My hen 3 year old hen just went through a molt and got a feather cyst. It was okay at first but in the last few days has grown much larger about the size of a marble. Its constantly bleeding....( don't want her to bleed to death)

I had been advised to put aloe vera on it...which I have...Still preety bad at this stage..

 

Question: I read to tie the cyst off and that should get rid of it and try remove as much of the feather as possible. Is this okay and safe to do????

 

Do they recover from it??

 

I know It can be surgically removed also??

Plucking the problem feather wont help, it will likely regrow and may form another or secondary cyst. I had a budgie with a cyst, tied it off TIGHTLY with cotton and it fell off after a few days (maybe a week). Surgical is the best option but may be expensive. Others may have better suggestions.

 

At any rate, be sure you tie off the entire cyst if possible. You need to kill the feather follicle of the twisted feather shaft.

Some feather cysts can be tied off yes, but others cant. You can apply even pressure and express the gunk, but that can be an almost daily exercise. The feather follicle really needs excising so stop reoccurrence. We have topics on feather cysts here on BBC if you use the search function or check the health forum.