc.?

Hard to tell what's going on, but if there's swelling then it may be injury(?)
Look at his skin really well and try to decide if the swelling is bruising, crusty, etc.

If he's lethargic, then he's not doing very well. Depending on where you live and the temperatures, you may need to separate him to a protected/warmer area and see that he's eating/drinking well.

 

[TompkinsGarden]

Any indication of discoloration of the skin/lump, green like bruising, abrasions, etc.?

My husband helped me hold him this afternoon and neither of us could see any indication of brusing or abrasions.

Hard to tell what's going on, but if there's swelling then it may be injury(?)
Look at his skin really well and try to decide if the swelling is bruising, crusty, etc.

It almost looks like his wing isn't attached to his body properly. I held my hands under his wings while husband extended them and then above them while he extended them and couldn't tell a difference in either side.

If he's lethargic, then he's not doing very well. Depending on where you live and the temperatures, you may need to separate him to a protected/warmer area and see that he's eating/drinking well.

He seemed to be somewhat less lethargic today. His sister pecked the fire out of us while we were looking him over. I gave him 1mL of NutriDrench and then (since the girls thought it would be fun to knock down the waterer this afternoon) replaced their water with an electrolyte solution until morning. He wasn't willing to go in the coop this evening so we put him in with the girls. He likes to roost on the ladder to the coop normally, just outside the door. It's supposed to be cold tonight though.

Any idea if chicken chiropractors are a thing? Poor guy. What's so bad is I think he knows we are just trying to help him.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Poor guy.

If you can find an avian vet to see him, they may be able to offer some suggestions or at least do an xray to see if the wing is out of place.

 

[OwO]

I have a hen who had something very similar recently, it looked pretty much exactly the same, and it's because she was bending her neck in an S shape at an odd angle due to an ear infection. I wonder if the lump is the front of his neck. It would explain why his head is so close to his body. They can also get wry neck from vitamin deficiency.

I tried to illustrate what I mean, hopefully it makes sense. The red line is the vertebrae

 

[TompkinsGarden]

Thought I'd update: I am starting to believe his wing is somehow dislocated. We separated him for a night and doted on him. He became very stressed the next morning when he could hear his ladies out so we returned him back to the run. He's moving around more and acting like he feels better. We tried to wrap his wing again and he managed to break out in less than 5 minutes. One of our friends has a daughter who is going to school to become a vet tech and will be home for Christmas (weather permitting). She's supposed to come take a look at him and give us an opinion this weekend.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Let us know how it goes.

 

[TompkinsGarden]

Update: Friend's daughter didn't come by because she had covid. We also had covid.

He has straightened out quite a bit but still seems to hunker in an awkward position when it's time to roost for the night. He is eating, drinking, and keeping his ladies in line. I still have no idea what was wrong. This is going to be a great chicken mystery.

Why are there so few avian vets? There's a vet about half an hour from here who will see parrots, but not chickens. It just boggles my mind.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry to hear that you were sick, I hope you are feeling better.

It's good that he's improving. Sometimes things do remain a mystery.

As for vets, who knows. Likely there's not much call for treating poultry and it's probably not that profitable.

 

[OwO]

Hey I just wanted to show you what my chicken looks like who has a bent neck, just so you can tell if it looks similar or not for reference. To me it looks like the same thing, but could be wrong, hope this might be helpful