Large amount of fat in cavity of butchered bird

[kathrync]

I processed a RIR hen today that had a TON of yellow fat in her body cavity. She was three years old and had stopped laying, and I butcher my laying hens that quit. It seemed strange to me that she had quit already, and she seemed slightly lethargic at times over the past 6 months, but no other signs of illness. I’m guessing she had some kind of disease. Sorry I wasn’t able to take a picture, but the fat was concentrated all around her intestines. Any ideas what it could have been?

 

[nuthatched]

What was her diet?

 

[kathrync]

What was her diet?

I feed my flock an organic, soy free pellet feed from Modesto milling. They also get fresh grass/weeds, and vegetable scraps from my kitchen. My other birds seem healthy and are laying, so I don’t know why she would have adverse effects with her diet

 

[Shadrach]

Chickens are no different from humans with regard to being pre disposed to health problems. It's mostly genetic and rarely just what you feed them. Excersise can and does help, much like with humans. Unfortunately for most, the health of the chickens parents is rarely known so these problems arise out of the blue so to speak.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I processed a RIR hen today that had a TON of yellow fat in her body cavity. . Any ideas what it could have been?

That's easy. Before a pullet or hen starts to lay she stores up a lot of excess fat. Most of it is in a fat pad in the pelvic area but it can be spread around the body cavity and on some organs. This is what a broody hen mostly lives off of so she can stay on the nest and take care of the eggs instead of having to be out looking for food and water. Even hens that do not go broody store up a lot of fat. I've butchered enough pullets, cockerels, hens, and roosters that the difference in fat is obvious. Sometimes I wonder how a hen could get an egg through that fat pad to lay it, but they do. Different hens store up different amounts, even if they are the same breed living and eating together. Each chicken can be different in this as well as in everything else.

Fatty Liver Syndrome in poultry is a real disease, you can look it up. I'll provide a link. From what I understand it is caused by a combination of diet and a weak liver to start with. That's why some hens can get it while others in the flock don't. Since your hen was lethargic she may have been suffering from FLS. How did the liver look when you butchered her?

https://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/fatty-liver-syndrome

FLS does not poison the meat or make her unsafe to eat. No worries there. If you want to make schmaltz (rendered chicken fat) you need to butcher the girls. You won't get much fat from the boys.

 

[Geena]

Some chickens just tend to overeat and don't get enough exercise, same as with other animals and humans. They can get obese even on a healthy diet if they consistently take in more calories than they expend. It's always possible she may have had some underlying health issue too, how did her organs look?