strange find during butchering

[digbychris]

Hi all, I came across something I've not seen before yesterday while culling old layers. This was a black australorp hen, between 5-6 years old. She had been pulled out of the flock for a day or two to check for laying. She had not laid an egg in that time. So yesterday I culled her for the stew pot. Inside, her ovary was extremely large, hard, and filled with a yellow substance that very closely resembled hard boiled eggs in consistency. It had no smell. There were some unformed eggs as well, that for some reason had not been laid. She showed no signs of disease or lethargy or anything prior. She ate and drank. she had a watery grainy substance that came out of her bottom, but I'm not sure if that's related to the what I found in her ovary. I could not take a picture as my hands were dirty.
I'm not greatly experienced with processing my hens, but I can't seem to find a mention of what this was in a search here or on the web. Any ideas?

thank you!

 

[coach723]

It sounds like it could have been salpingitis. Here is some info with pictures, so you can see if this matches what you found.
https://the-chicken-chick.com/salpingitis-lash-eggs-in-backyard/

 

[Eggcessive]

Internal laying and salpingitis are very common in hens. If these things are not affected by bacteria or infectious, the hen may lead a fairly normal life until she is butchered, when these objects may be found. If they become infectious, then egg yolk peritonitis may occur. Here is some reading:
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/disorders-of-the-reproductive-system/salpingitis-in-poultry

 

[Bonniebooboo]

I had one at 5 1/2 years I decided to cull 2 weeks ago for not laying. I basically found a yolk in abdomen and what appeared like 4 egg yolks stuck together in a mass that never got laid. I also found in her, a lot of nodules, probably cancer all through her entrails. Needless to say, she did not come to dinner.

 

[digbychris]

I just found the term and a pic for salpingitis and it seems to match up pretty well, going by pictures. I did not see any other nodules or masses. Do you think the meat is safe to consume? This doesn't seem to be a cancer or to have spread beyond there.

thank you for the info!!

 

[ScottKelly1974]

Tonight was my first time butchering a chicken. Mine was a 5 month old. What I found in him resembled an oyster or clam in a full shell. I did not open it and it was stiff but slightly soft. Is this a normal part of a chicken, and if so what is it?

 

[rebrascora]

Tonight was my first time butchering a chicken. Mine was a 5 month old. What I found in him resembled an oyster or clam in a full shell. I did not open it and it was stiff but slightly soft. Is this a normal part of a chicken, and if so what is it?

I believe you are describing the gizzard. It is part of the digestive tract of birds and is a pouch with a strong, thick membrane surrounded by very dense muscle and opalescent sinew. It is slightly disc shaped and about the size of a golf ball. This is the part of the digestive tract where any grains or vegetation or other lumpy material the bird eats gets ground up. Birds swallow small stones which collect in the gizzard and the action of the thick muscular walls contracting causes the stones to grind up the food. It is the equivalent of us chewing food but happens further down the digestive tract in birds.
If you cut it open you will find that it is packed full of food and stones. This can be emptied out and the lining stripped out and the muscular part is not unpleasant to eat when cooked. If you do a google search for images of gizzards I am pretty confident you will confirm this. Below is a diagram of a chicken's anatomy which shows the location of the gizzard...