Very sick hen - Warning, Contains Very Nasty, Grapic Necropsy Pictures - Updated

[HiyokoInNippon]

Kathy-

A: Glad I am finished with dinner.

B:Thanks to the amazing pictures! Do you have any opinions about scalding and plucking before necropsies?

 

[mymilliefleur]

Just found this:
https://urbanchickenconsultant.wordpress.com/category/emergency-house-calls/
Fatty Hemorrhagic Liver (Hepatic Lipidosis) [CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES]

Posted by chickenwoman in Chicken care, Emergency House Calls. Leave a comment

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2 Votes​

Here’s the necropsy report for the day. Yesterday I visited a friend who has chickens in the city, and her birds were fine; today she called with a dead hen. The hen had died between 2 PM and 4 PM today.
The hen had laid (and eaten part of) a soft-shelled egg. When I opened her up, I found a HUGE amount of fat and a massive amount of blood in the body cavity, seemingly a liver hemorrhage. In addition to the liver issues, she had a nice collection of ascaris (roundworms) in the intestinal tract (one was over 2 inches long). Her gizzard contained very little grit and a large amount of grains/vegetable matter and some plastic pieces.
Dr. Sakas of Niles Animal Hospital reviewed the necropsy pix and said that the underlying comdition was the fatty liver, and death was caused by an aneurysm. She died shortly after laying an egg, and the strain of egg laying can cause a hemorrhage.
Fatty liver disease (hepatic lipdosis) is also seen in caged birds (like parrots and parakeets) that are fed a diet of strictly seeds. A diet that is too nutrient dense, as well as lack of exercise, can cause fatty liver syndrome. Fat builds up in the liver and the body cavity and can cause shortness of breath, organ failure, egg binding, and hemorrhage. I’ve taken my parakeets off of a seed diet and put them on a pelleted formula for this reason. [NOTE: Diet conversion of caged exotics must be done slowly and under very careful observation. Birds to do not take to change well and can starve themselves to death during a diet conversion. Check with your avian veterinarian before trying this on your own.]
My friend doesn’t overload her birds with bread, mealworms, or other treats, but as I observed the birds eating from the feeder, they were picking out the bits of corn and leaving the mash. I advised her to feed a finely ground mash without the bits of corn, a crumble, or a pelleted food to prevent the hens from picking the “marshmallows” out of the “Lucky Charms” and leaving the “cereal” behind.
I also suggested minimizing the amount of food available to the birds, limiting it to about 1/4 lb per bird per day. More exercise would probably be beneficial, too.
The pictures below are not for the faint of heart!

The gizzard

Yellow fat with coagulated blood from liver hemorrhage

Roundworm (Ascaris)

Fatty liver with large blood clot to the left

Yellow fat in the body cavity

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I had one old hen that looked like that once.

 

[casportpony]

Kathy-

A: Glad I am finished with dinner.

B:Thanks to the amazing pictures! Do you have any opinions about scalding and plucking before necropsies?

I have plucked a few befor necropsy, but that was so I could take educational pictures different things, like how to do subcutaneous fluids. For those that are curious, here are the pictures of that:




Insert needle and watch that it doesn't poke back out or you will get wet, lol. Slowly depress plunger and look for leaks. If no leaks, give fluids.






This way the size of the bubble after 75ml.






Here you can see how it's spread under the skin.


-Kathy

 

[hennible]

Thank you Kathy, very educational as usual

 

[ernie85017]

I had wondered if subq fluids was possible with a chicken.
What fluid would you use?

 

[casportpony]

I had wondered if subq fluids was possible with a chicken.
What fluid would you use?

One would have to use the proper fluids like lactated ringers or sodium chloride, which you have to get from a vet or have a prescription for.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

Here is what I used on a live peahen:
Okay... this is what I use when I give fluids by myself:
This is a bag warmed Lactated Ringer's, but one can also use 0.9% Sodium Chloride


Enough syringes to give whatever amout you choose to give


Pre-filled syringes with warmed fluids and new 18 gauge needle.


Wet area with rubbing alcohol, this will allow better viewing of the injection site.






I need to think about text for each picture, so check back!

-Kathy

 

[Summer98]

The "penguin" standing hen was slowly dying today, so we decided to end her suffering. The "lump" we felt floating around is white and firm. Here it is cut into sections. Any thoughts?

We also awoke this morning to another dead hen (completely unexpected, as the penguin hen was the only sick one we had). Not a good day today. Very sad.

 

[hennible]

Sorry about that summer98

 

[casportpony]

The "penguin" standing hen was slowly dying today, so we decided to end her suffering. The "lump" we felt floating around is white and firm. Here it is cut into sections. Any thoughts?

We also awoke this morning to another dead hen (completely unexpected, as the penguin hen was the only sick one we had). Not a good day today. Very sad.

Sorry for both your losses!

Can you slice open the lumps?

-Kathy