My BSL hen keeled over yesterday night after 3 days of lethargy, no eating/drinking, and no other obvious symptoms. I took her body to the NCDA Northwestern Livestock Disease Lab in Elkin, NC. The Dr. let me watch the necropsy and the results indicate:
The hen died of accute gastroenteritis (infection of the small intestines) that led to bleeding, blood clots and necrosis of about 6 in of her small intestine. The necrotic part was swollen to the size of a hotdog while the rest was the size of a pencil. The dr. said she probably ate something really bad, what he could not say, and that there was nothing we could have done to save her short of surjury. Her digestion had stopped and her crop was filled with 3-4 days worth of stuff. He said that trying to force fluids/food would have probably killed her faster.
On the up side, his initial diagnosis suggests that it was nothing communicable to the rest of the flock. Also, she had no intestinal parasites, so the rest of the flock is probably fine. On the down side, he still sent tissues samples away and cultured the infection. We get a complete report in 1 week, and could learn something negative at that time.
For those of you in North Carolina, the NCDA only charges $30 for a chicken necropsy. It was well worth it and gave me peace of mind for my flock and absolved some of my guilt that I didn't do enough to save her.
The hen died of accute gastroenteritis (infection of the small intestines) that led to bleeding, blood clots and necrosis of about 6 in of her small intestine. The necrotic part was swollen to the size of a hotdog while the rest was the size of a pencil. The dr. said she probably ate something really bad, what he could not say, and that there was nothing we could have done to save her short of surjury. Her digestion had stopped and her crop was filled with 3-4 days worth of stuff. He said that trying to force fluids/food would have probably killed her faster.
On the up side, his initial diagnosis suggests that it was nothing communicable to the rest of the flock. Also, she had no intestinal parasites, so the rest of the flock is probably fine. On the down side, he still sent tissues samples away and cultured the infection. We get a complete report in 1 week, and could learn something negative at that time.
For those of you in North Carolina, the NCDA only charges $30 for a chicken necropsy. It was well worth it and gave me peace of mind for my flock and absolved some of my guilt that I didn't do enough to save her.
