Very sick hen - Warning, Contains Very Nasty, Grapic Necropsy Pictures - Updated

[hennible]

Down the road I think I will do the same, very much an eye opener.

 

[casportpony]

Down the road I think I will do the same, very much an eye opener.

When you do, you should read this:
http://borlaug.tamu.edu/files/2012/03/Poultry-necropsy-Manual.pdf

-Kathy

 

[hennible]

Thanks Kathy will do ( link saved )

 

[hennible]

Just scanned through the pics, very interesting.

 

[pwand]

Wow, that is a big mass. Great pictures, thanks for sharing them.

 

[Kikiriki]

Maybe one of you should start a new thread about it?

-Kathy

I apologize...
I did not think your thread was the place to get into it, but also did not think it was right to just let that comment stand. I should have ignored it.

I hope you do find a satisfactory explanation as to what happened. The thread has made me take some extra time to feel the bellies of my own hens.

--Best to you--

 

[casportpony]

Maybe one of you should start a new thread about it?

-Kathy

I apologize...
I did not think your thread was the place to get into it, but also did not think it was right to just let that comment stand. I should have ignored it.

I hope you do find a satisfactory explanation as to what happened. The thread has made me take some extra time to feel the bellies of my own hens.

--Best to you--

No worries, I just didn't want this thread to stay off topic too long.

-Kathy

 

[Suzie]

Kathy..

I am intrigued at the posts..I have a young hen ( six months old now ) and she has a HUGE mass in her belly...I have been advised that this is usually due to a hen coming into laying..however, due to your posts and necropsy posts I am convinced that any findings with my girl will reveal issues you have covered with your findings..despite extra calcium and cleaning her backside on a regular basis I feel her time with me will not be for long...the images you have kindly shown here are so very typical of her symptoms..she eats well and seems normal but she worries me intensely...

Thanks for sharing..maybe one day I will have the courage to do my own necropsy here....I am not at all squeamish so I may well ask for your guidance when she passes...

Thanks again for the enlightening posts!

 

[Summer98]

Update: I found her laying on the floor on her side after work. She was not dead. I picked her up and looked at her. She is extremely emaciated, even though she eats and drinks a ton daily. Fluid is just starting to refill again. I stroked her for a while, which she enjoyed and seemed to boost her morale to live. I set her back down and she went to the feeder to eat. I was expecting she would be too weak to stand, but she actually walked to the feeder. I can see it's only a matter of time, as for some reason she is wasting away regardless of her food consumption. I still feel lumps. Normally in the summer, we would do our own necropsy. But since it's Winter, I don't think we will do it. I will get frostbite with bare hands exposed outdoors. It's always my favorite breed too. This is the part of having animals that is emotionally difficult.

 

[casportpony]

Just found this:
https://urbanchickenconsultant.wordpress.com/category/emergency-house-calls/
Fatty Hemorrhagic Liver (Hepatic Lipidosis) [CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES]

Posted by chickenwoman in Chicken care, Emergency House Calls. Leave a comment

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2 Votes​

Here’s the necropsy report for the day. Yesterday I visited a friend who has chickens in the city, and her birds were fine; today she called with a dead hen. The hen had died between 2 PM and 4 PM today.
The hen had laid (and eaten part of) a soft-shelled egg. When I opened her up, I found a HUGE amount of fat and a massive amount of blood in the body cavity, seemingly a liver hemorrhage. In addition to the liver issues, she had a nice collection of ascaris (roundworms) in the intestinal tract (one was over 2 inches long). Her gizzard contained very little grit and a large amount of grains/vegetable matter and some plastic pieces.
Dr. Sakas of Niles Animal Hospital reviewed the necropsy pix and said that the underlying comdition was the fatty liver, and death was caused by an aneurysm. She died shortly after laying an egg, and the strain of egg laying can cause a hemorrhage.
Fatty liver disease (hepatic lipdosis) is also seen in caged birds (like parrots and parakeets) that are fed a diet of strictly seeds. A diet that is too nutrient dense, as well as lack of exercise, can cause fatty liver syndrome. Fat builds up in the liver and the body cavity and can cause shortness of breath, organ failure, egg binding, and hemorrhage. I’ve taken my parakeets off of a seed diet and put them on a pelleted formula for this reason. [NOTE: Diet conversion of caged exotics must be done slowly and under very careful observation. Birds to do not take to change well and can starve themselves to death during a diet conversion. Check with your avian veterinarian before trying this on your own.]
My friend doesn’t overload her birds with bread, mealworms, or other treats, but as I observed the birds eating from the feeder, they were picking out the bits of corn and leaving the mash. I advised her to feed a finely ground mash without the bits of corn, a crumble, or a pelleted food to prevent the hens from picking the “marshmallows” out of the “Lucky Charms” and leaving the “cereal” behind.
I also suggested minimizing the amount of food available to the birds, limiting it to about 1/4 lb per bird per day. More exercise would probably be beneficial, too.
The pictures below are not for the faint of heart!

The gizzard

Yellow fat with coagulated blood from liver hemorrhage

Roundworm (Ascaris)

Fatty liver with large blood clot to the left

Yellow fat in the body cavity