Hen panting, white mouth corners, large abdomen

[Eggcessive]

Pictures of a necropsy are normally shared here with just a warning that they are graphic. Was the green fluid inside her abdominal cavity? Ascites fluid inside the abdomen can be yellow, amber, or sometimes green if there is a lot of bile. Ascites is fluid in the abdomen from liver disease, and is secondary to such problems as heart failure, cancer, and egg yolk peritonitis. Sorry for your loss. A necropsy with lab studies can be done by your state vet if the body is kept cold, but not frozen. Here is a list state vets:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

 

[PippinChicken]

Pictures of a necropsy are normally shared here with just a warning that they are graphic. Was the green fluid inside her abdominal cavity? Ascites fluid inside the abdomen can be yellow, amber, or sometimes green if there is a lot of bile. Ascites is fluid in the abdomen from liver disease, and is secondary to such problems as heart failure, cancer, and egg yolk peritonitis. Sorry for your loss. A necropsy with lab studies can be done by your state vet if the body is kept cold, but not frozen. Here is a list state vets:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

Thanks, I think I'll do a new post with a warning in the title so no one accidentally stumbles upon the pictures. And yeah, it was in her abdominal cavity. I do wish now that I had taken her for a real necropsy (although it would be several days before I could do so...), the outcome was way more bizarre than I was expecting.

 

[Eggcessive]

You can post the pictures here. We are used to necropsy photos and pictures of many different injuries and ailments. It is tough when a chicken dies on a Friday, because most poultry labs are only open M-F. The body should be refrigerated, not frozen, and taken in or shipped overnight asap to the poultry lab.

 

[PippinChicken]

You can post the pictures here. We are used to necropsy photos and pictures of many different injuries and ailments. It is tough when a chicken dies on a Friday, because most poultry labs are only open M-F. The body should be refrigerated, not frozen, and taken in or shipped overnight asap to the poultry lab.

Exactly Friday evening death, lab is a few hours away and only open M-F, and I work M-F...that's why I opted to do my first at home necropsy. Total amateur hack job and I was not prepared (no supplies other than an old box cutter) so I don't know just how helpful the pictures will be, but I'm sure others will be able to make more sense of it than I can.

Pictures really don't do the fluid justice. I took a video and included two screen shots from it. It really was just flowing out as soon as I started cutting into her ample layer of fat...it smelled awful and had some occasional white debris mixed in. Very watery, not thick like mucous. I included another picture of the mouth but the white bumps are stained tan from the nutridrench.

This poor hen...I don't know if she had some issue connecting all these issues (white spots, panting, full of fluid, bumblefoot) or not but it seems like a miserable death. I just want to make sure none of this happens to anyone else.

 

[PippinChicken]

Any insight from people with more chicken anatomy knowledge?

Best guess from the research I've been doing is maybe some combo of fatty liver disease and ascites? I know the amount of fat and the green fluid are both abnormal but don't know if there's anything off about the rest of the organs. Also still can't figure out how the white mouth bumps fit in...

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Yes, there is quite a bit of abdominal fat and looks like there's fat surrounding the intestines as well.
It's hard to know what the mouth bumps were - I guess on my part would be Thrush due to crop problems. As the intestines get "strangled" by fat, fluid, etc., they can't function very well, this "backs up" the system and crop contents turn sour - could all be related, but without lab results I just would not be able to tell you.

I commend you for taking the time for photos and further examination.
@coach723 may have some input.

Cornell has a series of videos on youtube that you may also find helpful. This one is "part 4" which shows liver, etc.

 

[coach723]

I agree with @Wyorp Rock. All the fat, and the liver doesn't look healthy. Since there was no odor and the esophagus looks pretty clear I would lean towards thrush also. It can often accompany other health problems. The fluid was likely from the liver not functioning well. The panting could have been from the liver and fluid. I lost a young pullet this spring to heat stroke on a very hot day. Necropsy showed the beginnings of fatty liver disease, so that likely makes them not handle the stress of heat as well, and with a lot of fluid in the abdomen breathing can be more difficult just from that. Lots of abdominal fat can have a genetic component, but it also can be an issue of diet, so I would assess how/what you feed. Too many treats, especially high carb, can contribute. Sunflower seeds and corn being two of the most common and very easy to over feed. Once a bird has a lot of extra fat, then there are lots of health problems that can crop up.
I would check your other birds mouths to make sure that none of them have any lesions in their mouths so that you can take care of it early. Both thrush and canker can be spread by contaminated waterers, so I would clean and sanitize those to be safe.
I'm very sorry for your loss, but very good that you took a look to try to figure it out.
These may help:
https://www.chickenheavenonearth.co...-chicken-sicknesschicken-heaven-on-earth.html
http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/canker

 

[PippinChicken]

Thank you both for your input, that's extremely helpful! Tonight I'll take some time to look over the resources you shared, too.

When she was alive I had also suspected thrush and was waiting on supplies to treat it to arrive in the mail, but she died the day before and it looks like that was the least of her problems anyway. Her crop was empty and had no lesions or buildup of any kind. Does that rule out thrush or is it possible for it to be that localized to the mouth? I checked everyone else the day I discovered hers and they were normal, but I'll be doing routine checks for a bit just in case.

I still can't get over just how much fluid was in her, and that fat was a surprise too. My flock all gets chick starter until they're old enough to join the adults and then they get flock raiser pellets, no corn or sunflower seeds, and their kitchen scraps are limited to fruits and veggies and even that is infrequent. Their only real treats are mealworms and I'd guess they get some maybe once per week. I'm suspecting it may have been more genetic with this hen but of course I'm paranoid about everyone else too.

Did anything else in those pictures look off, or were the fat and liver the only abnormalities? Thank you again for all the information. Deaths are always rough but it helps to have some explanation.

 

[coach723]

I think those are the things that stand out. Here are some resources for learning more about doing necropsies. The more you do, the more familiar you get with what things should look like, and what they should not. Often times pictures of each organ, in place, and then again after removal are helpful, and sometimes what the inside of an organ looks like. The more info you have, the more complete the picture of what possibly happened. At least as complete as it can be without labs.
https://nctc.fws.gov/resources/cour...vestigation/Avian_Necropsy_Manual-English.pdf
https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/livestock-biosecurity/chicken-necropsy-guide
http://naturalchickenkeeping.blogspot.com/2013/11/how-to-perform-necropsy-autopsy-on.html
There are also video's on youtube that you can search for.