Needing Help With Necropsy GRAPHIC!

[KsKingBee]

I had a hen die yesterday and I opened her up to see what killed her and to get a sample for a fecal exam. I documented what I saw but unfortunately, I don't know what I am looking at other than a hard lesion on the kidney. She had good pink muscle tissue although she had lost a little weight.

There appears to be a lot of yellow fat and an absence of eggs.

The lesion went through the kidney to the other side.

There were large and hard lumps in the intestine.

The first one I opened up to find a hard infection.

The next one I found a capsule of hard green something.

In the next I found empty.

Then there was this.

The gizzard was full of green fibrous material and grit.

The empty cavity showing where the oviduct is.

I found no roundworms and will report the findings of the fecal exam in a bit after I finish running it.

 

[DocBirdBrain]

The gizzard looks normal for a bird that has been eating vegetation. I don't think you really need to perform a fecal exam.
Those nodular lesions are either abscesses from a systemic infection (E.coli causing Colibacillosis) or necrotic tumors from Marek's disease. Marek's disease can affect peafowl. It is a viral disease that causes tumors throughout the organs. In chickens it often targets the sciatic nerve, resulting in the common name of "range paralysis".
Here's a link to a scientific paper describing visceral (involving the organs) Marek's disease in peafowl. Although it's written in medical-ese, it does have a few photos:
http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S0102-09352016000601602&script=sci_arttext

I am very sorry for your loss.

 

[bargain]

Agree gizzard looks normal. Amount of Yellow seems fine. There is a white spot on the liver if this is roughly 2 cm ...also Looks like one egg beginning to form. Was she born on your farm or brought in as adult/youngster? How did the lungs look? Was there any ascites in legs for the bird? Can you contact prior owner to see if anything has been going on with their flocks or area? How old is the bird? Has her egg production declined? Usually you will see more than just one egg "waiting" in birds, unless very beginning or ending of laying cycle. Any change in color of her fecal output? Acute fowl typhoid will have a whitish lesion on the liver about the size of what you photoed. Is the spleen larger than normal sized, if yes, it could also be an indicator of fowl typhoid. Any other fowl with these symptoms? Is your area where you might have wild turkey or other birds coming over or near or beside your flocks? If your animals free range, they may have come in contact with "dirty water" . They can also transmit to other birds directly through a process known as cloacal drinking, not just worms etc. Turkeys and peafowl are very susceptible to blackhead. And please remember that "blackhead" doesn't mean that the peafowl's head turns black. That is not always the case. I don't know the time frame since the beginning of the necropsy, but you may want to check to see if you need a formal necropsy through a vet or your State Poultry Lab. I've only had one peafowl, and unfortunately he was run over but we've had years of turkey experience, though we are certainly not experts. I am glad you are doing a necropsy and look forward to other comments. ALSO, you may want to contact your local County agent to ask what the incident rate of Blackhead is for your area as well as any other reported issues in your county/state. This will help you understand if it is endemic to your area. You may wish to search in main forum for necropsy help as well! I believe there is a how to necropsy post I have seen here. Hope this was helpful. And until you have "piece of mind" . You may wish to isolate or keep close watch on your birds who have had contact with this peafowl, as well as look around to see if there are any places where there is standing water, or perhaps even moldy compost etc. Blessings.

 

[KsKingBee]

The gizzard looks normal for a bird that has been eating vegetation. I don't think you really need to perform a fecal exam.
Those nodular lesions are either abscesses from a systemic infection (E.coli causing Colibacillosis) or necrotic tumors from Marek's disease. Marek's disease can affect peafowl. It is a viral disease that causes tumors throughout the organs. In chickens it often targets the sciatic nerve, resulting in the common name of "range paralysis".
Here's a link to a scientific paper describing visceral (involving the organs) Marek's disease in peafowl. Although it's written in medical-ese, it does have a few photos:
http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S0102-09352016000601602&script=sci_arttext

I am very sorry for your loss.

Thanks Doc for the reply. I just completed the fecal and found no cocci or worm eggs present.

I got this three-year-old hen just prior to the breeding season, she and four other hens were bought at auction. They were quarantined and dewormed as soon as they arrived here. The other hens are all acting normal as this one was up until a few days ago. I noticed that she had started sleeping on the ground two days ago and when I fed yesterday I was able to catch and examine her for a stuck egg with ease. She died later that day. This pen of birds has clean water available and the wife has been feeding weeds and lettuce that she pulls from the garden, I saw no grain in the gizzard.

I will monitor the other hens that came with her, thank you for the reply and the link.

 

[KsKingBee]

@bargain, your post will take some time to answer, thank you. I will answer back later today when my company leaves.

 

[KsKingBee]

These are the other hens in her pen that I bought at the same time from the same source.

I can't really tell if it is egg laying or sick now.

I guess if I get a couple of eggs tonight I might feel better but the IB hen does not look quite right to me now. Of course I might be paranoid.

 

[casportpony]

These are from an avian pathologist:

I found them when looking for blackhead pictures here:
http://jamiehall3.tripod.com/HISTOMONIASIS.HTML

FWIW. the doctors name next to the pictures is the avian pathologist at UC Davis that I use.

 

[casportpony]

I don't know what I am looking at other than a hard lesion on the kidney.

This looks like her liver

 

[casportpony]

These are the other hens in her pen that I bought at the same time from the same source.

I can't really tell if it is egg laying or sick now.

I guess if I get a couple of eggs tonight I might feel better but the IB hen does not look quite right to me now. Of course I might be paranoid.

Easy enough to tell if they are about to lay an egg... Put on a glove, lube your finger with a water based personal lube, gently insert finger no more than one inch. If an egg is there, you will feel it.

 

[casportpony]

https://ucdavis.pure.elsevier.com/e...oniasis-in-the-bursa-of-fabricius-of-chickens
"Abstract
Histomoniasis was diagnosed in a flock of 6-wk-old commercial chickens. Clinical signs included depression, stilted gait, inappetence, and a slight increase in mortality. At necropsy, there were pale-yellow to dark-gray circular and depressed necrotic lesions in the liver. The ceca were enlarged and impacted with caseous cores. Cecal worms were not observed either at necropsy or on histopathology. Histomonads were demonstrated microscopically within the bursa of Fabricius in addition to the liver, ceca, and spleen. This is the first report of the presence of histomonads in the bursa of Fabricius in commercial chickens.

Original language English (US)
Pages (from-to) 711-715
Number of pages 5
Journal Avian Diseases
Volume 48
Issue number 3
State Published - Sep 2004 "