Culling and processing 1 1/2 yr old non-laying hens, graphic photos, help with diagnosis

[Eggcessive]

as a follow up question, the few eggs we got before totally stopped laying, are/were these eggs safe to consume?

Eggs are safe to eat as long as they are fresh enough.

 

[Lynnhill]

Comets and buff orpington’s
contacting state vet to see if we can get this figured out

 

[Kiki]

as a follow up question, the few eggs we got before totally stopped laying, are/were these eggs safe to consume?

They probably are safe to eat but I personally wouldn't eat them.

It's a personal choice.

 

[RubelliteRose]

I'm so sorry. @azygous has had leukosis in her flock for several years. She may be able to answer many of your questions.

 

[coach723]

I agree with everything everyone said, just wanted to add that Marek's (I have it in my flock) symptoms can vary greatly depending on the strain and each individual birds immune system. I have not had one with the standard paralysis that the literature talks about. I've had some mild gimpyness in a couple of birds, most of mine have had occular symptoms and visceral tumors. So getting the labs is the best thing to do to definitively identify what it is. I wouldn't worry about the eggs that were eaten, there is no evidence that the virus affects humans at all. Same with Marek's.

 

[azygous]

I have the leucosis virus in my flock, and your necrospy photos certainly do appear to be very similar to what I've seen when I've opened up a chicken that has died. The enlarged liver is what any pathologist would be looking for. If you have refrigerated any of the other chickens immediately after culling, you can send the intact body to the lab. They wouldn't want to try to poke through the organs and visceral from your necropsy.

Except for chickens hatched from a leucosis flock, most hatchery chicks introduced to an LL flock develop resistance and most live normal, healthy life spans. Chickens hatched and brooded from an LL flock have a very high chance of becoming symptomatic by age four or five months and usually die before age two.

 

[FunClucks]

I have the leucosis virus in my flock, and your necrospy photos certainly do appear to be very similar to what I've seen when I've opened up a chicken that has died. The enlarged liver is what any pathologist would be looking for. If you have refrigerated any of the other chickens immediately after culling, you can send the intact body to the lab. They wouldn't want to try to poke through the organs and visceral from your necropsy.

Except for chickens hatched from a leucosis flock, most hatchery chicks introduced to an LL flock develop resistance and most live normal, healthy life spans. Chickens hatched and brooded from an LL flock have a very high chance of becoming symptomatic by age four or five months and usually die before age two.

New chicken owner question - can birds who are opened up and look like this poster's chickens (presumed leukosis or Mareks) be safely consumed by humans?

 

[Eggcessive]

New chicken owner question - can birds who are opened up and look like this poster's chickens (presumed leukosis or Mareks) be safely consumed by humans?

When a bird like this is found at processing plants, the bodies are condemned and not used.

 

[azygous]

I confess to not eating any of my chickens under any circumstances because I rarely eat meat. But I wouldn't recommend eating any chicken that displayed any signs of disease. It's just a very basic taboo that's really common sense.

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

@Lynnhill
Did you ever determine what the disease was in your flock?
Do you mind sharing where you got them from?