Chicken necropsy (graphic images) - liver failure / internal bleeding - what is the cause?

[newbiechickenmamma11]

Hi there, my 10 month old French marans hen died two days ago. I found her dead when I went to check on my flock in the afternoon. I got her as a day old chick and she had a bit of a case of failure to thrive - she didn't grow much at all in the first month but later had a growth spurt and caught up to her peers. I remember being super concerned about her at the start and had posted about her here.

A few weeks ago, my araucana passed away from unrelated causes, and since then my French marans had been acting a bit off. My French marans (and araucana) were on the bottom of the pecking order.

The French marans would often just hang out at the back, and she also started getting a bit broody of late (I'm in Australia, we're going into summer). So she'd sit on the nest for hours, and start to pant a bit. She was laying eggs regularly until just before her death, where she didn't lay an egg for 5 days. Other than that she was fine, so I thought she was just grieving her flock mate and also getting broody.

I got the avian vet to do a necropsy and they said she died from liver failure and there was lots of internal bleeding, but they weren't able to tell me the cause (without further expensive lab testing). That was the only information they were able to provide me.

I just picked her up and before burying her, I opened her up to take some photos of her organs which I've attached (warning: graphic), in the hopes of seeing if anyone here might be have any further clues?

I guess I'm wondering if there's any chance she had Fatty Liver Hemorrhagic Syndrome, because then there would be something I could do and prevent for the rest of my flock. OR whether she had some sort of genetic issue she was born with (hence her struggles as a chick).

I tried to take pictures from all angles but couldn't find the liver, and got confused as to what I was looking at.

I so appreciate any insights, if at all <3

 

[coach723]

So this was the bird you had necropsied, and the pictures are when you got her back from them? It appears that some organs were removed and not replaced in her cavity, so the liver is gone. There is some lighter brown matter, which I suspect might be crop contents, not sure. The one thing that stands out is the abdominal fat, that is all the yellow stuff. There is a lot. That could have a dietary cause, or for some birds it can have a genetic component, they may be more prone to store abdominal fat. But it is a good reminder to really watch their diet. It's really easy to over do treats and extras, as they are so small. Corn and scratch are often common causes of fat like this. I also see some large clots, that could very well have been from a liver hemorrhage. It's too bad the liver isn't there to see the color and texture, that would have been helpful, but I think your assumption is probably correct.