Dead Hen Autopsy

[SVRapture40]

I am new here.. we have had backyard chickens for a few years now. So far we have only lost 2 birds. The first one I am pretty sure was from gape worm. That happened when she was about 6 months old. That left us with 2 birds so we got 2 more the following spring. We have had good luck with the 4 until this past spring. I couldn't get the normal feed I had been buying so I bought some layer pellets from Walmart. They seemed fine so I just kept going with that. Some months later we started having problems with some thin shells. So I started feeding calcium. Anyway, to cut it short we have only been getting eggs from 1 of 4 chickens for months. I did switch back to the original food which seemed to help for a bit, but no eggs at all for months (except from 1 bird).

Fast forward to my reason for posting (I thought the history might be helpful). We had a hen start being lethargic. She would not get up on the roost (mostly just sat in the corner on the floor) and her comb got pale. So I separated her. Then maybe a week or so later she died (this morning). I thought maybe we had worms so I cut her open to find out. I found this inside of her. It is very firm, but not hard. It almost looks and feels like cooked chicken. I cut the bit piece open to see what was inside. Is this stuff normal?

Thank you!!

 

[Debbie292d]

I'm not experienced with necropsies but seen lots of pictures of them and never seen anything like that. It almost looks like a contorted egg. I wonder if it's a tumor?

I believe @casportpony @coach723 and @azygous are more familiar with them though and may know.

 

[casportpony]

Welcome to BYC and sorry for your loss. Was that free-floating in her belly or was it in the reproductive tract? Either way, it's not normal, it's called "lash egg".

What is A Lash Egg? All You Need To Know & More

In the course of raising chickens for the first time, many backyard chicken farmers come across a variety of egg abnormalities. Eggs that are rubbery, yolkless, and have blood spots are not a major concern are some of these. In your many years of chicken keeping, you may not have seen a lash...

• BYC Project Manager
• Aug 17, 2022
• 4.67 star(s) 12 ratings
• Comments: 5
• Reviews: 11
• Category: Injuries, Diseases, & Cures

 

[coach723]

Definitely lash material. It's caused by salpingitis, which is inflammation or infection of the oviduct. Some birds may pass some of it, giving a clue, in others it just builds up inside. They are very, very good at hiding the symptoms and it's often not noticed until it's very advanced. It's very resistant to treatment, I've tried a lot of antibiotics and combinations of antibiotics and haven't had one recover yet. Some people say that their birds recovered after Baytril (enrofloxacin) treatment, so those may have been caught very early, giving them a better chance. I've lost several to it. Some birds will live for quite a while with it, others pass more quickly. When it's more advanced the bird will develop a bloated, firm abdomen and may waddle when they walk. As the material builds up it can push their legs apart so they walk with a wider stance. They also usually don't lay anymore.
https://the-chicken-chick.com/salpingitis-lash-eggs-in-backyard/

 

[SVRapture40]

It's definitely a sad day in our home today.

She was by far our favorite of all of them. She was the best layer and the most friendly. She never bothered anyone (except the dogs - she loved to torment the dogs.. all in good fun of course. You could almost see her laughing when the dogs would jump when she pecked them.). She was also my wife's lap chicken.. she would sit on my wife's lap all day if she would let her.

As for where the mass was - it was in some kind of casing, not free floating.

BTW - she was a production red and her name was Lucy (yup, as in Ball).

 

[SVRapture40]

Definitely lash material. It's caused by salpingitis, which is inflammation or infection of the oviduct. Some birds may pass some of it, giving a clue, in others it just builds up inside. They are very, very good at hiding the symptoms and it's often not noticed until it's very advanced. It's very resistant to treatment, I've tried a lot of antibiotics and combinations of antibiotics and haven't had one recover yet. Some people say that their birds recovered after Baytril (enrofloxacin) treatment, so those may have been caught very early, giving them a better chance. I've lost several to it. Some birds will live for quite a while with it, others pass more quickly. When it's more advanced the bird will develop a bloated, firm abdomen and may waddle when they walk. As the material builds up it can push their legs apart so they walk with a wider stance. They also usually don't lay anymore.
https://the-chicken-chick.com/salpingitis-lash-eggs-in-backyard/

Thank you!

 

[SVRapture40]

Welcome to BYC and sorry for your loss. Was that free-floating in her belly or was it in the reproductive tract? Either way, it's not normal, it's called "lash egg".

What is A Lash Egg? All You Need To Know & More

In the course of raising chickens for the first time, many backyard chicken farmers come across a variety of egg abnormalities. Eggs that are rubbery, yolkless, and have blood spots are not a major concern are some of these. In your many years of chicken keeping, you may not have seen a lash...

• BYC Project Manager
• Aug 17, 2022
• 4.67 star(s) 12 ratings
• Comments: 5
• Reviews: 11
• Category: Injuries, Diseases, & Cures

Thank you!

 

[SVRapture40]

Definitely lash material. It's caused by salpingitis, which is inflammation or infection of the oviduct. Some birds may pass some of it, giving a clue, in others it just builds up inside. They are very, very good at hiding the symptoms and it's often not noticed until it's very advanced. It's very resistant to treatment, I've tried a lot of antibiotics and combinations of antibiotics and haven't had one recover yet. Some people say that their birds recovered after Baytril (enrofloxacin) treatment, so those may have been caught very early, giving them a better chance. I've lost several to it. Some birds will live for quite a while with it, others pass more quickly. When it's more advanced the bird will develop a bloated, firm abdomen and may waddle when they walk. As the material builds up it can push their legs apart so they walk with a wider stance. They also usually don't lay anymore.
https://the-chicken-chick.com/salpingitis-lash-eggs-in-backyard/

When you lost your birds - was it one event or 1 here, 1 there kind of thing? I ask because reading the link that you shared says the way to get rid of it is to "unpopulate" your flock, clean everything really well, and start over from scratch. So I guess what I'm asking is - can it be transferred from bird to bird?

 

[coach723]

It's one here, one there. It is not contagious. It tends to be more common in the heavy laying breeds, production reds being one of those. My production reds have had the highest amount of reproductive problems over all, compared to my other breeds. I actually avoid getting them now, they are nice birds, very friendly and easy to keep. But I'm weary of all the reproductive issues they have. It's inflammatory or bacterial, there isn't a lot of good information about actual root causes. Some think it could be from a lazy cloaca allowing bacteria back up the oviduct (understandable in a bird that lays an egg nearly every day). Or it could be unknown inflammation from a reproductive tract that is just working so hard. I wouldn't worry about your other birds from this. You may have more cases as time goes on, but it's very unlikely that they are passing it to each other, it's just something that happens on occasion, and doesn't run through a flock. I would not cull a bird for this unless the bird had it and was deteriorating or dying, rather than let them suffer. I would not cull another healthy bird in my flock just because one came down with this. I have one now with advanced salpingitis. She has trouble getting around well because her belly is so big. She still eats, drinks, dust bathes, etc. and seems pretty happy with her flock, so I just leave her be. Until she acts obviously unwell, then I will euthanize her rather than let her suffer.