Like the title says, I made a mistake.
I had a Silver Laced Wyandotte with a swollen belly. She had been that way for a while, but seemed otherwise normal. She was also going through a molt, and probably hadn't laid an egg in a year.
I've had hens with swollen bellies before. I culled 2 Easter Eggers that were swollen because of ascites due to fatty liver. I culled another Silver Laced Wyandotte, and she was full of cysts.
So, thinking I was looking at the same problem with this one, I decided to cull her too. With winter coming I didn't want her to slowly suffer, I thought she would be full of cysts like the other SLW.
Well, when I opened her up to see what the problem was, it wasn't ascites or cysts.... it was fat. She had a layer of subcutaneous fat that was at least an inch and a half thick. Her intestines and reproductive tract were covered in heavy deposits of visceral fat. Her liver looked normal, and no fluid in her abdomen.
I feel terrible. She may have been heavy and moved a little slower but she wasn't sick. She didn't have tumors or fluid filling her body. She didn't have to die. I'm mad at myself, and I hate that I ended her life.
I guess I just needed to vent, and I don't really have anyone else that would understand.
I had a Silver Laced Wyandotte with a swollen belly. She had been that way for a while, but seemed otherwise normal. She was also going through a molt, and probably hadn't laid an egg in a year.
I've had hens with swollen bellies before. I culled 2 Easter Eggers that were swollen because of ascites due to fatty liver. I culled another Silver Laced Wyandotte, and she was full of cysts.
So, thinking I was looking at the same problem with this one, I decided to cull her too. With winter coming I didn't want her to slowly suffer, I thought she would be full of cysts like the other SLW.
Well, when I opened her up to see what the problem was, it wasn't ascites or cysts.... it was fat. She had a layer of subcutaneous fat that was at least an inch and a half thick. Her intestines and reproductive tract were covered in heavy deposits of visceral fat. Her liver looked normal, and no fluid in her abdomen.
I feel terrible. She may have been heavy and moved a little slower but she wasn't sick. She didn't have tumors or fluid filling her body. She didn't have to die. I'm mad at myself, and I hate that I ended her life.
I guess I just needed to vent, and I don't really have anyone else that would understand.
I think many, many of us have made mistakes. I just try to learn from mine and do better going forward. But it wasn't completely bad, you learned some valuable information and can hopefully make some dietary changes that will help the rest of your flock in the future. With a layer of fat like that, long term, health problems are more likely.
