My chicken has a huge, hard ball on her thigh. What would you do?

[MaeM]

Callia is a beautiful, 3-year-old hen who is otherwise super healthy, but... see that thing in her thigh? (I don't know if it's really noticeable in pictures).

Well, that's a tumor, according to her vet (who has yet to see her in person). It's not necessarily cancerous, it's just a tumor.

A few years ago, Callia suffered some sort of accident and was left with a huge gash under her wing, which made her skin hang loose. (We never knew what happened, I just found her like this).

It looked like she had a "pocket" on the side of her body, but by the time I found it, the wound had already started the healing process, so the vet who saw her back then said to leave it alone, that it would heal on its own (I thought she needed stitches - I still think he should've stitched it). I only had to ensure it didn't get infected so I just had to clean and rinse the "pocket" with antiseptic until it closed on its own.

For a long time, she only had a small deformity in that area, as the skin regenerated and filled "the pocket", and the edge of this pocket "adhered" to her body (I hope I'm explaining this correctly, lol).

But now, that "pocket" became a hard ball and fell over her thigh, affecting her leg's rotation. She's clearly bothered by this, it makes her trip when she walks if she's not careful, and she runs in a very weird way (almost like jumping, more than running).

More recently I realized that she sleeps on the nest box, and I assume that this ball is heavy enough to lose balance or, more likely, to make her uncomfortable while roosting.

Her vet told me to bring her over to his office but I feel like the only option is surgery. She's a pet hen so let's say that I'm willing to pay for her surgery. The thing is... is it worth it? I mean, is it worth making her go through that if she can still have a fairly normal chicken life with that ball? What would you do?

 

[GlicksChicks]

Judging by what happened in that area before, I am thinking it could be an abcess. I would have originally thought tumor until you explained what happened int hat area before.

I am thinking that the skin healed over the wound and liquids built up under the skin, forming the abcess.

You should look into dealing with an abcess at home, and if it seems daunting or too dangerous in your opinion, then a vet can deal with it.

Usually what I have seen vets do with abcesses is they cut a hole into it, drain the puss, and put some sort of tube into the abcess to help drainage continue.

 

[MaeM]

Judging by what happened in that area before, I am thinking it could be an abcess. I would have originally thought tumor until you explained what happened int hat area before.

I am thinking that the skin healed over the wound and liquids built up under the skin, forming the abcess.

You should look into dealing with an abcess at home, and if it seems daunting or too dangerous in your opinion, then a vet can deal with it.

Usually what I have seen vets do with abcesses is they cut a hole into it, drain the puss, and put some sort of tube into the abcess to help drainage continue.

Wouldn't the ball feel softer to the touch, if that was the case? This is a hard, movable ball. Doesn't feel like it has actual fluids / liquids in it.

But it's been a long time. Maybe those fluids solidified?

Thanks for your comment, you convinced me to take her to the vet (I don't think I can do this on my own).

 

[GlicksChicks]

Wouldn't the ball feel softer to the touch, if that was the case? This is a hard, movable ball. Doesn't feel like it has actual fluids / liquids in it.

But it's been a long time. Maybe those fluids solidified?

Thanks for your comment, you convinced me to take her to the vet (I don't think I can do this on my own).

Abcesses can feel solid. They vary in their solid states, but they are not all liquid.

And I agree with your opinion that she probably should have been stitched up. I do not think it is a coincidence that this lump formed from the area that she was formally wounded in. That is a big red flag for an abcess.

Let me know how it all turns out at the vet!

 

[Chicken_tiger_catt]

Callia is a beautiful, 3-year-old hen who is otherwise super healthy, but... see that thing in her thigh? (I don't know if it's really noticeable in pictures).

Well, that's a tumor, according to her vet (who has yet to see her in person). It's not necessarily cancerous, it's just a tumor.

A few years ago, Callia suffered some sort of accident and was left with a huge gash under her wing, which made her skin hang loose. (We never knew what happened, I just found her like this).

