POSSIBLE FATTY LIVER SYNDROME; WARNING GRAPHIC AUTOPSY PHOTOS!

DarthCareBear said:

Were the lungs black or hard?

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city mouse said:

Hi,

This was really helpful! Yesterday we processed a hen about 7 months old that had never laid. All she did was sit around and eat. She seemed to be pretty healthy, just not fertile. When I opened her abdominal cavity open I was shocked to see that same amount of fat as in your pics. When I pulled everything out I noticed that her liver was yellow too. I guessed all the fat was there because she hardly left the coop, just ate and ate inside.

Any idea what it is? And would it be safe to eat a bird with a liver like that??? I googled it and came across the fatty-liver syndrome too, but wasn't sure if that's actually what she had.

Thanks,
city mouse

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city mouse said:

So Should I just feed it to the dog?

I'm not entirely sure what breed she was. Probably a RIR/BuffOrp mix.

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maryhysong said:

WARNING WARNING WARNING!!!
GRAPHIC AUTOPSY PHOTOS TO FOLLOW!
IF YOU CANNOT STAND THE SIGHT OF GUTS CLOSE THIS PAGE NOW!!!
WARNING WARNING WARNING!


The following photos are of a nine month old Orpington pullet. At about the beginning of her seventh month she laid a little fart egg. She laid about 6-8 fart eggs over the course of the next two months. As of the day these photos were taken she had not laid in over a week. The last few eggs were broken open and were yolk less, leading us to believe she was infertile for some reason. Over the the past week her lower abdomen began to bulge and swell. Palpating into the vent found nothing. She was eating and drinking normally, tho if excited she would begin to pant as if she couldn't quite catch her breath.

















WARNING WARNING WARNING!!!
GRAPHIC AUTOPSY PHOTOS TO FOLLOW!
IF YOU CANNOT STAND THE SIGHT OF GUTS CLOSE THIS PAGE NOW!!!
WARNING WARNING WARNING!






















After putting her down I dry plucked the fluff around her vent and abdomen so I could see things better.
Here is the bulge





When I cut her abdomen open I was amazed at the amount of fat. There was also 1/4 inch or more of fat under her skin over most of her body. I have never seen this much fat on a bird this young. Normally I see this large amount of fat in the body cavity in hens that are several years old and that had not been in lay for some time.


There were loose blobs of fat inside, about the size of beans


The orange blob on the right is an egg yolk.


gizzard encased in fat on the left, ovary top center, ovaduct and vent to the right and intestines on the left


It did appear that she had begun to lay internally, here is the ovaduct, which was completely empty when I cut it open but the yellow here is egg yolk on the outside of it.


The liver was very yellow and as you can see the heart was surrounded by fat.


The liver cut open


Gall bladder closest to my hand, then I think that is the kidney or perhaps the pancreas, then the ovary

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