Internal Layer - Necropsy (Warning - Graphic Pics)

[terryg]

Egg yolks are magnets for infection. When, for whatever reason, they get stuck inside the chicken, they will eventually look like your what is seen in your photos. In my experience, what you have photographed can also happen inside the reproductive tract (not in the body cavity, which is true "internal laying.") When one egg becomes impacted (perhaps it was broken, or perhaps there was a glitch with that "conveyor belt") then the other eggs back up behind it and you get those massive, hard, infected eggs. I've done some research on this, and discussed it with vets. Sometimes the initial impaction happens because of a salmonella infection, and sometimes it occurs because of a physical problem with the egg laying system. In either event there is no cure. Often, when people think that their hens are "egg bound" it is this situation that is actually going on inside of their hens.
Hens can live and suffer with these kinds of incurable ailments for quite awhile before succumbing. I've written about end of life decisions here: http://www.hencam.com/henblog/2011/09/end-of-life-decisions/

 

[CMV]

Egg yolks are magnets for infection...

Indeed. They are not only a food source for chicks and everyone else, but also for bacteria. A concoction of concentrated vitamins, minerals, and fats. Perfect medium for growing stuff. Unfortunately should that stuff be of the buggy persuasion, it becomes a major problem.

 

[Lacy Blues]

Joan 1708, thanks for asking. I ended up culling her because she just wasn't eating and I didn't want her to suffer any longer. I did a necropsy and what I found was just like the OP. I took pictures, even with a ruler. Her mass was absolutely huge. ONE EGG was about four inches long and I think 3 to 3-1/2 inches wide. I cut it across the middle and you could see layer upon layer of egg having been formed. There were a few others, much smaller, in the same condition.

I can try to post pics if anyone would like but they're pretty similar to the original post.

 

[luvinrunnin]

Lacy Blue, I'd still like to see pics of what you found. I don't know that I could do my own necropsy.

 

[Lacy Blues]

Ok, here they are. Sorry for not finding your post earlier.



You can see here that there are 2" between her pubic bones. This is FAR from normal spacing. I think the pressure from the "egg" forced her this far apart. The whole process also turned her tissue, on the inside black. Very strange.



This is the width of the egg. 2.75 inches. That's pretty danged big! Poor girl.



And the LENGTH! Sheesh! 4 inches! Yow!




Ok. There you have it. These are a few of the other eggs that were undergoing the same process.

 

[speckledhen]

I was wondering about Lacy Blue's hen. Wether or not she survived. How common is the internal laying thing?

From my experience, it's very much common among the most popular hatchery breeds, like the Rocks, Orps and Wyandottes. I've lost maybe 14 hens to it already, all except two were direct from the hatchery. The other two were daughters of hatchery stock.

This is what I've removed from my own hens in the past (this is from one hen who had not laid in 8 months):

 

[luvinrunnin]

Wow, that is crazy!!! Poor girls.

I know hatchery stock isn't supposed to be as good as good breeder stock..............but..............I have to tell ya, the hatchery stock I have outperforms my good breeder stock both in production and in healthiness. Just what I've seen with my limited experience.

Thanks for posting pics!!!!

 

[speckledhen]

I don't know what breeder stock you have had, but I've never had hatchery stock who was as healthy, reproductive-wise, as my breeder stock. I've had Ameraucanas, Orpingtons, RIRs and BRs and Delawares in breeder stock.

 

[Gene Kanten]

This is finally giving me the answers to Butterscott. I wasn't going to fix it. Just frustrating because there was nothing I could do.

 

[Miami Leghorn]

She got quiet and separated herself. She was standing in the egg laying position. I picked her up and noticed she had a hard lump between her legs that felt like an egg. I used the warm water soak. I tried lubricant for a couple of days, I also kept the heat lamp on her hoping to relax her. Nothing worked then I noticed that she seemed to be struggling to breath. I felt she was suffering too much and decided to cull her. My curiosity got the best of me so I decided to do the necropsy. Other things I noticed other than the incredibly hard abdomen was she had a clean vent and never seemed to cry out like other hens I've seen that were egg bound. She also still walked around a bit and continued to eat and drink. I hope that helps.

We just lost a great layer in our Brown Leghorn hen,same,same, sad symptoms. My wife called me a work and told me she passed this morning... I got home and performed a necropsy and your pics match what we saw in our hen almost to a "T".
Is it genetic? Feed related?
She was a hatchery bird.
We got her last spring.