Lump on Turken's Neck

[SDChef]

I bought a couple chickens last night and this morning noticed a lump on my new Turken's neck. She is 1 year old and i'm not sure how long she has had it there. anyways I didn't mean to buy my chickens at night but I got lost and it took me forever to get there and of course after driving 2 hours I was going to buy a chicken! They all were well kept, and all of them were beautiful last night. Could it have been an injury that occured overnight with my other chickens or is it a tumor? abscess? I'm not sure what ailments normally fall on chickens. The lump is located at the base of her neck over her right breast and is about the size of a golf ball. All of m chickens are freely fed layer pellets, oyster shell, vegetable scraps and occasionally some scratch. I use Diamaceous earth on there straw which they use for nesting and bedding on the coop floor, and I sprinkle a little in there dusting holes to keep them clean. The floor was cleaned on Sunday. They free range 2 days a week through my backyard and courtyard and have access to a very nice sized run the rest of the time. Oh and last I have 7 chickens that all are looking very healthy and lay great eggs! we'll still have to see if the Turken is Laying eggs.

Here is a picture of her, you can kind of see the lump.

Any Thoughts? I really don't want to take her back, it would be more hassle than its worth.

 

[Nava]

is this your first turken?? and how long have you had it??

 

[SDChef]

it is my first and I have had her for exactly 24 hours

 

[ranchhand]

SDChef[b :

]I bought a couple chickens last night [/b]and this morning noticed a lump on my new Turken's neck. She is 1 year old and i'm not sure how long she has had it there. anyways I didn't mean to buy my chickens at night but I got lost and it took me forever to get there and of course after driving 2 hours I was going to buy a chicken! They all were well kept, and all of them were beautiful last night. Could it have been an injury that occured overnight with my other chickens or is it a tumor? abscess? I'm not sure what ailments normally fall on chickens. The lump is located at the base of her neck over her right breast and is about the size of a golf ball. All of m chickens are freely fed layer pellets, oyster shell, vegetable scraps and occasionally some scratch. I use Diamaceous earth on there straw which they use for nesting and bedding on the coop floor, and I sprinkle a little in there dusting holes to keep them clean. The floor was cleaned on Sunday. They free range 2 days a week through my backyard and courtyard and have access to a very nice sized run the rest of the time. Oh and last I have 7 chickens that all are looking very healthy and lay great eggs! we'll still have to see if the Turken is Laying eggs.

Here is a picture of her, you can kind of see the lump.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/48460_turken_2.jpeg

Any Thoughts? I really don't want to take her back, it would be more hassle than its worth.

I can't see much from the pic. Are you sure it's not just her full crop? It looks pretty big and low for a full crop, but it might be.

And the way you keep chickens has nothing to do with ones you bought last night. Are you enforcing a 30 day quarantine?​

 

[chickenlittle32]

I was thinking maybe full crop as well...do you offer grit? I didn't see it mentioned....Grit acts like teeth and breaks down the food.

 

[Kev]

I was thinking full crop too.. it's also a very common question from first time turken owners- concern over a very visible full crop on a naked neck. It's not very visible on a non-naked necked bird.. if you pick up other chickens and feel around in the same area, you might feel the same lump, always on the same area.

You can watch the size, it can change size as it empties or fills up..

 

[SDChef]

From what I have been told on here I shouldn't have to offer grit since they have such a large run (10' x 15' not including the coop) that consists of grass and lots of sand/clay and access to the garden. If it is just a full Crop than I feel pretty dumb, it just surprised me to see it this morning.

 

[Taylor]

i think its a full crop

 

[SDChef]

Whoops, my bad!

 

[Kev]

Dont feel dumb! It is startling to see how big crops can get plus on a naked necked bird. I'm so used to seeing that it doesn't even register anymore(my flock is almost entirely naked necked).

Grit is one of things people can feel very strongly about, either way. Birds do like it, and can use if they are eating things like whole seeds, leaves etc.. but in reality if the only thing they eat are soft food like laying mash/pellets, it is not absolutely essential.

As for birds that have access to sand/etc.. if there's a lot of natural grit, it is probably not REAL necessary to buy grit. If you also let yours loose in the yard occasionally they will also find extra grit around the yard. No harm in having a little bowl or scattering a little bit of store bought grit though. Do be careful if they appear too excited about grit and gulp down mouthfuls, that's not good!

Congrats on having new chickens!