How do you properly necropsy a dead chicken?

[LikeTurkeys]

If you 'study up', and do it correctly, you will be able to see some obvious things, which might be enough. Many issues take tissue sample sent to the vet lab to make a diagnosis, and those must be in formalin usually. That's where having the necropsy done by an expert pays off!
Some state vet labs will do chickens very inexpensively, and some are more expensive. you can find out ahead of time exactly what the costs would be, and what's involved in submitting samples.
Mary

Yes, that's what I'm hoping for. The necropsy I did revealed internal laying, (I somewhat suspected that, people on here on BYC confirmed it). While this particular hen meant a lot to me, if I can figure out what happened to her myself, then I'd rather do it that way. Not only is it not expensive, but a great learning process as well, plus I can post photos to the forums.

I think it might be easier, the more you do it, and see other’s pictures of necropsies. But it looks better than my first one, and you can identify most of the organs. Here is a sampling of BYC necropsy pics that have been posted onto threads:
https://www.google.com/search?clien.........0....1.........35i39j33i299.ADjaFKPD3fY

Thank you, I'm glad. I thought it was pretty bad. But it did help me identify the cause of death, which is the most important part.

It might be a better idea to leave that to the professionals who know what to look for and what tests to order. Most state labs have deals where it's insanely cheap to do yourself. Here is an infographic on how to do it - http://www.poultrydvm.com/featured-infographic/how-to-submit-a-necropsy-backyard-fowl

Yeah, I don't know. Like I said above, I don't think I'm willing to pay the money for something I can (hopefully) see myself.

@quackersandfern are you a vet? You constantly are recommending that people should see a vet here, even when the person has already said they cannot afford one or one is not available. I live in an average size town, and there are not vets or avian vets who treat chickens. The ones who are lucky enough to see a vet talk about charging $300 to $3000 to treat a chicken. It is wonderful if someone can seek vet care, but it is not always affordable or available. Advice here should always be filtered and people should make up their own minds before following it.

@Eggcessive, I agree with you. You are right about the cost, and while some of my chickens can be considered 'pets' most are livestock. Even the ones that are pets, they are not to the extent that a dog or cat are.

So true, @Eggcessive , but you do tend to leave out the 'have a veterinarian do it' option often too. For necropsies, especially if a contagious disease might be involved, expert testing is best, and in some states is very affordable. Even where expensive, if it's about flock survival, it may be the less expensive alternative.
Mary

This isn't about flock survival, she had internal laying. She died within two days after showing symptoms. So, in my case, it wasn't a contagious disease. I'm not sure what I would do if it were. Do a necropsy and match the symptoms and evidence I find to something online? Post it to BYC (likely would do that before the hen died). Either way, after discovering it, I would take action accordingly.

 

[LikeTurkeys]

I wont spend 1 penny for postage to send a bird off for necropsy nor see a vet.
Contagious diseases can be avoided if biosecurity is practiced.

I try to, somehow MS (self diagnosed) still got into my flock though. No birds died, it's just something that happened, on a side related note.

I almost always recommend sending a dead bird to the state vet for a necropsy whenever I post on a thread @Folly's place . If the person cannot afford the cost and postage, then I usually suggest a home necropsy and give links where the organs are labeled. I just finished a necropsy on one of my old hens this morning.

This thread is about asking for advice on doing one, and I learn so much when someone post’s their pictures from their own home necropsies. Many people criticize others here for trying to help or give advice, but it seems few vets or former vets on here seldom bother with advice. My state only charges $23 for a basic necropsy, and then charge extra for each test or the histology. Some states state at $150 and go from there. My lab is 3 hours from me, and I cannot take a whole day to drive to Columbus round trip , although I would love to (and may someday) get a professional one done sometime.

You seem experienced with this. I hope someday I will be able to do a necropsy and identify problems right away (though, I certainly hope it doesn't need to be done to often!). I have a friend who was studying to be a large animal vet and has her own chickens. When one dies she does her own necropsies, perhaps next time I should send photos to her? Just out of curiosity. I would post here too of course.

I know that I am. I have no illusions about that. My pockets are not deep either, more like inside out at the moment. And i am not discouraging DIY investigations. No need to pay money to open a bird up and find its liver is purple or its GI tract is blocked with worms. Of course, the exact cause of the purple liver may be of interest. But, if a bird dies and you don't know the answer, its best to take it to someone who can find out why before the next one dies or the whole flock.
An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure so do all the things to promote good health but when disaster strikes, its my humble opinion, it is prudent to limit the damages to one bird.

My chickens are livestock, not pets. But they are an investment of my time, hardwork, and of course money. So when one dies i see dollar signs floating away and want to protect the rest of my investment. I also dont wa t the currently healthy bitds to suffer from a disease that may be incubating in them before they become symptomatic and it may be too late.
My wife does do the necropsy herself and all the lab work but we still have to pay for use of the equipment at $50 per specimen.

Instead of looking to local vets who may or may not do poultry in their private practice, look into vet schools or vet teaching hospitals. The animal is worked on by students supervised by the pathologist and it is usually cheaper.

Sometimes you can send it in for "disposal" and a necropsy must be performed to ensure that there was nothing infectious. I think the owner still gets a copy of the report.

