lose of balance, appetite, open mouth breathing

[Cellomama2]

Yesterday Sassy got to the point she could no longer even move away from her droppings so last night we decided to humanely euthanize her. The vets around her wanted anywhere from $150 to $280 to try to figure out what was wrong with her and after discussing things with my husband decided that was just too much to spend on her to not necessarily have a definite answer. I hate that I won't know for sure what happened. I'm sorry to those that were also waiting for an answer.

 

[Abriana]

I'm so sorry about Sassy. It must have been so difficult watching her struggle. You did everything you could. Sassy has a very wonderful owner

 

[Cellomama2]

Abriana you are very sweet but I feel terrible waiting for so long while trying to find help. I'm thankful for this site and the two vets that talked to me as much as they did over the phone.

 

[rebrascora]

I'm so sorry that she declined and you had to make that difficult decision to end her suffering, but it was a very responsible thing to do.
If you have not already disposed of her body and could bring yourselves to examine it internally, there is the possibility that a cause of death might be established. I have done a few post mortem examinations myself and once you get over the emotional trauma, it is very interesting and informative and surprisingly often a cause can be pinpointed, especially if you can take photos of the dissection and major organs and post them for others here to assess and make observation.

I appreciate that it is not something that everyone can do with an animal that they have loved and cared for..... I will say though that the hardest part is euthanizing them so you have that behind you.

Sending sincerest sympathies

Barbara

 

[Cellomama2]

I will post some autopsy photos in the next post so if you don't want to see that do not continue on. We euthanized her last night at about 9:30 pm and did this at 12:15pm the next day and I had absolutely no idea what I was doing so if I missed something I'll try to do it better if I have to on Dandelion.

 

[Cellomama2]

 

[rebrascora]

OK.... well done!
The liver looks a little pale and I see a couple of minor spots of discolouration but nothing that would be terminal in my opinion, but not healthy. The gut looks unhappy.... colour of contents and lots of gas.... what had she been eating?
Are you able to cut away the breast bone with a pair of pruning shears and expose the thoracic area and then remove the liver and gizzard with the intestines attached and take photos of that whole digestive tract, removed and laid out and also the heart and lungs too? I am particularly interested to see if there are any tumours on the heart or lungs
Also if you can cut open the gizzard and take photos of the contents.

Once you have done all that, it is not a pleasant job, but I usually end with palpitating the length of the intestine for round worms and opening up any area that feels like there may be worms to check.

 

[rebrascora]

Apologies, I was so busy looking at the photos, I didn't read your previous post.... I now see that there may be no opportunity for further photos of Sassy.
Is Dandelion suffering similar symptoms.... I must have missed that post or I'm getting confused between threads (old age setting in)....I'm so sorry if you have another one sick....will go reread entire thread and jog my memory.

 

[rebrascora]

Getting a necropsy done via a state lab or university lab may well be much cheaper than going privately through your vet if you lose another one. Hopefully someone in the USA will be able to advise where your nearest state facility is and perhaps how much it would cost.
My gut feeling is that these deaths are all Marek's. Sassy had pretty classic symptoms and I very much suspect she may have had a tumour on her lungs. The other one being lame and then dying ties in.
If you decide to do another DIY necropsy, there is an instructional video that might help... I'll see if I can find the link.
Kathy @casportpony might also be interested in looking at your photos and seeing if she can pick out things that I missed or misinterpreted.

 

[azygous]

So sad to hear Sassy lost her battle. Trying to treat a sick chicken is no easy or simple task. We constantly worry we aren't doing enough. I'm going through this right now with a one-week old chick.

Next do-it-yourself necropsy you attempt, also try to weigh the organs and post that info here with photos. Tumors may not be visible on the outside of organs but they can cause those organs to sometimes weigh as much as ten times more than normal.