Hen passed - graphic necropsy pic - help me figure out what this is?

[pbrenneraz]

I posted yesterday for help with my 3 year old Australorp that had a sour/impacted crop. Unfortunately she passed away this morning, and after crying for the loss, I did my best to do a necropsy to figure out what went wrong. She had these fluid filled sacs with veins low in her abdomen. Her crop was empty but her gizzard was packed very full (though some food had been going through since she still pooped). I looked at pictures online and here and it seems that it could be internal laying or (based on a picture here on BYC) cystadenocarcinoma. Does anyone here have any thoughts? She hadn't laid an egg in months, since going into her molt in December (I travel between Texas and Arizona, and my hens tend to molt late in the year). If it's internal laying, is there some sign I should have caught? Early last summer she had a couple of soft shelled eggs, but then they were fine after that. I want to learn from this if it's something I can fix earlier if it happens again. Thanks in advance. And thanks to @azygous for trying to help on the other thread.

 

[azygous]

Have you sliced into those weird globes? Any sign of yolks inside? Or some sort of cheesy substance? If you can, slice a few open and post pics.

At a glance, that is how internal laying presents. What happens is infection or some other trauma causes the yolks to bounce back out of the upper oviduct and to fall down into the abdominal cavity. It's truly one of the most bizarre things that can happen to a laying hen.

No, there is no early warning sign of this. I had a new layer less than one year old have this kill her. There is nothing anyone can do to fix it.

I commend you for putting aside your grief and wanting to do what it takes to get to the bottom of why your hen died. It's how we learn.

 

[pbrenneraz]

Have you sliced into those weird globes? Any sign of yolks inside? Or some sort of cheesy substance? If you can, slice a few open and post pics.

At a glance, that is how internal laying presents. What happens is infection or some other trauma causes the yolks to bounce back out of the upper oviduct and to fall down into the abdominal cavity. It's truly one of the most bizarre things that can happen to a laying hen.

No, there is no early warning sign of this. I had a new layer less than one year old have this kill her. There is nothing anyone can do to fix it.

I commend you for putting aside your grief and wanting to do what it takes to get to the bottom of why your hen died. It's how we learn.

I did slice open a number of them, and no sign of yolks or anything cheesy-ish, the fluid was quite translucent. I am very soft hearted and love my critters (chickens, dogs, and horses), but once they're gone, I want to try and figure out if it's something I can prevent in the future. Thanks again for your replies.

 

[azygous]

@dawg53 what do you make of these colored veiny globes in this necropsy? No indication of yolks inside.

 

[Kiki]

Sorry for your loss. What exactly do you feed your birds?

 

[pbrenneraz]

Sorry for your loss. What exactly do you feed your birds?

Thank you for the kind sentiment. I feed them Country Companion Layer pellets from Cal Ranch.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

That is definitely internal laying. According the Merck veterinary handbook finding empty formed membranes isn’t uncommon for internal laying either. That would be what those empty translucent bubbles are.

 

[Farmgirl283420]

so sorry that's so weird hope you figure it out

 

[Farmgirl283420]

Whats internal laying? And how can you tell if your hens have it?

 

[Kiki]

Thank you for the kind sentiment. I feed them Country Companion Layer pellets from Cal Ranch.

You feed scratch too?