Sorry, dont mean to preach. I'll step down off my soapbox. I said i was biased on this matter

You're lucky. If your wife sees something obvious right away, does she still go through with a bunch of testing? Seems like it wouldn't be necessary.

@Mtnboomer, you are fortunate to have a wife who can do necropsies. I would love to learn from someone. When I lose one, I just do a brief necropsy to look for reproductive disorders or ascites which are the main things we deal with here. My husband is a human pathologist, and he would help me if I needed him to. He can look at a lot of pictures that I show him from threads each day, and give me advice about what the lesion looks like. He has diagnosed many tumors just for my interest. He just is not as interested in the chickens as I am.

The two main things I wish more people would try to necropsy birds, is when they are dealing with a respiratory disease or possible Mareks. I certainly would want to know if my flock was dealing with one of those, and what disease. I cull any sick birds, and choose not to use antibiotics or drugs on my birds. I used Tylan once, but I will try to help suggest the right type one or suggest they don’t use one if antibiotics are not useful.

Some people with access to antibiotics will throw everything at a bird with a virus, or they may continue to post multiple threads of the same disease asking the same questions. I remember one particular lady who has used probably 20 different antibiotics on her flock with chronic respiratory disease, but she never heeds advice to stop adding birds, or get a diagnosis. Sorry for the rant, but most of us just are here to offer help and suggestions, but people need to understand we are not vets, and some of the advice given is not always right.

Yes, brief necropsy for the most part is what I'm going for. Doesn't have to be super detailed, just enough to tell me why the bird died. I'm not going to be one of those people who throws a bunch of things at their flock without listening to advice No sir! That's why I post here.

 

[Mtnboomer]

I try to, somehow MS (self diagnosed) still got into my flock though. No birds died, it's just something that happened, on a side related note.

You seem experienced with this. I hope someday I will be able to do a necropsy and identify problems right away (though, I certainly hope it doesn't need to be done to often!). I have a friend who was studying to be a large animal vet and has her own chickens. When one dies she does her own necropsies, perhaps next time I should send photos to her? Just out of curiosity. I would post here too of course.

You're lucky. If your wife sees something obvious right away, does she still go through with a bunch of testing? Seems like it wouldn't be necessary.

Yes, brief necropsy for the most part is what I'm going for. Doesn't have to be super detailed, just enough to tell me why the bird died. I'm not going to be one of those people who throws a bunch of things at their flock without listening to advice No sir! That's why I post here.

Sometimes. Sometimes obvious problems have hidden causes. For example: a hen dies of heart disease. Ok, what caused the heart disease? Could be genetic? environmental? Diet? Etc.
If its a 90% certainty that it will not affect the rest of the flock and the underlying causes are controllable (not genetic) then we typically do not do the lab work.

 

[LikeTurkeys]

Sometimes. Sometimes obvious problems have hidden causes. For example: a hen dies of heart disease. Ok, what caused the heart disease? Could be genetic? environmental? Diet? Etc.
If its a 90% certainty that it will not affect the rest of the flock and the underlying causes are controllable (not genetic) then we typically do not do the lab work.

Well if I have more than one hen die of heart disease, then I guess I could work from there. Diet/enviromental.. etc. But if it's affecting just one hen, and the others are fine, then I guess I don't care? (well, I mean, I do, I feel bad for the hen, but I can assume that the others will be fine unless shown to be otherwise).

 

[Folly's place]

Me too! I necropsy every bird who dies unexpectedly here, except for predator attacks, and have so far only once sent in tissue samples. I sent nasal/ pharyngeal swabs once, checking for Mycoplasma. also thankfully okay.
Usually the cause of death is pretty obvious, like egg peritonitis, or something.
Mary

 

[LikeTurkeys]

Me too! I necropsy every bird who dies unexpectedly here, except for predator attacks, and have so far only once sent in tissue samples. I sent nasal/ pharyngeal swabs once, checking for Mycoplasma. also thankfully okay.
Usually the cause of death is pretty obvious, like egg peritonitis, or something.
Mary

Yeah, the obvious causes are what I'm looking for. Your method sounds good, sending in tissue samples instead of the whole bird. That way you can still test for contagious diseases if your home necropsy didn't show anything. How much did it cost?

 

[Folly's place]

Costs vary depending on your state lab fees, and you need the formalin to preserve the tissues. Look them up online, and call ahead for advice and fees, and protocols. Spending on useless samples is not a good plan!
Mary

 

[LikeTurkeys]

Costs vary depending on your state lab fees, and you need the formalin to preserve the tissues. Look them up online, and call ahead for advice and fees, and protocols. Spending on useless samples is not a good plan!
Mary

Okay. Still cheaper to do it yourself though. I wouldn't send in samples if I had already identified the issue, nor would I do it randomly. I would at least try to see the cause myself and then possibly send samples in to confirm. Formalin's not a problem, we have that.

 

[LikeTurkeys]

Costs vary depending on your state lab fees, and you need the formalin to preserve the tissues. Look them up online, and call ahead for advice and fees, and protocols. Spending on useless samples is not a good plan!
Mary

Oops , for a second there thought that you were someone against doing home necropsies until I review your above posts again. Sorry if the above came off not right.

 

[casportpony]

@LikeTurkeys, @Kiki just started a thread (https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/necropsy-video.1349581/) with this video: