Necropsy Graphic Pictures

[jlwquilter]

I am puzzled with the darkness of the intestines. Also her gizzard contents look strange. They are somewhat oily looking. Mine have always been very dry and gritty. (No pun intended.)

Had she been eating and pooping normally?

As far as I know she was but obviously she had some issue that took over between 6/28 and 7/5. Her last poops the day she died, right before she roosted, were not normal. I was going to post them in the morning but she died.

 

[Ebony Rose]

I believe reproductive disorder, salpingitis.

 

[Mimi13]

Wait. The large red organ that looks to be 2 mirror images on either side of the midline is the liver? So which pic shows the lungs?

There isn’t a pic of the lungs. If you still have the carcass, get it. Once all the innards are removed, you will see the lungs embedded between the ribs. You literally will have to scrape them out with your fingers. I’m gonna estimate their size to be around that of a half dollar each and they will be bright pink and spongy.

 

[Ebony Rose]

Wait. The large red organ that looks to be 2 mirror images on either side of the midline is the liver? So which pic shows the lungs?

The lungs are wedged in the ribcage; all organs come out of the body cavity before you have access to the lungs. They typically look like bright pink sponges (think about the color of bazooka bubblegum).

 

[Mimi13]

I believe reproductive disorder, salpingitis. View attachment 1837348

Okay, so that is what salpingitis looks like? Makes sense, since it is the color of scrambled eggs. Is that what the light yellow stuff was in the picture with the egg yolks?

 

[jlwquilter]

This foamy poop was tiny. It was the last poop I saw her take. It was a few minutes after the green one pictured next. I knew neither one was normal or a good sign but I’d had the greenish one before on another sick chicken that we did successfully nurse back to fill health. And of course I knew Petunia had lost a lot of weight and the only food I knew she had that day was the egg I fed her (2 feeds spaced several hours apart).

I was concerned but expected to nurse her like the other hen. I was shocked that she died in the middle of the night.

 

[jlwquilter]

The lungs are wedged in the ribcage; all organs come out of the body cavity before you have access to the lungs. They typically look like bright pink sponges (think about the color of bazooka bubblegum).

Ok. Thanks for the clarification. I think we somehow entirely missed the lungs.

 

[Mimi13]

This foamy poop was tiny. It was the last poop I saw her take. It was a few minutes after the green one pictured next. I knew neither one was normal or a good sign but I’d had the greenish one before on another sick chicken that we did successfully nurse back to fill health. And of course I knew Petunia had lost a lot of weight and the only food I knew she had that day was the egg I fed her (2 feeds spaced several hours apart).

I was concerned but expected to nurse her like the other hen. I was shocked that she died in the middle of the night.

View attachment 1837351 View attachment 1837350

That very dark green poop is bile, and usually what you see from a bird that hasn’t eaten. That is most likely what is making her gizzard look oily as well. But, like I said before, I really don’t know for sure.

The sad thing about all this is that you really only learn things by dealing with the sickness in your own flock. We can read, read, read and look at pictures until we’re blue in the face, but until we are faced with it we truly don’t know. Even though I’ve got a couple of older hens that are internal layers, I don’t yet know what that looks like inside because they are still kicking. No need for euthanasia just yet.

 

[Ebony Rose]

Yes, that yellow stuff is chicken pus. She's been sick for a very long time, and probably was internally laying or infrequently laying. I had an unstarted pullet die of salpingitis, and when I necropsied her, found she'd been internally laying and had that same type of pus buildup inside her. Because she'd NEVER laid an egg, I kept holding out hope that she was just a 'late bloomer', by the time I became worried it was already too late for her. She too, had that skinny breast bone, which you'd never notice unless your hen allows you to pick her up and examine her. I want you to understand that reproductive problems are extremely common in chickens, especially if you get your chicks at the feed store (mass produced chicks for sale where all they care about is selling chicks, without a care in the world about genetics); more often than not, there is absolutely nothing you can do over the long haul if you happen to have a hen (or pullet) that is prone to reproductive disorders. What I'm trying to say is it's not your fault, and absolutely nothing you could do to prevent it... you did all you could for her, so don't feel guilty.

 

[Mimi13]

I am sorry for the loss of your beautiful Brahma girl. Times like this are tough.

I know that others will come along and give you the more descriptive answers that you’re looking for. Hopefully we’ll all be able to learn from this.