First Necropsy

[Sqhomestead]

We had a hen that died today. She was the 1st one we've ever lost. She was sick about a month ago. She got to where she couldn't or wouldn't stand up. I isolated her, and all of her symptoms pointed to a broken egg inside her, but I couldn't find any. We treated her with antibiotics and within a few days she seemed fine. She's been great since then, until a few days ago. She started staying on the ground , nesting, not doing a lot. Today, when I found her on the floor of the coop in the middle of the day, I picked her up and took her to the water bowl. She gobbled a few sips down, then dies right there in my hands. I have included photos from the necropsy. Does anyone have any clues as to what was wrong with her from the pics? Thank you.

Warning: graphic pics

 

[MaxwellHouse]

So sorry for your loss.

I have no clue about the images. Most reports will describe whether the liver and kidneys are the normal color. The second image looks awful due to the multiple granuloma which until tests are conducted could be many different pathogens.

Was she laying eggs AFTER you thought she had a broken egg.

 

[Sqhomestead]

So sorry for your loss.

I have no clue about the images. Most reports will describe whether the liver and kidneys are the normal color. The second image looks awful due to the multiple granuloma which until tests are conducted could be many different pathogens.

Was she laying eggs AFTER you thought she had a broken egg.

Yes, she had layedn several eggs since rhen.

 

[MaxwellHouse]

Have you received the report yet? I am in Florida and they will send me updates periodically even though it is not the final report. I am just worried it was something contagious and you have other chickens that may have stronger immune systems that are not showing any symptoms.

 

[Abriana]

I’m sorry for your loss

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry for your loss

Well done on taking a look inside. Hopefully @Eggcessive @dawg53 @casportpony @rebrascora and @coach723 will give their input as well - I'm still learning about what I'm looking at.

I do see a large fat pad in the abdomen-was there any fluid underneath that or was it all fat?. Was there blood in the body cavity when you opened her up or did you happen to nick a vein?

I'm going to say Fatty Liver, but the liver looks pretty good to me, but the excess fat in the abdomen would have caused problems. The bright green is ??? I'm guessing infection, but could be totally wrong on that one.

Tell us more about what type of food/treats you feed your gals.

 

[Eggcessive]

I am not an expert on necropsies, but just learning a few things. The first pic looked suspicious for fatty liver hemorrhagic disease, but the liver doesn’t look tan or putty colored. There does seem to be some hemorrhage. Is the green due to a punctured gall bladder? I did that recently on a necropsy. In the second picture, there is something that looks familiar, but I don’t remember what it is called. I will do some looking. Many others here have a lot more knowledge about necropsies.

 

[Eggcessive]

Cystadenocarcinoma on the right in this picture?

Here is a thread that has pictures, but I am not sure that is the same as this:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/what-is-this.967329/

 

[Eggcessive]

This is a pic I stole from a thread on BYC:

 

[rebrascora]

Hi
Sorry you lost your hen but well done from me too, on opening her up to look for a possible cause.
It would be helpful to know the age of the hen as well as what you feed including treats. As @Wyorp Rock says, knowing if there was any fluid in the body cavity when you opened her up would be helpful. Generally the abdominal cavity will be moist but no fluid should be there to flow out.
Are you able to show more photos of the organs or have you disposed of the carcass?
An abdominal fat pad would be fairly normal in an older hen but not usually in a youngster, so age is relevant. It is difficult to assess the extent of the fat from the photo. Are you able to dissect it. There is obviously plenty of flesh on her breast so no muscle wastage has occurred which cancer or crop problems often cause. I would be interested to see her oviduct. That abdomen looks distended and I'm thinking there may be salpingitis causing an impaction of the oviduct.
I'm guessing the green may actually be a burst infected egg follicle. It is the wrong colour and viscosity for bile in my opinion and you can see the yellow of other follicles just below it but the ovary does not look healthy or normal.

There does appear to be a lot of congealed blood in the body cavity. How long after death did you open her up? What did her heart look like? What was the texture of her liver like. Could you get hold of it in your hand and pull it without your fingers breaking through it? I agree that it looks a healthy colour.

I'm in the middle of cooking dinner so these are just initial thoughts....