Earlier this week when I took a head count at roosting time, I was one bird short. No, no! A chicken keeper’s worst nightmare. I quickly figured out (with the help of a list of my birds on my phone) which bird was missing and set out to find her. It was Millie, my 3 year old Amberlink. She knew the routine and would never miss roosting time so I was not optimistic. My four oldest hens always lined up a few minutes before filing in the coop. They used that time for their special preening, I guess.
I found her very quickly, only inches from the pop door, under the coop. Since it was late, I put her in a bag and placed her in the fridge. I was certain there was no foul play, but I did look her over to just to make sure.
Millie was not a personable girl, but she knew how to crank those big, brown eggs out...six days a week! And she was not a heavy girl, no big belly. She liked to free range, dust bathe and sun bathe, all sprawled out in the sun.
Well, after inspection the next day, she was, to put it mildly, “all eat up!” Good gawd! I have never seen anything like it. As I was told in a post just last week when one of my younger girls had to be put down, we, as keepers of chickens, learn a lot when we lose our feathered friends. Knowing that, I have really learned a lot these past two weeks.
So here goes. Look at just what all I found. (Or what all I didn’t find!) When I opened her cavity there was a small amount of dark fluid. I didn’t know if this had been there or if it manifested after death and while in the fridge.
Those are all the pictures I took worth noting. I am assuming my sweet girl had a type of reproductive cancer. From everything I read, that seems to be the going thing, especially with these hybrids.
If anyone cares to look at these pics and enlighten me any I would be forever grateful. I am slowly but surely adding to my knowledge of sick birds.
Millie had slowed down laying and I believe had started laying soft shelled eggs. With the shape her oviduct was in there’s no wonder she couldn’t produce a shell. Unfortunately, I’ve probably got 2 or 3 more birds that look something like this on the inside.
RIP Millie, the Amberlink 3/30/16 - 4/22/19
Here she is doing what she loved - sunbathing.
Millie is pictured in front, with her friend Penny.
I found her very quickly, only inches from the pop door, under the coop. Since it was late, I put her in a bag and placed her in the fridge. I was certain there was no foul play, but I did look her over to just to make sure.
Millie was not a personable girl, but she knew how to crank those big, brown eggs out...six days a week! And she was not a heavy girl, no big belly. She liked to free range, dust bathe and sun bathe, all sprawled out in the sun.
Well, after inspection the next day, she was, to put it mildly, “all eat up!” Good gawd! I have never seen anything like it. As I was told in a post just last week when one of my younger girls had to be put down, we, as keepers of chickens, learn a lot when we lose our feathered friends. Knowing that, I have really learned a lot these past two weeks.
So here goes. Look at just what all I found. (Or what all I didn’t find!) When I opened her cavity there was a small amount of dark fluid. I didn’t know if this had been there or if it manifested after death and while in the fridge.
What in the heck? Eat up throughout with multi-sized and multi-colored, hard pieces of cottage cheese. Outside and inside of organs. All in the connective tissue.
The first thing I noticed, that didn’t look like itself, was the duodenal loop. It was hard as a rock. You could not see the usual loop of intestine. It was engulfed in a huge mass of “stuff!”
I cut it open. Really, where are the intestines?
Here they are. Only distinguishable by mashing and seeing the contents ooze out.
And look at the liver. The black stuff?
There is a big, mature yolk There were several smaller, discolored yolks in amongst all the little hard, pebbly-looking masses.
The oviduct had the little masses even on the inside of it. They were hard as a rock. I could not mash them at all.
First off, don’t mind the banana peel laying on the table and, NO, I wasn’t eating it while doing this!
I forgot to crop this pic.
This is her gizzard. The bottom of it looked unusual. Even though it was still very firm, like a gizzard, the bottom of it looked like a blister with a head on it. It appeared kind of pooched out.
The first thing I noticed, that didn’t look like itself, was the duodenal loop. It was hard as a rock. You could not see the usual loop of intestine. It was engulfed in a huge mass of “stuff!”
I cut it open. Really, where are the intestines?
Here they are. Only distinguishable by mashing and seeing the contents ooze out.
And look at the liver. The black stuff?
There is a big, mature yolk There were several smaller, discolored yolks in amongst all the little hard, pebbly-looking masses.
The oviduct had the little masses even on the inside of it. They were hard as a rock. I could not mash them at all.
First off, don’t mind the banana peel laying on the table and, NO, I wasn’t eating it while doing this!
I forgot to crop this pic. This is her gizzard. The bottom of it looked unusual. Even though it was still very firm, like a gizzard, the bottom of it looked like a blister with a head on it. It appeared kind of pooched out.
Those are all the pictures I took worth noting. I am assuming my sweet girl had a type of reproductive cancer. From everything I read, that seems to be the going thing, especially with these hybrids.
If anyone cares to look at these pics and enlighten me any I would be forever grateful. I am slowly but surely adding to my knowledge of sick birds.
Millie had slowed down laying and I believe had started laying soft shelled eggs. With the shape her oviduct was in there’s no wonder she couldn’t produce a shell. Unfortunately, I’ve probably got 2 or 3 more birds that look something like this on the inside.
RIP Millie, the Amberlink 3/30/16 - 4/22/19
Here she is doing what she loved - sunbathing.
Millie is pictured in front, with her friend Penny.
I hope not, cause I drink it too!
