mystery illness not responding to treatments

[KsKingBee]

I like to cut from vent to throat and splay out the bird without disturbing the organs so I can assure myself that I did not accidentally tear the esophagus when tube feeding letting feed into the chest cavity. From there I inspect each organ from top down. The heart and liver may have yellow lesions, and the lungs should be pink and clear. Remove the intestines including the gizzard, gut, and cecal pouches laying them out on a towel. Slice the gizzard in half to inspect the contents. I would expect the gut and cecal pouches to be severely tumorous with gross cancerous lesions.

 

[Waterfaery]

I like to cut from vent to throat and splay out the bird without disturbing the organs so I can assure myself that I did not accidentally tear the esophagus when tube feeding letting feed into the chest cavity. From there I inspect each organ from top down. The heart and liver may have yellow lesions, and the lungs should be pink and clear. Remove the intestines including the gizzard, gut, and cecal pouches laying them out on a towel. Slice the gizzard in half to inspect the contents. I would expect the gut and cecal pouches to be severely tumorous with gross cancerous lesions.

Thanks.

Here are some photos.

He seemed to have plenty of food within his digestive system despite being totally emaciated. His ceca were full of solid, dark material but he hasn't produced a cecal dropping at all since we started treating him. In the last couple of photos you can see some food in the cavity but it happened when my husband was cutting out the digestive organs. Otherwise, I'm not sure if I see anything but I'm sure you will know. He is still in position if there's anything else we should photograph.

 

[Waterfaery]

My husband went back to cut open the digestive system a bit more. Here are some more photos showing some of the contents.

 

[KsKingBee]

With the exception of the liver the organs look remarkably good. Nothing like I expected to see. That liver is extremely dark and probably holds the clue. Let's flag @casportpony she loves this stuff.

 

[casportpony]

His ceca were full of solid, dark material but he hasn't produced a cecal dropping at all since we started treating him.

So sorry for your loss. That would explain why the intestines look so unhealthy. I suspect that the ceca started leaking and he died from sepsis.

 

[Waterfaery]

Thank you both for the replies. What would make the ceca leak? And the dark liver?

Are you thinking not coccidiosis now? I wonder what other illnesses I need to start looking into because there's another one acting a bit droopy now so I'm really worried.

 

[casportpony]

What would make the ceca leak?

The fecal material sitting there for many days could cause the intestinal tissue to die. When it dies, it leaks.

Are you thinking not coccidiosis now? I wonder what other illnesses I need to start looking into because there's another one acting a bit droopy now so I'm really worried.

Do you have any Baytril (enrofloxacin)?

 

[Waterfaery]

The fecal material sitting there for many days could cause the intestinal tissue to die. When it dies, it leaks.

Do you have any Baytril (enrofloxacin)?

What would cause the fecal matter to sit there? He hardly ate so I was surprised to see so much food in his system. If anything, the ceca seemed really dried out and the contents were very solid. My husband said he thought he was really dehydrated.

Are you thinking it's a bacterial infection? I do have a tiny amount of Baytril but not enough to finish a course of treatment and definitely not enough if I'm going to need to dose more than one bird.

 

[casportpony]

What would cause the fecal matter to sit there? He hardly ate so I was surprised to see so much food in his system. If anything, the ceca seemed really dried out and the contents were very solid. My husband said he thought he was really dehydrated.

Dehydration can cause this.

Are you thinking it's a bacterial infection? I do have a tiny amount of Baytril but not enough to finish a course of treatment and definitely not enough if I'm going to need to dose more than one bird.

I think that the fecal material sitting in the ceca caused the ceca to be compromised and leak into the abdominal cavity, resulting in a massive infection.

When I have one that's sick I start by weighing them in grams. That is my baseline weight, and everything I do is based on that number.

Almost all sick birds are hypothermic & dehydrated. After being weighed they are put in a hospital cage in a warm room. Once warm, I tube fluids to correct hydration and this should not be done until the bird is warmed up. Tube warmed (102 degrees) Pedialyte or Gatorade at 14 ml per pound of body weight, wait 60-90 minutes, and repeat. If no poop is produced by 3 hours after first tubing, repeat once more.

Is the other one producing cecal poop?

 

[Waterfaery]

Dehydration can cause this.

I think that the fecal material sitting in the ceca caused the ceca to be compromised and leak into the abdominal cavity, resulting in a massive infection.

When I have one that's sick I start by weighing them in grams. That is my baseline weight, and everything I do is based on that number.

Almost all sick birds are hypothermic & dehydrated. After being weighed they are put in a hospital cage in a warm room. Once warm, I tube fluids to correct hydration and this should not be done until the bird is warmed up. Tube warmed (102 degrees) Pedialyte or Gatorade at 14 ml per pound of body weight, wait 60-90 minutes, and repeat. If no poop is produced by 3 hours after first tubing, repeat once more.

Is the other one producing cecal poop?

I don't know. He's with the flock and they're roosting now. We'll separate him in the morning and check him.

We just noticed this evening that his wings are drooping a bit and now that they're roosting he's tucking his head the way the other sick ones had been. He is up on the roost though. The other two sick ones (the one who died and the one who recovered) had been sleeping on the ground.

I'm wondering if the key is in the one who recovered. He was only treated with Tylan, Fenbendazole and Toltrazuril, so either one of those three things worked or else none of them worked and he was just stronger to fight off whatever it is.