Fresh Chickens Green Skinned Body Is FOund, Why?

[DottyStars]

I have recently found a dead chicken in with the flock of my chickens. I am slightly worried as I have no idea of the cause of death. The two distinguishing features are that the side of the chickens face was missing (whether it was caused by rats or the other chickens is not the question) and when i took a closer look at the chicken i saw that the base of the chicken was mint green. It was on further inspection that we realised only the skin was green, although the corpse had a distinctive smell which is odd as it was fresh! Could any of you be of great help and let me know what it was that caused this, it is very important because i am worried of it spreading to other chickens.

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

I'm not sure about whats going on with the chick but what I can tell you is that you will get WAY more help if you change your title to something like "chicks fresh dead body is green, need help" or something like that. I know that many here hate when people just put "Help me" in their title line and won't even bother coming to see what help is needed. Good luck and I hope someone here can help you. Was that chick that died young? A baby chick or pullet? They will need to know this as well. Is it the ONLY chick in there with your hens? How many do you have?

 

[DottyStars]

It was at least a year old, and is in with another 20ish chickens and 3 boys. And thank you for the advice.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

I am going to guess that she ingested poison of some sort. Hopefully someone else will have a better idea.

 

[hcammack]

my guess would be some sort of infection maybe internal laying and then infection either that or the intestines and stomach burst or internal decomposition has set in.

Good luck sorry this happened,
Henry

 

[NotTheMomma]

The green was most like bruising. Not sure on the odor, though IMO raw chicken stinks.

 

[anngili]

I'm really worried about the combination of the green color and the strange odor. I hope I'm being and alarmist in this case, but the first thing that came to mind was something my parents (both MDs) told us kids about. Those two symptoms together smack of a serious, rapidly progressive, potentially fatal disease called gas gangrene. Green skin and gas are the two classic symptoms of this particular type of gangrene (there's several kinds). If it is that, only immediate treatment can save the life of the person (or chicken) afflicted.

The odor is often like a combination of chlorine and rotting flesh (ugh!)Humans don't normally get it unless they have wounds that air can't get to and they don't get prompt treatment. It's done LOTS horrible death and damage in wars until recently for those reasons. Until they came up with penicillin, it always killed many, many wounded soldiers.
I didn't know if poultry got it so I did a quick Google and apparently they can and do get it, and the symptoms seem to exactly match what you described.
Here's a link to the first article I ran across: http://www.zootecnicainternational....ntal-reproduction&catid=6:veterinary&Itemid=8. I'm sorry, but from what I could quickly scan, it appears to have a high mortality rate and (edited) recurrence if the conditions that caused the case aren't changed.
If it were me, I'd call a vet and/or take the dead chicken in immediately for a diagnosis and find out what treatment and/or management changes to use. From what my parents told me, if you've ever seen a gas gangrene case before, you'll recognize it instantly, so your vet may be able to tell immediately if that's what it is. Apparently if you catch it really fast, penicillin can stop it but chickens sometimes get it through their intestines, so it may not show symptoms fast enough for you to catch it easily.

Important note: If someone in your household is a diabetic, keep them well away from it! Diabetics can get it through even a small scratch on the skin and, because of poor blood flow, it can spread as fast as and inch and hour in a bad case.
Keeping my fingers crossed for you and your chickens! I'm sure hoping that it's not gas gangrene but from all the horror stories my parents told, I'd err on the side of caution on this one.
Please give us an update!
Ann

 

[DottyStars]

ann.... can you tell me if this is infectious?
thank you for your help though, will certainly take your advice

 

[Eggs4Sale]

When I think of gangrene, I think of the Civil War soldiers and other wounds. You didn't mention that the chicken was wounded, did you?

How does gas gangrene occur?

I'll have to read that link now that my interest is piqued...


Edited to add: I just read the article. Toenail scratches, huh.

Question: The face wound, was it clotted or fresh?

 

[NotTheMomma]

I only dealt with two patients with gangrene. Neither had green, it as black.