necropsy sick chicken

[cindi611]

I have had a sick chicken for over a week. I culled her in the house in a tub she could easily climb out of but never tried. I did all the stuff. Vinegar, olive oil up the vent and down the mouth. Epsom salt bath with massage afterward. She has only deteriorated. Today with the temps up into the 40's and sunny I put her on the deck and she was immediately attacked by her coop mates. I made the decision to euthanize her. I then did necropsy

The first picture is what I saw when I first opened her and sliced down through the middle. The second picture is the mass taken out .

 

[scratch'n'peck]

Sorry about your chicken. She was an internal layer it looks like. The eggs (before shell development) would miss her oviduct when released and become partially absorbed by her body but build up over time in her abdominal area and increase her risk of internal infection. There really isn't any way to prevent the problem in hens unfortunately.

 

[cindi611]

Thank you for your answer, it makes perfect sense to me. We have thought she has been "off" for awhile, so the over time makes sense. My girls are free range and in an "ark" at night. I really had no way of knowing who was laying and who was not. So this may have been building for some time. She was one of my prettier hens. She had a very large comb and waddle which made her striking. Thanks again