Please Review Necropsy Rooster for Help/Guidance

[curlyp]

Our beloved Rooster (Joey) passed away unexpectedly on 11/25/2022, between the morning and 2:00pm when I found him. His body was still warm which tells me he couldn't have died overnight as the temperatures were in the mid 30's. I checked his body for lacerations, cuts, etc and didn't see anything unusual. Just the day before (Thanksgiving), he was out walking around and cock-a-doodling just fine!

I called our local Department of Agriculture and thankfully they were still open! I spoke with one of the doctors and explained what I found, his last appearance, and the current appearance of the flock. I informed the doctor that he (and the rest of the flock) are 10 months old and it was unusual to find him dead with no warning signs. I also explained the situation I currently have of receiving 5 new hens (2yr old) to cull from our friends 3 days prior and have them in their separate space inside the coop. Yes, I know it's not proper quarantine but it's all I had at the moment.

I was worried about the rest of my flock and asked the doctor if it would be appropriate to have a Necropsy performed to make sure it wasn't the flu or anything serious that could affect the rest of my flock or even the farmer's next to me. Based on what happen and that there were no visible signs to as why he died, the doctor agreed that it would be appropriate to have a Necropsy performed.

More background info:

• Flock of 12 came from the hatchery in Feb 22
• Flock starter with Purina Starter Feed (crumbles)
• Switch to Kalmbalch 20% Flockmaker (pellets)
• Added a dish of oyster shells for the hens to get additional calcium as needed
• Added Purina Starter Feed (crumbles) to another bowl for new chick that hatched on 9/12
• Rooster had access to the Purina Starter feed and could have ate some

If I could please get some advice on what may have lead to this or if I need to change food, I would appreciate it.

Below are some pictures of the Rooster and the report. I'm going to pay fee for the additional testing of histopathology on the kidney to determine if he had a genetic renal disease. Note: The age of the rooster in the report is incorrect. He is not 21 months, he's 10 months.

Spoiler: Warning, picture of dead rooster. If you don't want to see it, please don't open it!

 

[dawg53]

It looks like gout was the cause of his demise, and the large left kidney mightve contributed. It seems there was an abundance of white chalky material covering everything including his air sacs which possibly may have effected his breathing in some manner. Possibly too much calcium in his diet.

Gout usually occurs in older birds. I have a 7 year old Buff Leghorn rooster that has gout. Eating layer feed is the most likely cause due to the calcium content in the feed.
His feet are swollen, typical for gout and winter time cold temps are rough on him. He manages to hobble around and eat and sleep normally.
I'm sorry for your loss.

 

[curlyp]

It looks like gout was the cause of his demise, and the large left kidney mightve contributed. It seems there was an abundance of white chalky material covering everything including his air sacs which possibly may have effected his breathing in some manner. Possibly too much calcium in his diet.

Gout usually occurs in older birds. I have a 7 year old Buff Leghorn rooster that has gout. Eating layer feed is the most likely cause due to the calcium content in the feed.
His feet are swollen, typical for gout and winter time cold temps are rough on him. He manages to hobble around and eat and sleep normally.
I'm sorry for your loss.

Thanks for the information.

Is the 20% flockmaker too much for my flock? Do I need to change their food?

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. Flockraiser is usually good for roosters since it does not have too much calcium as layer feed does. There are many causes of gout in chickens, as it says in the necropsy report. I have fed layer feed to roosters and pullets after age 20 weeks in the past with no gout cases. Flock raiser and starter feed has 1% calcium while layer has 4%. Some use flock raiser 20% protein feed for the whole flock and just put out a container of crushed oyster shell for extra calcium for the hens to eat as needed. Usually too much protein is not a problem unless feeding 30% diets of protein. There are 2 types of gout—visceral and articular gout. Here is a good link to read about gout:
https://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/avian-urolithiasis-visceral-gout-an-overview

https://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/gout-management-in-poultry

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Reading this, if I didn't know you and what you feed your birds, my first bet would be excess calcium from layer feed. The white powdery stuff is actually calcium deposits laid on the internal organs, the swollen/oversized organs are indicative that the bird has been dealing with it for a while. and while there are a few studies suggesting high protein diets can cause similar symptomology, those studies don't involve 20% protein - they are 38%, 44%, and even higher protein diets - stuff you can't buy off the shelf, and stuff that can't be accidentally mixed to that concentration, the way sometimes a mill will screw up and put too much calcium in the feed.

Its possible your bird had some kind of injury or infection along the left renal area, causing it to retain urates (think "kidney stones" in the renal passage) along the left side until it simply gave out. That would explain the hydration, and the lack of other affected birds. Glad they also eliminated mycotoxins as a potential. Often (not always) there will be white nodes in the liver in addition to the chalky residues when that's the case.

Vitamin A levels in your feed shouldn't be an issue either, unless its old. A degrades in light and with oxygen exposure.

and for reference, I feed my birds in ways I don't recommend, mixing a high protein (24% feed) with a layer (16%, 4% calcium +/-) once they reach 12 weeks of age, give or take. [For cost savings] Not a single rooster I've butchered on that feed program, to 18 months of age, has had chalky calcium deposits on the organs inside the cavity, though several had evidence of calcium build up of lesser nature.

My bet? Its a fluke of genetics or a freak injury.

 

[Tonyroo]

My bet? Its a fluke of genetics or a freak injury.

To me it sounds like both, genetic and injury.

But sorry your rooster passed away.

 

[curlyp]

Sorry for your loss. Flockraiser is usually good for roosters since it does not have too much calcium as layer feed does. There are many causes of gout in chickens, as it says in the necropsy report. I have fed layer feed to roosters and pullets after age 20 weeks in the past with no gout cases. Flock raiser and starter feed has 1% calcium while layer has 4%. Some use flock raiser 20% protein feed for the whole flock and just put out a container of crushed oyster shell for extra calcium for the hens to eat as needed. Usually too much protein is not a problem unless feeding 30% diets of protein. There are 2 types of gout—visceral and articular gout. Here is a good link to read about gout:
https://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/avian-urolithiasis-visceral-gout-an-overview

https://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/gout-management-in-poultry

Thank you very much. It's odd not hearing him anymore - we all got use to the rooster! Even the hens don't sleep in his spot on the roost bar (middle of the window).

I appreciate the links on gout. I'll definitely check them out.

Talking with several folks on this forum about feeding, I ended up going to the 20% Flocmaker route for the whole flock with and have a container of crushed oyster shells for my hens.

 

[curlyp]

Its possible your bird had some kind of injury or infection along the left renal area, causing it to retain urates (think "kidney stones" in the renal passage) along the left side until it simply gave out. That would explain the hydration, and the lack of other affected birds. Glad they also eliminated mycotoxins as a potential. Often (not always) there will be white nodes in the liver in addition to the chalky residues when that's the case.

What kind of injury? I didn't see any cuts, lacerations, or marks on him. He seemed to walk and act normally.

Vitamin A levels in your feed shouldn't be an issue either, unless its old. A degrades in light and with oxygen exposure.

How long does it take the food to go bad?

My bet? Its a fluke of genetics or a freak injury.

Good to know it wasn't directly related to my feed. It would be a headache trying to figure out another feed source.

 

[curlyp]

To me it sounds like both, genetic and injury.

But sorry your rooster passed away.

Thank you.

Appreciate the opinion.