Is this a worm?

[amyduck]

Bactrim (SMZ-TMP) is a very good antibiotic. I recommend giving her a top dressing of Pro-Bios dispersible powder on her feed to eat.
View attachment 3140602

Thanks - I'm still force feeding her but I am adding probiotics, which unfortunately are probably getting killed off by the Bactrim!
She is still with us, her droppings are a lot like yesterday, but her crop is still pretty full. Fortunately, she does have a little more energy, maybe it was the increase in feed (forced.) Also, for the first time in weeks she actually ate a small piece of the greens I offer her every morning. As of yesterday (or maybe late the day before) she also started to drink on her own from a dish in weeks...

 

[dawg53]

Add water to her feed and stir it up, maybe she'll eat it rather than greens.

 

[amyduck]

Add water to her feed and stir it up, maybe she'll eat it rather than greens.

I'll try anything at this point... it was odd today, she was actually trying to eat greens today, and she'd pick them up and drop them... I thought she was looking for just the right size or consistency or taste? and so I finally just let her look at the whole bag, which sort of seemed to excite her, but same thing. I ended up dumping it on the floor of my kitchen and she ended up sitting in them. I'd be surprised if she ate any....
I just don't know what to do anymore. I don't really know if she is getting better or not... it seems she isn't in spite of the fact that she is drinking now, and trying to eat greens. I hope it doesn't mean she's starving now because she can't digest anymore... and want to eat, but doesn't...

 

[BugStalker]

I'll try anything at this point... it was odd today, she was actually trying to eat greens today, and she'd pick them up and drop them... I thought she was looking for just the right size or consistency or taste? and so I finally just let her look at the whole bag, which sort of seemed to excite her, but same thing. I ended up dumping it on the floor of my kitchen and she ended up sitting in them. I'd be surprised if she ate any....
I just don't know what to do anymore. I don't really know if she is getting better or not... it seems she isn't in spite of the fact that she is drinking now, and trying to eat greens. I hope it doesn't mean she's starving now because she can't digest anymore... and want to eat, but doesn't...

When they have a digestive issue, they are more picky. They can do better one day and worse another. It takes maybe a week or two to see if they are improving, sometimes.

I currently have one that had strong antibiotics, and she's really picky like that. It's also up and down...

 

[amyduck]

For those who aren't following the other thread about Penny... she died early Saturday morning.... thanks to those who offered advice.

I took her today to UC Davis for a necropsy and will report back...

Yesterday's events: she had very liquid droppings in the morning and moved and did very little but drank about 12 drinks of water earlier in the day, so her crop was pretty full since especially because it hadn't been emptying. She was pretty weak when she went to roost, easily losing her balance... I suspect she fell off of her 2 inch perch, possibly onto her crop, because when I woke up at 2 AM and checked on her, some of the liquid in her crop had come up and she'd aspirated it.. so she was gasping for air and gurgling... the gasping stopped, but I woke up 3 hours later to hear her thrashing about and she died just as i got to her... Up until yesterday she was still out and about in the garden... but on Friday she went down hill another notch, and we were thinking of taking her to the vet to euthanize her, but she beat us to it... RIP Penny....

 

[dawg53]

I'm sorry you lost Penny. Yes, please update us on her necropsy results when you get the chance.

 

[coach723]

I'm very sorry.

 

[amyduck]

Well, the preliminary necropsy results just came in... poor Penny...

With her cancer, there is clearly nothing we could have done to help her, except for euthanizing her...

I feel very badly that she was in such a bad state, and especially so "emaciated"... in spite of our force feeding her, it seems she wasn't absorbing any of it and was really starving. Oddly, my other chicken's necropsy mentioned her crop and its contents, but there is no mention of Penny's crop being so full of liquid or anything else (maybe it had seeped out before they worked on her.) I was hoping to see that, because I thought perhaps her crop wasn't emptying because it was blocked by grass. Perhaps it was tumors that kept it from emptying, or maybe the intestines narrowed so much they were backing everything up. I might call the lab tomorrow to see if they can give me any info about this.

I'll work on understanding more of this tomorrow, but if anyone wants to comment, please do.

------------------------------------------

L a b o r a t o r y F i n d i n g s / D i a g n o s i s

GROSS AND HISTOLOGIC DIAGNOSES: Ovarian cancer

1. Ovary and intestines: Metastatic adenocarcinoma

INCIDENTAL FINDINGS:

1. Liver: Vacuolar hepatopathy (hepatic lipidosis)

2. Lung: Fibrinous and heterophilic pneumonia


C a s e S u m m a r y
(I placed parenthesis around general info I don't think applied to her)

06/15/2022: There was gross and histologic evidence of ovarian carcinoma, which is the most frequent tumor of the reproductive system in chickens. Neoplastic cells are shed from tumors into the coelomic cavity. They implant on the ovary, pancreas, and other viscera and produce multiple, hard nodules. They may block lymph return (and result in ascites). Ovarian tumors usually don't become apparent until their growth is well advanced. (The bird may have a history of egg binding or oviduct prolapse. They may also have problems associated with egg laying, such as increased infections. ) The tumor in this case had metastasized to the lung, which may have contributed to the development of pneumonia. Lead testing is pending. An additional report is forthcoming.
-------------------
(I wonder if the mention of pneumonia may have more to do with the liquid she aspirated that last night... I hadn't seen or heard any evidence of breathing issues until then.)
---------------

G r o s s O b s e r v a t i o n s
A 6-year-old Easter Egger hen (Penny) with a 1-month history of inappetence that died on 06/11/2022 is submitted for necropsy on 06/13/2022 in fair postmortem condition. The animal is emaciated. The liver is diffusely mottled tan to pale red and friable. The lungs are firm medially with dark red discoloration ventrally. The lungs partially sink in formalin. The coelomic serosa is markedly expanded by firm, white nodules throughout. The intestines are firmly adhered to one another with marked reduction in the luminal diameter. The oviduct has 3 x 0.5 cm discoid mass expanding the wall.

B a c t e r i o l o g y
BACTERIAL AEROBIC CULTURE Liver Swab - No growth after 48 hours

B i o t e c h n o l o g y
Influenza A PCR Oropharyngeal/Tracheal Swab - Not Detected

H i s t o l o g y
Ovary, liver, lung, and intestines are examined histologically. Ovary, lung, and intestines: Expanding the serosa of the intestines are lobules of neoplastic cells surrounded by a scirrhous response that variably form lobules. Similar cells are present within the lung, ovary and efface the pancreas. In the lung some cells have basilar oriented nuclei and eosinophilic apical cytoplasm.

 

[dawg53]

Thank you for the update. Cancer is a killer, that's for sure. Again, sorry for your loss.

 

[coach723]

I'm very sorry, at least you know what happened and that there was nothing you could have done.
I've lost a fair amount to cancer, it's very common for them to become emaciated. Some become emaciated but are very heavy feeling from ascites. Digestive stasis is also very common as it gets advanced, so the crop issue is a symptom of whats going on farther down. They hide symptoms so well, for so long, that they are often very thin before you know what is going on, you can't tell unless you actually pick them up as it's hidden by feathers. And it's impossible to know for sure until necropsy, though you may have suspicions. You will be better prepared now, should you have to deal with it again, based on what you learned from this bird. Again, I'm very, very sorry.