Graphic - Pullet Autopsy, Any Ideas?

[Sue Gremlin]

I don't think that's fat, I think it's fibrin from inflammation.

 

[rebrascora]

@Sue Gremlin

You don't think it could be a tumour then?

 

[Sue Gremlin]

It certainly could be, but it doesn't look like one, and it was a young pullet so I wouldn't think of that first, but stranger things have happened.
I've seen a couple of cases of myocarditis in different species, and the fibrinous mass looked like that. Sort of like beef fat on a cooked steak.

 

[Sue Gremlin]

It also looks like hear heart was pretty big, round and flabby, indicating a chronic condition--maybe one she was born with. Whatever it is, it looks like it's been there for a long time rather than an acute condition.

 

[rebrascora]

I've seen this same texture tissue attached to lungs.
Tumours are common in young birds with Marek's, so in some respects the age makes a tumour more likely rather than less, considering it is such a very common disease of young chickens.

@AnneInTheBurbs

Do you know if she was vaccinated for Marek's? Have you had any young birds with wry neck, lameness or other paralysis prior to this?

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

What is your state diagnostics lab like? Wondering if they might accept the heart as a sample and do PCR testing for Marek's on it? You would need to refrigerate it until you have contacted them.

I have already burned her remains, unfortunately. I suspect it was a birth defect, so I didn’t see a need to send it to a lab.

I've seen this same texture tissue attached to lungs.
Tumours are common in young birds with Marek's, so in some respects the age makes a tumour more likely rather than less, considering it is such a very common disease of young chickens.

@AnneInTheBurbs

Do you know if she was vaccinated for Marek's? Have you had any young birds with wry neck, lameness or other paralysis prior to this?

As best I can tell, I have not had any in my flock with Mareks yet. She was not vaccinated, as she was a backyard mix, raised by broodies.

 

[Eggcessive]

Was just doing some reading about fatty tumors of the hearts in poultry, and came up with some info on avian lymphoid leukosis. Myelocytomatosis is a rare tumor found in poultry. It causes a fatty like tumors in different visceral organs of the body. In the article it said that certain serotype 2 Mareks disease vaccines can enhance viral tumors by being contaminated with lymphoid leukosis virus in certain cases. So basically this type of Mareks vaccine can introduce lymphoid leukosis into a chicken. This is in the first full paragraph under pathogenisis:
https://www.chickenheavenonearth.co...chicken-sickness-chicken-heaven-on-earth.html

Here is another article about myelocytomatosis with pictures of fat-like tumors:
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/6/diseases-of-poultry/203/myelocytomatosis/

Since this chicken was not vaccinated for Mareks, it is probably just a coincidence, and these tumors are rare.