Looks like it was her liver.. 91/2 months old. Strange if you ask me, but here are the results
Post-mortem Examination
The necropsy was performed by Dr. Brian Stevens on January 11, 2018 at 8:00 am.
EXTERNAL FINDINGS:
The female chicken weighs 2.513 kg and is in good body condition with normal muscle mass, excess fat reserves, and normal hydration. Thereisayellowbandontheleftleg.
INTERNAL FINDINGS:
The liver is diffusely friable and pale tan. The left liver lobe is mottled red and tan over the surface and on cut section, there is scattered hemorrhage affecting approximately 40% of the left liver lobe. There is a large free-floating blood clot loosely adhered to the left liver lobe, which contains approximately 100 mL of frank blood.
DIAGNOSIS:
Liver: Diffuse hepatic lipidosis with parenchymal hemorrhage throughout the left liver lobe Coelom: Hemocoelom
COMMENTS ON POST-MORTEM EXAMINATION :
The only significant finding on post-mortem examination of this bird is the severely friable and pale liver with multiple regions of hemorrhage and subsequent coelomic hemorrhage. The amount of blood exuding from this site in combination with the amount of hemorrhagethroughoutthehepaticparenchymawouldhavebeensufficienttohavecausedthesuddendeath. Thepresenceof this hemorrhage as well as the appearance of the underlying hepatic tissue is consistent with the syndrome termed 'fatty liver hemorrhagic syndrome'. The exact underlying cause appears to be multifactorial and likely involves a combination of nutritional, genetic, environmental, and hormonal factors. Chickens affected by this condition are typically in good to obese body condition suggesting that diet may play a role in this disease process. This is a chronic process that typically occurs over multiple months and would not be related to any recent changes in feeding practices. Histopathology of all tissue is pending to rule out any other underlying disease condition, which may have contributed to hepatic rupture in this case.
Reference : Trott KA et al. Fatty liver hemorrhagic syndrome in the backyard chicken: a retrospective histopathologic case series. Vet Pathol 51(4):787-795, 2014.
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This happened on Wednesday 1/10-18
This afternoon I went to do my usual check of the flock and when I opened the coop door one of my 9-1/2 month old Buff Orpingtons hens was laying there dead. I was devastated, these birds are my babies. Last night and this morning she was absolutely fine. I looked her over forinjuries and found none. I did however think her vent looked odd and took a photo. I also took her for a necropsy and will know theresults in the next 24-48 hours. The only thing the pathologist said was that chickens are like goldfish they sometimes just die. I was not happy with that, but I’ll know the real reason soon enough, but waiting is driving me nuts in case it’s something that could cause more of my babies to die Could she have a prolapseand would it cause sudden death? It’s been super cold until this Monday today beingWednesday and egg production has been way down except for my two khaki Campbell ducks who lay everyday regardless. But yesterday and today egg production was almost back to normal.
Post-mortem Examination
The necropsy was performed by Dr. Brian Stevens on January 11, 2018 at 8:00 am.
EXTERNAL FINDINGS:
The female chicken weighs 2.513 kg and is in good body condition with normal muscle mass, excess fat reserves, and normal hydration. Thereisayellowbandontheleftleg.
INTERNAL FINDINGS:
The liver is diffusely friable and pale tan. The left liver lobe is mottled red and tan over the surface and on cut section, there is scattered hemorrhage affecting approximately 40% of the left liver lobe. There is a large free-floating blood clot loosely adhered to the left liver lobe, which contains approximately 100 mL of frank blood.
DIAGNOSIS:
Liver: Diffuse hepatic lipidosis with parenchymal hemorrhage throughout the left liver lobe Coelom: Hemocoelom
COMMENTS ON POST-MORTEM EXAMINATION :
The only significant finding on post-mortem examination of this bird is the severely friable and pale liver with multiple regions of hemorrhage and subsequent coelomic hemorrhage. The amount of blood exuding from this site in combination with the amount of hemorrhagethroughoutthehepaticparenchymawouldhavebeensufficienttohavecausedthesuddendeath. Thepresenceof this hemorrhage as well as the appearance of the underlying hepatic tissue is consistent with the syndrome termed 'fatty liver hemorrhagic syndrome'. The exact underlying cause appears to be multifactorial and likely involves a combination of nutritional, genetic, environmental, and hormonal factors. Chickens affected by this condition are typically in good to obese body condition suggesting that diet may play a role in this disease process. This is a chronic process that typically occurs over multiple months and would not be related to any recent changes in feeding practices. Histopathology of all tissue is pending to rule out any other underlying disease condition, which may have contributed to hepatic rupture in this case.
Reference : Trott KA et al. Fatty liver hemorrhagic syndrome in the backyard chicken: a retrospective histopathologic case series. Vet Pathol 51(4):787-795, 2014.
****************
This happened on Wednesday 1/10-18
This afternoon I went to do my usual check of the flock and when I opened the coop door one of my 9-1/2 month old Buff Orpingtons hens was laying there dead. I was devastated, these birds are my babies. Last night and this morning she was absolutely fine. I looked her over forinjuries and found none. I did however think her vent looked odd and took a photo. I also took her for a necropsy and will know theresults in the next 24-48 hours. The only thing the pathologist said was that chickens are like goldfish they sometimes just die. I was not happy with that, but I’ll know the real reason soon enough, but waiting is driving me nuts in case it’s something that could cause more of my babies to die Could she have a prolapseand would it cause sudden death? It’s been super cold until this Monday today beingWednesday and egg production has been way down except for my two khaki Campbell ducks who lay everyday regardless. But yesterday and today egg production was almost back to normal.
