Necropsy on Laying Hen

[whiteybird]

I'm sorry for your loss.

Thank you. Me too!

I did think she had a lot of fat deposits. I watched Cornell's poultry necropsy on youtube before and while I was doing this and their bird definitely had less fat.

We feed them a whole grain diet, 17-18% protein. Scratch at night when we lock them up. They occasionally get scraps of tomatoes, lettuce, etc, and when we go through the compost 1-2 times per week they fight over soldier fly larvae and beetles. Free range on 4 acres.

 

[Folly's place]

Whole grain diets can be a real problem, at least for some individuals, who decide to eat the yummiest bits and leave the rest. It's a known problem in birds, especially pet birds, and pet rodents. That's why the pelleted diets can work much better!
Scratch adds more fat too.
Maybe relevant, and maybe not.
Mary

 

[Willowspirit]

As an aside the office of the state vet is closed now because of coronavirus (Oregon). If you have a concern that an individuals mortality is linked to something that will take out the flock and can convince a private vet to declare your flock an emergency, the state vet will deal with it. Otherwise...