Body cavity filled with... fat?

[TeamChaos]

I had a sick hen that I suspected had a broken egg inside her. I soaked her, gave her antibiotics etc. She had some poop that looked yolk-y but no shell. Within a few days' time, she had quit eating and drinking and died. I decided to take a look at her organs to make sure that I wasn't missing any major health issues in my flock. I was SHOCKED at the amount of yellow fat in her abdomen. It wasn't similar at all to the material shown in the internal layer necropsy.It wasn't comparable to the slight yellow fat that is cut through on the video necropsies. The material wasn't pale and rubbery. It was yellow and, well, similar to human fat. It was packed outside of her abdominal cavity as well as inside. Her gizzard was completely encased in it! There was no sign of a broken egg, nor did I see any well developed yolks on her ovary.
Any guidance, feedback or direction is appreciated.
Side note- of COURSE I didn't take any pictures. I had planned to, but I kept thinking I'd find "the cause of death" and have good reason to stop, unglove and snap photos. D'oh. Next time I will have a picture taker lined up!

 

[hawk]

was your hen swollen and acting lethargic(hope that's spelled right)and not walking around like it usually did? We have 2 that we're sure have Ascitis which is fluid in the abdomen and vets say it is straw yellow in color. I don't know if it stays liquidy or turns thick like fat.

 

[TeamChaos]

Thanks for the reply, Hawk. She was lethargic- she stayed on the roost one day, so I brought her in to check her over. She was bright eyed for quite a while but walked less and less. She did get a yellow "pouch" under her vent, but it was solid. I have a *different* hen that is, most likely, an internal layer and she abscessed last year. I cut a bunch of yellow hard fat looking stuff out of the split. She closed back up and we've both lived to scratch another day. (she has bouts when the fluid is bad, but that's a different story). I am still so confused because it looked quite different from the pale, rubbery stuff in the other necropsies.

 

[hawk]

Wow, that sounds pretty wierd, we just drained the abdomens of our 2 hens and got 350cc from one and 375cc from the smaller one. Feeling so much better! Keep checking with people and hope you get some answers.

 

[Beekissed]

You might want to stop feeding free choice and put your layers on a feed schedule. They will continue to have reproductive issues as long as they have all that extra fat around their viscera. A leaner hen is a good layer, a fat one usually is not. Some breeds eat more than others...like BOs.. and will develop a lot of that yellow fat around their vents and organs. They might lay but they won't lay as well as a breed that is less prone to overeat.

I usually eliminate birds that overeat from the flock...they tend to develop reproductive issues and they don't lay well enough to make the cut.

Your hen may have died due to just having all that fat....fat people can have the same issues~heart conditions, vascular problems, diabetes, renal failure, etc.

 

[TeamChaos]

I've cut out all treats for now. I am officially the least liked person in the barn yard but I've put an end to scratch, cracked corn, cheese, crackers and anything else they wouldn't be able to find for themselves. I have opened the pen and sent the ladies back out to free range, even though I usually end up with an easter egg hunt scenario in a few days' time. I'm hoping that some physical activity (they have a large run, but they're probably overeating because they're bored) and access only to layer pellets in the coop will be enough to get them back on the right track. It's weird. My girl didn't feel heavy... as compared to, say, a jersey giant or my rooster, but she was packed full. All her organs looked healthy though, save for the gizzard that was in a knot of the yellow crud. Even then, the gizzard looked healthy it was just hard to get to.
Thank you both for your input!

 

[juliehengirl]

I had a sick hen that I suspected had a broken egg inside her. I soaked her, gave her antibiotics etc. She had some poop that looked yolk-y but no shell. Within a few days' time, she had quit eating and drinking and died. I decided to take a look at her organs to make sure that I wasn't missing any major health issues in my flock. I was SHOCKED at the amount of yellow fat in her abdomen. It wasn't similar at all to the material shown in the internal layer necropsy.It wasn't comparable to the slight yellow fat that is cut through on the video necropsies. The material wasn't pale and rubbery. It was yellow and, well, similar to human fat. It was packed outside of her abdominal cavity as well as inside. Her gizzard was completely encased in it! There was no sign of a broken egg, nor did I see any well developed yolks on her ovary

I had a sick hen that I suspected had a broken egg inside her. I soaked her, gave her antibiotics etc. She had some poop that looked yolk-y but no shell. Within a few days' time, she had quit eating and drinking and died. I decided to take a look at her organs to make sure that I wasn't missing any major health issues in my flock. I was SHOCKED at the amount of yellow fat in her abdomen. It wasn't similar at all to the material shown in the internal layer necropsy.It wasn't comparable to the slight yellow fat that is cut through on the video necropsies. The material wasn't pale and rubbery. It was yellow and, well, similar to human fat. It was packed outside of her abdominal cavity as well as inside. Her gizzard was completely encased in it! There was no sign of a broken egg, nor did I see any well developed yolks on her ovary.
Any guidance, feedback or direction is appreciated.
Side note- of COURSE I didn't take any pictures. I had planned to, but I kept thinking I'd find "the cause of death" and have good reason to stop, unglove and snap photos. D'oh. Next time I will have a picture taker lined up!

I’ve just had a similar issue and also performed my own examination. My girl was egg bound and I wonder whether the fat prevented her from laying. She had been broody for a while but the quantity of fat inside her cavity was shocking. She had one complete egg and several yolks at different stages. I did take photos and would add them if I knew how

Any guidance, feedback or direction is appreciated.
Side note- of COURSE I didn't take any pictures. I had planned to, but I kept thinking I'd find "the cause of death" and have good reason to stop, unglove and snap photos. D'oh. Next time I will have a picture taker lined up!

 

[nuthatched]

@juliehengirl
This is a very old thread my friend, if you need answers, it's best to start your own thread.
You attach pictures by pressing attach files.
What do your birds eat?