- Jun 9, 2009
- 906
- 97
- 153
I'm so sorry to hear about your loss, but do appreciate your posting the necropsy results. If she did not appear obese, my first thought is that they made an error and gave you necropsy results of a different chicken, and I would want to rule that out, if possible.
My second thought is that perhaps "obesity" in a chicken, i.e., a dangerous amount of fat deposits in the thoraco-abdominal region, is not that noticeable upon visual inspection of a living chicken. And, an older or inactive animal might have lost some muscle mass, off-setting the gain in size and heft due to an increase in fatty tissue. Five years of age might be old enough for that. And, if these birds are confined all or most of the time, the lack of exercise could contribute to an increase in fatty tissue and loss of muscle mass.
I wouldn't say you were necessarily doing anything "wrong". Five years is a darn good age for a chicken, and I would guess that her "obesity" was due to a pampered lifestyle - not tons of exercise, and food always available. But some restriction in activity is often necessary to keep captive animals safe, and free feeding is necessary to keep chicken from picking at each other.
My second thought is that perhaps "obesity" in a chicken, i.e., a dangerous amount of fat deposits in the thoraco-abdominal region, is not that noticeable upon visual inspection of a living chicken. And, an older or inactive animal might have lost some muscle mass, off-setting the gain in size and heft due to an increase in fatty tissue. Five years of age might be old enough for that. And, if these birds are confined all or most of the time, the lack of exercise could contribute to an increase in fatty tissue and loss of muscle mass.
I wouldn't say you were necessarily doing anything "wrong". Five years is a darn good age for a chicken, and I would guess that her "obesity" was due to a pampered lifestyle - not tons of exercise, and food always available. But some restriction in activity is often necessary to keep captive animals safe, and free feeding is necessary to keep chicken from picking at each other.