Breast Blister? something else?

[KWVT]

I discovered a lump on my 13-week-old chicken yesterday. It is the size of a quarter or so and flattish (not round like a grape tomato, but more like a ... small cookie in shape?). It is firmish but soft. I see no outward wound, scab, blood, etc. When pushing feathers aside, I see just a yellow lump.

It is centered and low on her chest. I have other birds that if you feel their chest you can feel what I'm assuming to be the top of the keel. This seems to be at the top of the keel where the end of the bone is. When she roosts it seems to be on the part of her chest that sits on the roost, essentially between her feet.

From my googling, the closest thing I could come up with was a breast blister. However, they seem to happen primarily in meat birds and relate with leg issues or laying on the floor a lot. She is acting normally and eating, roosting, etc. I wouldn't have known it was there if I didn't pick her up. She is squirmy, but I've felt it while she is roosting and tried to grab a few photos tonight.

Is this a breast blister? If so, it sounds like I need a vet to lance it? It does not look like something that is anywhere close to opening up on its own.

My first thought is to keep an eye on it for a few days and check with a vet, but I thought I'd see what other people think. I'm new to chickens (clearly).

Also, to be clear: it is definitely not her crop. I already had the tumor/crop freak out several weeks ago. This is lower than her crop.

With and without red circle showing where it is (circle not necessarily to scale)



Underneath. Hard to see the full size here.

 

[Abriana]

Is she laying on a hard surface or wire a lot? Does she have proper bedding?

 

[KWVT]

There is no wire. She either roosts on a 2x4 or she likes a log we have outside. I have several inches of bedding (pine shavings inside, lawn clippings/shavings outside). She doesn't lay down any more than any of the other chickens.

 

[Abriana]

There is no wire. She either roosts on a 2x4 or she likes a log we have outside. I have several inches of bedding (pine shavings inside, lawn clippings/shavings outside). She doesn't lay down any more than any of the other chickens.

Then I don't see how it could be a breast blister. She seems to have plenty of soft places to lay. I don't know what else it could be, sorry!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

When she roosts it seems to be on the part of her chest that sits on the roost, essentially between her feet....It does not look like something that is anywhere close to opening up on its own.

I could be a breast blister from roosting - keep watch on it, if it become inflamed, raw or fluid filled, then it would be best to see your vet.

 

[KWVT]

Now that I think about it, several days ago she ran into the side of my deck (aka she should have jumped up on top of it and hit it instead). It would have hit roughly chest height. I wonder if this is related.

 

[Eggcessive]

Breast blisters can occur in chickens who roost most of the time, or who roost on the ground. It can be common in diseases where they lie down a lot, such as in mycoplasma synovitis (MS,) or in very docile birds, or birds who have to roost on the ground where there might be wet bedding. I had a rooster in a pen with 2 other roosters who developed one because he was so bullied by the other 2 that he stayed on his roost most of the time. If a scab develops, I would use some betadine or similar on it, and may sure it doesn't become an abscess that may need lanced.