Unfortunately, as poultry owners, we sometimes lose our birds. If we're "lucky" we're able to realize what the issue was and correct for it. However, all too often the answer to the cause of death in the bird lays within the bird itself.
When we don't know the cause of death and we have a flock of birds remaining, it's important that we try our best to find that cause to make sure we lose no more birds. This is why we perform or have our veterinarians perform a necropsy and/or a histopathology. (Please see the end of the article for what these two tests are.)
It is important that the carcass of the birds are prepared so that the necropsy and possibly histopathogy won't be hindered by a badly prepared bird. So here's how you do it.
Most people think that a bird should be frozen. This is actually wrong. Freezing is too quick and extreme a process. When cells freeze, they distort, burst, or sometimes dehydrate. This is because they're filled with water. (Think of a coke can in the freezer, or how ice 'disappears', and then you'll have an idea of what happens to a single water-filled cell when frozen.)
So instead we cool down the bird more slowly. When you lose a bird, you first take it and slowly lower its body temperature by putting it under cool running water. Lowering the body temperature helps to slow down any decomposition that might happen.
Do not scrub. If there are feces on the rear of the bird note that down for the vet. If possible, collect them in a plastic bag and refrigerate along with the bird.
When the bird is cooled down a bit, pat it dry with clean paper towels. You'll dry it to the point of being 'towel dried' as we would think of for our hair. You don't want it completely dry. You'll want just a bit of moisture there to help the cells not to dry out and deflate.
Wrap the bird in the last of the paper towels. Then wrap in an appropriately sized (i.e. completely covering) plastic bag. Clean unused kitchen sized garbage bags are a good choice for the average poultry.
Then refrigerate the bird immediately. Again, this allows a cool temperature to hamper decomposition without distorting cells.
The bird should get to the vet as soon as possible. If your veternarian feels it's necessary to do a histopathology, ask them to take double samples and keep one set at their clinic. This costs nothing extra and prevents not having samples if yours get lost on the way to the histopathology lab.
This is a sad subject, but as responsible poultry owners it's a bit of knowledge we should all have - and share - should something happen to our beloved birds in order to save the rest of the flock.
Terms - the laymen version:
NECROPSY: A necropsy is simple the examination of a deceased bird by non- microscopic means. The owner or vet will cut into and examine the organs and body of the deceased bird to try to find out if there was something unusual going on. Often, this is how we find the following: organ diseases or abnormalities, internal deformities, misfunction of the reproductive organs including internal laying or cysts, tumors, cancers, organ failure, hemorrhage and other internal bleeding, parasites such as worms, etc.
HISTOPATHOLOGY: On the other hand, a histopathology takes things further. Sometimes you can't get an answer unaided by a microscope. You must look at the bird on a cellular level to see if there was a neurological disease, a metabolic disease, specifically if there was cancer, or to local pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, and protazoa.
A veterinarian takes minute samples of all of the major organs of the bird. Slides are thereafter made of very thin slices of the organ samples. The slides are then viewed under a microscope for clues that tell us the reason that a bird died. This is the most specific and accurate way of determining the exact cause of death.
The former can be done by a vet or knowledgable owner. The latter is performed by a specialist who is given samples of your bird's tissues by a veterinarian who has performed a necropsy to prepare those tissue samples.
When we don't know the cause of death and we have a flock of birds remaining, it's important that we try our best to find that cause to make sure we lose no more birds. This is why we perform or have our veterinarians perform a necropsy and/or a histopathology. (Please see the end of the article for what these two tests are.)
It is important that the carcass of the birds are prepared so that the necropsy and possibly histopathogy won't be hindered by a badly prepared bird. So here's how you do it.
Most people think that a bird should be frozen. This is actually wrong. Freezing is too quick and extreme a process. When cells freeze, they distort, burst, or sometimes dehydrate. This is because they're filled with water. (Think of a coke can in the freezer, or how ice 'disappears', and then you'll have an idea of what happens to a single water-filled cell when frozen.)
So instead we cool down the bird more slowly. When you lose a bird, you first take it and slowly lower its body temperature by putting it under cool running water. Lowering the body temperature helps to slow down any decomposition that might happen.
Do not scrub. If there are feces on the rear of the bird note that down for the vet. If possible, collect them in a plastic bag and refrigerate along with the bird.
When the bird is cooled down a bit, pat it dry with clean paper towels. You'll dry it to the point of being 'towel dried' as we would think of for our hair. You don't want it completely dry. You'll want just a bit of moisture there to help the cells not to dry out and deflate.
Wrap the bird in the last of the paper towels. Then wrap in an appropriately sized (i.e. completely covering) plastic bag. Clean unused kitchen sized garbage bags are a good choice for the average poultry.
Then refrigerate the bird immediately. Again, this allows a cool temperature to hamper decomposition without distorting cells.
The bird should get to the vet as soon as possible. If your veternarian feels it's necessary to do a histopathology, ask them to take double samples and keep one set at their clinic. This costs nothing extra and prevents not having samples if yours get lost on the way to the histopathology lab.
This is a sad subject, but as responsible poultry owners it's a bit of knowledge we should all have - and share - should something happen to our beloved birds in order to save the rest of the flock.
Terms - the laymen version:
NECROPSY: A necropsy is simple the examination of a deceased bird by non- microscopic means. The owner or vet will cut into and examine the organs and body of the deceased bird to try to find out if there was something unusual going on. Often, this is how we find the following: organ diseases or abnormalities, internal deformities, misfunction of the reproductive organs including internal laying or cysts, tumors, cancers, organ failure, hemorrhage and other internal bleeding, parasites such as worms, etc.
HISTOPATHOLOGY: On the other hand, a histopathology takes things further. Sometimes you can't get an answer unaided by a microscope. You must look at the bird on a cellular level to see if there was a neurological disease, a metabolic disease, specifically if there was cancer, or to local pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, and protazoa.
A veterinarian takes minute samples of all of the major organs of the bird. Slides are thereafter made of very thin slices of the organ samples. The slides are then viewed under a microscope for clues that tell us the reason that a bird died. This is the most specific and accurate way of determining the exact cause of death.
The former can be done by a vet or knowledgable owner. The latter is performed by a specialist who is given samples of your bird's tissues by a veterinarian who has performed a necropsy to prepare those tissue samples.
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