What a week in the coop! Two nights ago my rooster decided to commit suicide by sticking his head through the hole in a cinder block and forgetting that "reverse" was an option. He chose "upside down" instead (didn't work out too well for him).
I have been monitoring my hens for signs they are laying eggs because I want to thin out the lazy hens and keep the good layers. Also have been checking to make sure those pesky lice haven't come back. Anyway, this week, 1 hen stood out as "definitely not laying" and her feathers looked a little scruffy, maybe she is starting to molt, well this is too early for that, so into the stew pot she goes.
She was a 3 year old Barnevelder hen. Very active, energetic, hard to catch, I had no other clues that she was sick.
When I skinned her I noticed her crop was empty. Weird, since I caught her at roosting time, but convenient. Didn't think more of it until I cut open the abdomen.
As I nicked the abdominal wall, clear, very pale yellow fluid began to leak out, far more than normal. THAT got my attention. No strings or cloudiness in the fluid. No odor.
As I enlarged the hole, a mass slipped out. It appears to be a shell-less egg, with some egg fluid still inside of it.
Intestines were empty
Gizzard was full of more fibrous material than it should have been - little/no grit, not enough regular feed
Everything else looked okay - heart, lungs, liver, there was still some abdominal fat of a nice yellow color and normal consistency. Her muscle color was a nice pink, didn't appear to be anemic.
My guess is internal laying that was caught early enough she hadn't begun to act sick from it. Question is, would you eat her? I'm not excited about eating her, but I've been out of chicken stock for a long time now and I am disappointed not to be able to make some. Usually when I butcher its very clear cut, the animal was either healthy or very sick. This is enough grey area that I thought I would see what you all think.
As I cut open the abdomen, this is the mass that slipped out. You can see some of the abdominal fluid on the cutting board.
This shows intestines and the mass is pulled aside
I have been monitoring my hens for signs they are laying eggs because I want to thin out the lazy hens and keep the good layers. Also have been checking to make sure those pesky lice haven't come back. Anyway, this week, 1 hen stood out as "definitely not laying" and her feathers looked a little scruffy, maybe she is starting to molt, well this is too early for that, so into the stew pot she goes.
She was a 3 year old Barnevelder hen. Very active, energetic, hard to catch, I had no other clues that she was sick.
When I skinned her I noticed her crop was empty. Weird, since I caught her at roosting time, but convenient. Didn't think more of it until I cut open the abdomen.
As I nicked the abdominal wall, clear, very pale yellow fluid began to leak out, far more than normal. THAT got my attention. No strings or cloudiness in the fluid. No odor.
As I enlarged the hole, a mass slipped out. It appears to be a shell-less egg, with some egg fluid still inside of it.
Intestines were empty
Gizzard was full of more fibrous material than it should have been - little/no grit, not enough regular feed
Everything else looked okay - heart, lungs, liver, there was still some abdominal fat of a nice yellow color and normal consistency. Her muscle color was a nice pink, didn't appear to be anemic.
My guess is internal laying that was caught early enough she hadn't begun to act sick from it. Question is, would you eat her? I'm not excited about eating her, but I've been out of chicken stock for a long time now and I am disappointed not to be able to make some. Usually when I butcher its very clear cut, the animal was either healthy or very sick. This is enough grey area that I thought I would see what you all think.
As I cut open the abdomen, this is the mass that slipped out. You can see some of the abdominal fluid on the cutting board.
This shows intestines and the mass is pulled aside