It looked like she had a "pocket" on the side of her body, but by the time I found it, the wound had already started the healing process, so the vet who saw her back then said to leave it alone, that it would heal on its own (I thought she needed stitches - I still think he should've stitched it). I only had to ensure it didn't get infected so I just had to clean and rinse the "pocket" with antiseptic until it closed on its own.

For a long time, she only had a small deformity in that area, as the skin regenerated and filled "the pocket", and the edge of this pocket "adhered" to her body (I hope I'm explaining this correctly, lol).

But now, that "pocket" became a hard ball and fell over her thigh, affecting her leg's rotation. She's clearly bothered by this, it makes her trip when she walks if she's not careful, and she runs in a very weird way (almost like jumping, more than running).

More recently I realized that she sleeps on the nest box, and I assume that this ball is heavy enough to lose balance or, more likely, to make her uncomfortable while roosting.

Her vet told me to bring her over to his office but I feel like the only option is surgery. She's a pet hen so let's say that I'm willing to pay for her surgery. The thing is... is it worth it? I mean, is it worth making her go through that if she can still have a fairly normal chicken life with that ball? What would you do?



View attachment 3847378

she should have between 3 and 6 years left in her by breed, so if it bothers her that much, I would try to fix it.

 

[LaFleche]

Chicken pus is of a rather solid consistency and hardens even more with time.

 

[MaeM]

Thanks everyone, she has an appointment with the avian vet next Tuesday. It's the earliest appointment I could find, but I think she will be fine. I mean, she's had this for a long time... so her 'abscess' (let's call it that until the vet confirms!) shouldn't be life-threatening, right?

 

[GlicksChicks]

Thanks everyone, she has an appointment with the avian vet next Tuesday. It's the earliest appointment I could find, but I think she will be fine. I mean, she's had this for a long time... so her 'abscess' (let's call it that until the vet confirms!) shouldn't be life-threatening, right?

It should not. The main thing to look for is it rupturing.

 

[MaeM]

Update: the vet inserted a needle in her "ball" and nothing came out, except for a little amount of blood. Whatever is inside that ball, is dry and quite solid.

The vet says it's very likely that it's an abscess as you guys mentioned, but it could also be granuloma.

Granuloma is a type of tumor that forms when there are foreign materials in the bird's body, such as a little stone, or dirt, whatever could have entered that open wound while it was open.

The other vet definitely made a huge mistake by not stitching her up.

There's a little possibility that this is another type of tumor (e. g., cancerous). The vet wants to make sure what type of thing this is so he took a sample of her tissue and will perform a biopsy.

I will get the results in 10 days.

If it's an abscess, they will drain it.

If it's a granuloma, they will remove it with a minor surgery. The hen will be sedated so that she's not that scared, and they will use a local anesthetic to cut the "ball" and remove its content.

Worst case scenario, the ball is made of malignant cells that can be 'activated' if touched so it would be an inoperable tumor. This is unlikely but needs to be ruled out because she's only 3 and we could significantly shorten her life if we dig in a cancerous tumor that seems to be encapsulated otherwise.

 

[GlicksChicks]

Update: the vet inserted a needle in her "ball" and nothing came out, except for a little amount of blood. Whatever is inside that ball, is dry and quite solid.

The vet says it's very likely that it's an abscess as you guys mentioned, but it could also be granuloma.

Granuloma is a type of tumor that forms when there are foreign materials in the bird's body, such as a little stone, or dirt, whatever could have entered that open wound while it was open.

The other vet definitely made a huge mistake by not stitching her up.

There's a little possibility that this is another type of tumor (e. g., cancerous). The vet wants to make sure what type of thing this is so he took a sample of her tissue and will perform a biopsy.

I will get the results in 10 days.

If it's an abscess, they will drain it.

If it's a granuloma, they will remove it with a minor surgery. The hen will be sedated so that she's not that scared, and they will use a local anesthetic to cut the "ball" and remove its content.

Worst case scenario, the ball is made of malignant cells that can be 'activated' if touched so it would be an inoperable tumor. This is unlikely but needs to be ruled out because she's only 3 and we could significantly shorten her life if we dig in a cancerous tumor that seems to be encapsulated otherwise.

Thank you for the update! I hope all goes well!