Fluid in belly with egg floating

[casportpony]

Very educational thread.

 

[rebrascora]

No, salpingitis and EYP are different and the solid masses are all lash eggs.... mixture of infected egg material and cheesy puss.

Basically...

Salpingitis is an infection in the oviduct which causes lash eggs to be produced. The infection is confined to the reproductive tract. Sometimes a hen will manage to expel (lay) some of these lash eggs, but usually they are too large or misshapen for her to squeeze them out.

Internal laying is where egg yolks released from the ovary fail to travel into the oviduct and instead, drop into the abdominal cavity below. Normally they travel down the oviduct and are combined with sperm (if the bird has been mated) and then albumen and encased in a membrane and finally a shell is formed around the whole thing before it is laid. Once the yolks drop into the abdominal cavity they cannot get out and just sit there in amongst the intestines and other organs. Each day a new yolk is released from the ovary and adds to the mass of yolks essentially floating about in the belly. Eventually the mass of yolks builds up and puts pressure on the digestive tract, heart and lungs. Sometimes fluid leaches out of the yolks and collects in the bottom of the belly (ascites) and can be drained off. These egg yolks and fluid can sit there for weeks and even months without becoming infected and the hen will appear quite healthy apart from having a swollen belly.... this is just straight forward internal laying.

Egg Yolk Peritonitis is when those yolks that have dropped into the abdominal cavity and/or the fluid build up from them, becomes infected. Sometimes surgically draining the fluid can introduce an infection either from external sources ie not sterilising the site properly before inserting the needle or internally, by puncturing the gut with the needle or possibly by an infection elsewhere in the body migrating there.

I hope that clarifies it a little for you.

Regards

Barbara

 

[Wyorp Rock]

@Deltabwa I'm sorry for you loss

I want to Thank You for taking the time to share the photos (and video), this will be very helpful and educational to others.

For reference - I will post a link to your video on the necropsy thread so anyone looking at this in the future can find it easily.
Video Necropsy Internal Laying Salpingitis

 

[Deltabwa]

So sorry to hear that she needed to be euthanized, but absolutely the right decision when you see that mess inside her, poor girl! I responded to your post on the Necropsy thread, but for others just reading this thread, the verdict is Salpingitis.... an infection of the oviduct.

Just as an aside, I would be a little concerned about the amount of yellow fatty deposits around her organs.... you can see her gizzard is encased in it and some of her intestines have deposits spotted on them (second photo.... makes them look like some sort of exotic snake!). It might be worth reassessing your feeding regime (and in particular the amount of scratch/treats they get) as excessive fatty deposits can lead to health issues.....just for the benefit of your remaining flock.... clearly this girl is beyond dietary help.

Best wishes

Barbara

Can it be an individual chicken problem? I saw all that fat and thought it was crazy! We butchered a chicken that was 6 months older than her 2 months ago and it had almost no fat at all anywhere. So I was really shocked to see all that fat. Is it possible she was just turning it all to fat??? I don't feed a lot of treats, they eat layer feed normally but for the last 4 months they have all been getting grower because I had some brooders hatch 6 babies and they all eat the same so I switched to grower with additional oyster shell for those that needed it. They do get treat, some scratch, couple of times a week, 3 handfuls for 32 chickens. I will also give them leftover eggs and greens but that's about all.

 

[casportpony]

Can it be an individual chicken problem? I saw all that fat and thought it was crazy! We butchered a chicken that was 6 months older than her 2 months ago and it had almost no fat at all anywhere. So I was really shocked to see all that fat. Is it possible she was just turning it all to fat??? I don't feed a lot of treats, they eat layer feed normally but for the last 4 months they have all been getting grower because I had some brooders hatch 6 babies and they all eat the same so I switched to grower with additional oyster shell for those that needed it. They do get treat, some scratch, couple of times a week, 3 handfuls for 32 chickens. I will also give them leftover eggs and greens but that's about all.

I think I read somewhere that obesity can cause salpingitis. Google avian medicine salpingitis and it might be there.

 

[Deltabwa]

@Deltabwa I'm sorry for you loss

I want to Thank You for taking the time to share the photos (and video), this will be very helpful and educational to others.

For reference - I will post a link to your video on the necropsy thread so anyone looking at this in the future can find it easily.
Video Necropsy Internal Laying Salpingitis

'

thanks and of course, I searched and searched for videos and there aren't many to find, that's why I decided to do a video instead of just pics

 

[casportpony]

'

thanks and of course, I searched and searched for videos and there aren't many to find, that's why I decided to do a video instead of just pics

I really appreciate your video.

 

[Deltabwa]

I think I read somewhere that obesity can cause salpingitis. Google avian medicine salpingitis and it might be there.

I saw that too but can't understand why she had all that fat and none of the other hens I've butchered every did. Is it possible that the salpingitis also causes obesity once it settles in? Or her metabolism was not quite right? I know for the last month she has basically been sitting either in the nest box or in the run and hasn't been going out with the rest. So could that also contribute to it? One of those circle problems? Obesity will contribute to it but then you get it and don't want to move and therefore become more obese? She wouldn't even come out of the box to get on the roost. If I put her there she would stay but the nest box takes less effort to get on so she would go there. I knew she wasn't broody because she never sat on an egg.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Can it be an individual chicken problem? I saw all that fat and thought it was crazy! We butchered a chicken that was 6 months older than her 2 months ago and it had almost no fat at all anywhere. So I was really shocked to see all that fat. Is it possible she was just turning it all to fat??? I don't feed a lot of treats, they eat layer feed normally but for the last 4 months they have all been getting grower because I had some brooders hatch 6 babies and they all eat the same so I switched to grower with additional oyster shell for those that needed it. They do get treat, some scratch, couple of times a week, 3 handfuls for 32 chickens. I will also give them leftover eggs and greens but that's about all.

This is my thoughts -I do think that some of it (the fat) can be an individual problem. One of my girls had Peritonitis, but she had what I would say a normal amount of fat - still a good weight, and fat where you expect it, but nothing in excess. She was moderately active and head hen - stayed busy her whole life.

Another girl, when I opened her up was more fatty - she was not nearly as active.

Same diet for both, but different breed and different activity levels. I don't know enough, but suspect that genetics could also be a factor as well.
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2013/12/chickens-obesity-silent-killer-how-to.html

This is not to say that diet doesn't play a part in adding layers of abdominal fat, which can impact laying and health. So everything in moderation.
Just my thoughts.

 

[rebrascora]

It may be that she was a higher ranking chicken and getting more of the treats/scratch as a result or just that her metabolism was different. Is it possible a neighbour has been feeding them some bread or other treats or another family member perhaps or are they able to forage in the corn shed if you are on a farm or sometimes a few will discover other animals feed if they free range, that is lower in proteins and higher in carbs.
Breed can play a part in fat deposits too. You won't find much on a flighty bird like a leghorn but a sussex or an orp will carry more.