Updated info: Inflammed cecum/gizzard - why? Warning: necropsy pics

[burntumber]

I'm going to thaw my hen check her over a little more closely. Any other tips? I'm going to disect the entire disgestive tract and see what I can find.

Honestly, the more I think about it, the more I think she must have had a blockage, like the recent post mentions. It's makes the most sense since the flock is the picture of health, never had an ounce of trouble with them , and she's clearly an isolated incidence.

Any other ideas for while I'm digging around in there again tomorrow would be appreciated.

Oh, on the roughage topic, as I'd mentioned in the op, our chickens get table scraps pretty much daily. Since we eat a lot of veggies, they get them (apple peels, cooked veggies, over ripe bananas, etc...) at least several times a week. They also have oyster shells and sand for their gizzard digestive action. Interesting thought, though.

Oh, she definitely wasn't picked on. She was actually more a picker-on-er than the other way around.

 

[dlhunicorn]

Sand (unless VERY course) can cause gizzard impaction if they eat enough of it (which they might if they have no other source)... even though my birds are outside they do tend to nibble at everything and I went out a couple years ago and bought a special sack of gamebird/chicken grit (oystershell is not grit) and put it in a corner of my flower bed "just in case" as I also have a sand bath for them nearby... "just in case".

 

[burntumber]

Quote:
Hmm- I didn't know sand could do that. Where I live our soil is *extremely* sandy (I live in Maine). Hopefully that's not happening to my birds.

If sand impacted her gizzard, wouldn't I have seen a lot of sand in there rather than shavings? Or not neccessarily?

I know that horses have problems when consuming sand. We have to feed our horses a psyllium husk supplement called Sand Clear for a week once a month during the green months or as I understand it, they could actually collick and die. Eep!

 

[burntumber]

I checked over the hen's digestive system again today. There was no torsion that I could find. There were mostly shavings with some white hard pieces- oyster shell, I think- in her gizzard. There's a small maybe ulcer on the lining of the gizzard cuticle. Can someone check the pic and tell me if you think that's what the red mark is?
One of the cecum had a fairly solid whitish substance in it. Pic.

Any more thoughts? Thanks!



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[maymiegirl]

Have you considered the possibility that she may have contracted a virus, appeared completely healthy but, indeed was a carrier of the virus that did not allow her red blood cells to build muscle, letalone store fat? Forgive me for the suggestion but those things do happen from time to time. Just a suggestion. The black coloration on the earlier pictures you provided and ulceration in your current picture would suggest this type of conclusion.

 

[silkiechicken]

Gizzard doesn't look off to me, if that was in a bird butchered for food, I'd still eat it. As for the internals there, it's been freeze thawed, but did you notice any coating before the freeze thaw or blood. Was a fecal sample ever taken to a vet for a test of worms or cocci? Both those things can be present at healthy and unhealthy loads, and at unhealthy loads, cause weightloss and potential death.

 

[burntumber]

Well, a subclinical virus is a good thought but I bought the hen as an adult and she was very healthy, normal weight, normal all around. But maybe the cold weather lowered her immune response? Based on her condition, I'd say she declined over a period of the last couple of weeks. I say this b/c her feathers came in beautifully for the last molt- I would think they would have been poor if her health had been compromised at that time. Also, her outword appearance was excellant- her feathers appeared well cared for and clean, she showed no contusions or feather loss from having been picked on, her skin condition -other than dehydrated- was normal.

There was no fecal sample to be had. Her lower digestive system was totally vacant. I did deworm the flock late Fall, something I do routinely. But maybe she didn't get a good enough dose. ? But I didn't think to check her eyes for anemia. Another duh!

No other thoughts on the one cecum with the different substance? The other cecum had the normal runny foul looking stuff.

 

[burntumber]

I found this bit about coccidia. I'm wondering if this explains it. Perhaps I should treat the flock with Coccidiastat just in case.

The number of infective coccidia consumed by the host is a primary factor as to the severity of the resulting infection. An infection may be mild enough to go unnoticed while a large infective dose of coccidia may produce severe lesions that can cause death. Coccidia survive for long periods outside the bird's body. They are easily transmitted from one house to another on contaminated boots, clothing, free-flying birds, equipment, feed sacks, insects and rodents.

Coccidiosis usually occurs in growing birds and young adults. It is seldom seen in birds under three weeks or in mature birds. Signs of an outbreak include birds that are pale, droopy, tend to huddle, consume less feed and water, have diarrhea, and may become emaciated and dehydrated. Laying hens will experience a reduction in rate of egg production.

Cecal coccidiosis may produce bloody droppings and anemia that is often followed by death. Intestinal coccidiosis is not as acute and is more chronic in nature. It produces less mortality than the cecal form.

Lesions of the infection depend on the species of coccidia causing the problem, its severity and stage of the disease. Cecal coccidiosis may produce a ballooning of the cecal pouches that is filled with free blood. A later stage is characterized by cecae that are filled with a material with a cheesy consistency and being tinged with variable amounts of blood. Lesions of intestinal coccidiosis vary from a rather mild enteritis to a severe necrotic or hemorrhagic type.​