Feather Cysts? Treat or see if it'll fix itself.

[alexisrambles]

Hello guys! I think one of my girls, a dark brahma, has feather cysts on her wings. She's about 6-7 weeks old.

I thought at first it was just her picking at her first moult, but her wings don't look too fun. She's acting fine, pooping fine. When my girls started moulting, it was really hard on them, so I got a starter with a higher protein content since they were eating their moulted feathers. This girl is the last to deal with moulting and I'm concerned.

What do you do with feather cysts? Are these feather cysts? Should I leave it and let it work itself out? (one already did as you can see) Or should I lance it and pull out the feathers by hand?

I have cysts I'm ignoring and that's ok with my doctors... is it different with chickens?

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Okay...here are my thoughts.

1) Is it possible she is being pecked on by the others? That could possibly be scabs from feather pecking damage. So first thing would be to protect her from that. Then, you might swab with an antibiotic ointment or wash/rinse with chlorhexiderm. But....I think it is more likely...

2) Are they infected follicles or follicle/skin tumors? (Squishy and warm vs. firm). They look suspiciously like skin tumors. And possibly of the Marek's type, though she is a smidge young. Usually Marek's strikes just before point of lay in 14 to 20 weeks. There is little you can do if it is Marek's. I would strongly suggest culling her if that is the case. Don't panic about the rest of the flock. Typically only a few are infected, but the rest have stronger immunity to it.

3) Final thought is depluming mites.

I'll link two places to read for more information from past BYC queries.

Good luck with her and keep us posted. Watch very carefully for further signs of illness.

http://beautyofbirds.com/feathercysts.html
https://thepoultrysite.com/disease-guide/mareks-disease
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/
https://www.omlet.co.uk/guide/chickens/chicken_health/the_depluming_mite
http://www.chickenvet.co.uk/health-and-common-diseases/mites-lice/index.aspx

LofMc

 

[alexisrambles]

Okay...here are my thoughts.

1) Is it possible she is being pecked on by the others? That could possibly be scabs from feather pecking damage. So first thing would be to protect her from that. Then, you might swab with an antibiotic ointment or wash/rinse with chlorhexiderm. But....I think it is more likely...

2) Are they infected follicles or follicle/skin tumors? (Squishy and warm vs. firm). They look suspiciously like skin tumors. And possibly of the Marek's type, though she is a smidge young. Usually Marek's strikes just before point of lay in 14 to 20 weeks. There is little you can do if it is Marek's. I would strongly suggest culling her if that is the case. Don't panic about the rest of the flock. Typically only a few are infected, but the rest have stronger immunity to it.

3) Final thought is depluming mites.

I'll link two places to read for more information from past BYC queries.

Good luck with her and keep us posted. Watch very carefully for further signs of illness.

http://beautyofbirds.com/feathercysts.html
https://thepoultrysite.com/disease-guide/mareks-disease
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/
https://www.omlet.co.uk/guide/chickens/chicken_health/the_depluming_mite
http://www.chickenvet.co.uk/health-and-common-diseases/mites-lice/index.aspx

LofMc

Okay so I freaked the HECK out at the dreaded M word and ran home to check.

Def ingrown feathers, possibly with additional pecking damage. Here is another picture. The white lump is her joint, which I totally forgot.

It looks like she got some Peck damage on the joint but that large scab definitely has feathers erupting. No tumor underneath- just scab. And it is warm to the touch.

I also forgot in my complete and utter panic that these girls are all vaccinated against Marek's. D'oh.