An 8-month-old white feathered, black skinned Moroseta hen was presented for examination because of numerous 2 mm- to 30 mm-diameter irregularly shaped, hard nodules in the skin of the head, wings, back, and abdomen. The nodules were confined to the skin and did not involve subcutaneous tissues. Nodules consisted of dilated feather follicles packed with a caseous tan-to-pale-yellow material admixed with feather remnants. Histologically, affected feather follicles were markedly dilated and filled with laminated keratin debris. Necrosis of the epidermis and perifollicular lymphocyte infiltration was also present. Bacteriologic investigation of internal organs was negative, while secondary bacteria, Proteus spp. and Bacillus spp., were isolated from skin nodules. A concomitant lice infestation of Menopon spp., as well as leg mange caused by Cnemidocoptes spp., were also present. These bacterial isolates and parasites were not related to the disease condition. The condition observed was differentiated from benign feather follicle tumors, and a diagnosis of multiple feather follicle cysts was made. In addition, a breed predisposition was hypothesized.
How to translate text using browser tools
1 June 2008
Multiple Feather Follicle Cysts in a Moroseta Hen (Gallus Gallus)
Franco Mutinelli,
Michela Corro',
Salvatore Catania,
Erica Melchiotti
ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE
Avian Diseases
Vol. 52 • No. 2
June 2008
Vol. 52 • No. 2
June 2008
feather follicle cysts
Gallus gallus
hen
Moroseta chicken breed
skin