Help identifying this lump prior to vet visit

[lydiacminx]

Hi all,

My 8 year old Hen has a soft lump on her lower stomach/vent area, just above her anus. I noticed this literally 30 minutes ago as her bum looked a LOT bigger to me, so I had a good look at her and found this:

imgur.com/a/Kjir9

The mass itself is soft but has a yellowy tinge, Stitch is acting herself but appears slightly more puffed up to me (this could be that I'm now over paranoid)

Does this look like a harmless lipoma?

She will be seeing an avian vet tomorrow, I just wanted some opinions before the appointment incase it turns out to be a harmful tumour.

Any help is appreciated

EDIT: She had a fair amount of poo stuck around her vent which I cleared prior to the photos being taken, I'm not sure if the two are connected but thought it was worth mentioning

[Gaile]

may just be a fatty lump x

[lydiacminx]

Sept 22, 2014 7:52:57 GMT Gaile said:

may just be a fatty lump x

I'm really hoping so and that it isn't anything more sinister, she has an appointment today at 5 with an avian vet so hopefully I'll have definite answers by this evening

Thank you for the reply, I've got all fingers crossed for a fatty lump!

[jellybean]

Good luck today at the vet. I hope you get good news.
Got my fingers crossed for you too.

[ffiscool]

good luck

[lydiacminx]

Well, I just got back from the vets and I'm not best pleased! He essentially told me he has no idea what the lump is and that if it gets bigger 'it's the end of the road'! He did a needle aspiration but only blood came out (and a worryingly large amount for such a small bird!) and that was it.

So now I'm left just as worried Has anyone here had experience with blood filled lumps? Is it most likely to be cancer?

[Gaile]

sounds like a cyst!!!

[lydiacminx]

Sept 22, 2014 17:06:00 GMT Gaile said:

sounds like a cyst!!!

Are cysts typically blood filled? He mentioned cysts before he aspirated the lump but after that he never told me outright what he thought it may be :\

[budgiefriend]

Wow. The vet was not very informative, especially for an avian vet. It could be benign or it could be something else. Too bad he could not tell you more. Is there another avian vet you could get an opinion from. I will not even say "second opinion" since the first vet gave you no opinion. My very best thoughts and prayers for you and your little girl.

[lydiacminx]

Sept 22, 2014 19:32:41 GMT budgiefriend said:

Wow. The vet was not very informative, especially for an avian vet. It could be benign or it could be something else. Too bad he could not tell you more. Is there another avian vet you could get an opinion from. I will not even say "second opinion" since the first vet gave you no opinion. My very best thoughts and prayers for you and your little girl.

He is without a doubt the worst vet I've ever seen, I asked questions but he seemed so uninterested and dismissive. He was giving me one word answers, seemed like he just wanted to go home!

Thank you for the well wishes, I'll be ringing the other avian vet in my area to make an appointment there however I'll give Stitch a few days to rest after the ordeal with the first vet!

[Gaile]

there are not very many vets that know about budgies, you need to try and find an avian vet or maybe a local breeder with experience x

[sweetpea]

I agree with what has already been said - the vet wasn't exactly helpful. Good luck with finding someone with a bit more knowledge & enthusiasm.

My Atilla had a 'lump' in a similar area to your Stitch, but hers was a hernia. She was seeing a (very good but sadly now retired) avian vet at the time & he demonstrated by gently pushing the hernia back in place for a second or two.

[budgiefriend]

Good luck to you and Stitch. Hope this vet finds the solution. I bet Stitch is as cute as her name! Much too cute to be sick.

[Hezz]

While I have no idea whether the mass is benign or not, can I just say that if not, Stitch is lucky that this "thing" has room to grow outwards. At least this way it is not strangling her internal organs and making her life extremely difficult, or causing her pain.

For the vet to have removed 'a worryingly large amount (of blood) for such a small bird' makes me think that this is not a lipoma, but either a cyst or a tumour, both of which can accumulate fluid, but to reassure you, the blood was more than likely mostly fluid with a small amount of blood in it giving it the appearance of blood. You would need to have had the drained fluid sent off for diagnosis to be sure, although a more experienced vet may have been able to give you answers as to what they thought it was most likely to be.

Also, be aware that having fluid drained from these sorts of things can make your bird feel worse, as the body immediately goes into "refilling" mode, at the expense of the bird's well-being. This happened to my Bluey, and I regretted having it done - I wasn't warned that it could have a negative effect. His was a malignant tumour, which I certainly hope Stitch doesn't have. Good luck getting a second opinion. xx

[lydiacminx]

Sept 23, 2014 1:03:35 GMT Hezz said:

While I have no idea whether the mass is benign or not, can I just say that if not, Stitch is lucky that this "thing" has room to grow outwards. At least this way it is not strangling her internal organs and making her life extremely difficult, or causing her pain.

For the vet to have removed 'a worryingly large amount (of blood) for such a small bird' makes me think that this is not a lipoma, but either a cyst or a tumour, both of which can accumulate fluid, but to reassure you, the blood was more than likely mostly fluid with a small amount of blood in it giving it the appearance of blood. You would need to have had the drained fluid sent off for diagnosis to be sure, although a more experienced vet may have been able to give you answers as to what they thought it was most likely to be.

Also, be aware that having fluid drained from these sorts of things can make your bird feel worse, as the body immediately goes into "refilling" mode, at the expense of the bird's well-being. This happened to my Bluey, and I regretted having it done - I wasn't warned that it could have a negative effect. His was a malignant tumour, which I certainly hope Stitch doesn't have. Good luck getting a second opinion. xx

Thanks everyone for the support, I'm sure Stitch doesn't even realise there's anything wrong as she's her normal perky self, stuffing her face at every given moment! And Hezz, I was worried about the loss of fluid/blood making her a bit poorly, how long should I give her to rest before taking her to another vet for perhaps a blood/fluid sample? I obviously don't want to push her and make her worse