Haha thank you for the wonderful welcome!! I don't have any chickens but I got my first duck a couple days ago! I'm not sure what breed he is. I think welsh because it kind of looks like some welsh babies I found a pic of
Please interpret. Already got the preliminary report for my Penny, they only received her today at 10am. I'm impressed.
Case Summary
7/16/2014:
The gross findings in Penny are most indicative of a bacterial infection in association with egg yolk material in the body .
Ancillary tests to check for bacterial agents and microscopic exam are pending.
Gross Observations
"Examined is the carcass of a female chicken in very good nutritional condition with severe autolysis. There is some
caseous exudate and turbid fluid in the coelomic cavity and a wrinkled, soft-shelled egg free in the abdomen. The ova are
active. There are some pink fleshy 0.2 x 0.3 x 0.5 cm maximum-sized proteinaceous nodules in the oviduct lumen. The
pectoral muscles are markedly pale, the remainder of the skeletal muscles also similar. The liver parenchyma has subtle
random occasional white pinpoint foci. The spleen is small. The lungs bilaterally are markedly edematous and congested .
A small amount of grass material is in the crop and the ventriculus. The crop epithelium may be hyperplastic. The
kidneys, brain, and the remainder of the tissues are unremarkable."
Haha thank you for the wonderful welcome!! I don't have any chickens but I got my first duck a couple days ago! I'm not sure what breed he is. I think welsh because it kind of looks like some welsh babies I found a pic of
This very common at their age for hatchery hens. It is a good thing you are moving on to Breeder Quality chickens that have been chosen for SOP qualities that helps them to be more robust.
There is not much you can do. If Sussex is a breed that you like from a hatchery, you will be amazed at some higher quality birds from a breeder.
Thank you so much for sending her in for necropsy and sharing the results with us!
Please note that I am not a doctor or medical person, but I'll take a shot with translating the autopsy:
Penny succumbed to a bacterial infection originating in her oviducts (egg tubes). BUT it also looks like perhaps ovarian cancer was starting (pink fleshy nodules) as a very, very minor factor....that or the nodules were what were causing the irritation and infection in the oviducts. The paleness of her muscles is indicative of her body shutting down, as is the swelled nature of her lungs. Not so sure of what the liver spots are, but could be an offshoot of the infection (as the liver and kidneys are the body's filter) . Autolysis, if I recall, means she was having a reaction to her own body, usually the body was trying to fight and assimilate dead cells, like tissue diseased by the infection trying to be dissolved which results in LOTS and LOTS of toxic wastes. This could be the infection, that her antibodies were turning on her. In any event, the toxicity probably resulted in shock which caused her body to shut down.
In short, Penny had a problem in the egg-producing area, got sick, couldn't recover and died.
So sorry for the loss of your hen. Please post further what the vet/necropsy results show.
And thank you for interpreting the results for me!! What is internal laying??
Sorry for slow responses, I have a 20 gallon tank full of dwarf freshwater shrimp that I'm redoing...
It is great to have you joining us! What breeds of chickens do you have?
