Processed a bird yesterday...golden colored liver?

[BigDaddy'sGurl]

I processed a bird I simply couldn't deal with anymore yesterday and found something unusual:

backstory:

Black sex-link pullet hatched early May 2011

VERY flightly and neurotic

Highly stressed at all times

HUGE size, outgrew her mother and father

Had not reached sexual maturity (possibly due to the high level of paranoia and stress? Which, by the way was the ultimate reason I couldn't tolerate her anymore..sick of the stress she was adding to my flock with her violent thrashing and squawking any time another chicken walked by or I showed my face outside...she did this in an attempt to "escape" even when nobody was interested in her and nobody had ever attacked or provoked her... she has been this neurotic since hatch but I finally had enough of her upsetting the flock dynamic)

My findings upon processing: she was still at least a month from laying by what I could tell, all organs appeared fairly typical except an enlarged and almost golden colored liver? I offer scratch as a treat, and not too often. A 25 lb bag lasts my flock of 25 (+/-) birds at least a month....

She was young, I skinned her so no scalding.... ? What could cause this? She was otherwise a healthy big bird? Her mother is a barred rock and her father was a buff orpington.

 

[Tracydr]

Might be fatty liver. Was there much fat in her abdomen?

 

[Erica]

Agree with Tracydr, fatty liver. Apart from the scratch, what was their main diet? Just curious, as I saw fatty liver explosions among meat birds when moved from a sprout diet to commercial meat finisher. I felt it might be the artificial amino acids in the commercial feed. But perhaps any high energy feed (meat finisher would assuredly be high energy) would do it, in which case whole unsprouted grain might be the culprit here.

Just some thoughts, I'm no expert,
regards,
Erica

 

[BigDaddy'sGurl]

Thank you both! Yes, the bird did have some extra fat in various areas, but not so much as I would associate with having a fatty liver...

Her diet was primarily 18% starter/grower for the first 24 weeks and then has been 16% layer pellets since. When I say I use scratch, I literally use maybe a cup and a half a day for 25 or more birds... ?

Thanks for the responses! What worries me about the fatty liver thing is that she was eating basically what the rest of my flock eats so should I worry about the health of my other birds?

 

[Tracydr]

Can you up the greens, maybe with alfalfa pellets or produce and stop using scratch?

 

[BoomChickaRocka]

the bird is dead

 

[Tracydr]

She's worried about her other birds, though.