This came out of a chicken? (pics included)

[aoxa]

The only reason I'm not flipping out is because all my chickens seem to be acting fine. If one looked sick I'd probably tearing my hair out as I usually do when something happens!

So, if it is an ovary or intestinal lining, both of which would make sense, is there any lasting damage to the chicken, and should I be worried?

I doubt it is the ovary. Check google images.. Looks nothing like it.

Unfortunately I won't be able to eat for a couple of hours

 

[erinnyes]

Sorry about that!! I updated the title to include that there are pictures so at least no one will be unpleasantly surprised! You're right, the ovary seems very distinct looking and it doesn't really look like it... Very odd! Maybe intestinal lining?

 

[Anna_MN]

It almost looks like a calified chick fetus. Have you ever seen those specials on TV about the woman who had miscarried and 40 years later the fetus was removed? When the fetus was removed it looked like the shape of a baby, but had a casing around it. Here is a link to a picture of the disected fetus- http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&...0&tbnw=165&start=0&ndsp=12&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0
That's what it reminded me of any how. Who knows how it would happen in a chicken but i'm just putting in my 2-cents

 

[Leslieb118]

Check this link out. Might be the same thing.
Good luck!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/473989/weird-egg-weird-clump-lash-graphic-pics

 

[nurse_turtle]

http://www.browneggblueegg.com/Article/ChristmasAlienEgg/ChristmasAlienEgg.html

Check this one out and read up on "lash".

 

[ADozenGirlz]

I agree with nurse_turtle that this is probably what Dr. Peter Brown describes in this post: http://www.browneggblueegg.com/Article/WeirdEggs_PeterBrown/WeirdEggs_PeterBrown.html

It may help to understand this abnormal 'egg' a better if you have a grasp on how an egg is made under normal circumstances, which is what I wrote about here: http://eggcartonlabels.blogspot.com/2012/01/how-hen-makes-egg-egg-oddities.html Your egg appears to have gotten lost and taken the wrong ramp off the oviduct highway and instead of heading out the vent, it went into the body cavity of the hen. The egg was probably fertile and started to develop, which explains the meat-like tissue. At some point the lost egg left the body cavity and found the on-ramp into the oviduct. In the oviduct it met up with a yolk (ovum) and was treated much the way this hen has been making other eggs, with a rubbery shell.

If this were an isolated incident with no history of other strange eggs, I wouldn't be too worried but with this hen's history of abnormal eggs I have to wonder about egg yolk peritonitis.

Great pictures. Best wishes with her.

 

[dinahmoe]

wow,that does look like what you found.

how is your hen today?

http://www.browneggblueegg.com/Article/ChristmasAlienEgg/ChristmasAlienEgg.html

Check this one out and read up on "lash".

 

[terryg]

What you have is a mass of deformed, unformed eggs. This happens when there is an infection in the reproductive tract. I've seen it in necropsies. The infected yolk(s) cause a blockage, severe infection, and the hen dies. If you know which hen passed that, I'd isolate her and treat with antibiotics. I wrote an article for Backyard Poultry Magazine about it. (Aug/Sept 2011 issue.)

(search my blog archives for posts about how I do home necropsies. http://www.hencam.com/henblog/archives/)

 

[Beekissed]

I killed an old leghorn that hadn't been laying for some time but had previously been laying sporadically and always double yolkers. She didn't appear to have any abnormal health symptoms and I was just killing her because I had kept her, out of sentiment, long past her production peak.

Inside of her abdomen was something similar to what you have pictured but will less of a meaty appearance...I'd say hers was in her long enough for the meaty tissue to have atrophied quite a bit more. It was large enough to fit the entire palm of my hand and it consisted of layers upon layers of pale, cheesy yolk material with some pale meat tissue in the middle and in some portions of the layers.

I marveled that this little leghorn hen could walk around with this abnormal tumor-like growth inside her, and displacing her other organs, without any outward signs. If your hen is older and she has started to have abnormal egg production/formation it is probably a sign that she is going into chicken menopause and might continue to have ovulation disorders as her reproductive system starts to shut down.

 

[erinnyes]

Wow, that sounds serious!

And that "Christmas Alien egg" looks just like what I found! Must be the same issue. I'd be interested to know how it turned out for the people who found that, if their chicken died or not. I'm wondering now what antibiotics to treat the hen with, once I narrow it down to which one I think it is? And what the dosage might be? Unfortunately I don't know of an avian vet to ask these questions! I might have to go buy that old issue and take a look at the article since it obviously seems to apply to this case. My other question would be, was the mass what caused the infection, or did she have an infection that caused the mass? If she passed the mass is she out of immediate danger of death for the time being?

The one who passed the mass was one of two possible culprits in my henhouse. Since I have a small flock I'm pretty good about keeping an eye on individual chickens and their habits.

The hen I thought most likely was the one with problems is a black sexlink that has been having shell issues since I got her. She lays an egg almost daily, and maybe 75% of the time it is thin-shelled but normal. The rest of the time she lays a soft-shelled egg. I've given her vitamins and extra calcium before in case it was a deficiency, but they had no effect. She also lays double-yolked eggs pretty often but not all the time, maybe twice a month or so? I assumed it would be her with the problems but she is behaving normally today, has a very bright comb and is eating. She also laid a normal egg today.

The other hen that might be the one is a rescue, and I haven't been able to figure out if she's ever laid an egg or not. If she did she started right around when my new pullets started laying theirs, so I am still trying to be sure who's laying which egg. The only reason I suspect her is that today she didn't eat, even when I threw some corn out for them. She's also acting a little lethargic, but she's at a good body weight and has a VERY bright colored comb.

I guess it could be any one of my new pullets too, but they are also acting normally today. Are there any other signs to check for to determine who has the infection?