Warning - Graphic pics of Internal Egg Layer Necropsy

[grandmachicken]

So sorry for your loss. The necropsy pics are so helpful. I am a vet and everyone thinks I'm morbid but everything that dies gets a necropsy. There is so much to learn from actually seeing what was going on.

You are brave to necropsy and show us all the pics. Thank you.

 

[speckledhen]

grandmachicken, glad you're here at BYC! I may not know everything I'm looking at when we open up one of our deceased girls, but I've become all too familiar with this internal laying thing. I had a point of lay pullet who we found panting hard and her heart just racing one day. We checked her over and never saw anything obviously wrong, though she had never been as large as her sister. The next day we found her on the coop floor with blood in her beak, having just expired. Upon examination, found her chest cavity filled with that really dark blood and one chamber of her heart imploded. We concluded that she probably had a heart defect, which kept her small, and when she was coming into lay, it was too much for her. Couldn't think of another explanation for what we saw in a very healthy looking pullet.
We have to know what happened, too, like you. It's very educational to see how their bodies work as well.

 

[emvickrey]

I would like more information about this problem with hens. Mine are healthy and doing well. But all 6 I bought from Rural King last March. They havne't had any problems at all, but I would love to know what to look for when this happens. What are the signs. I noticed that somebody else asked this question but I saw no response. We would both like to know. I did have a hen a few years ago that was egg bound and she had just started to lay. She was young but she came from the Tyson Farms and she was meant for laying eggs for resale. I didn't know what was wrong with her and made the mistake of putting her in the coop of known cannibals thinking she was just lonely. When I checked o her the next morning I found that she was barely getting around and the other chickens had eaten her entire backside. We culled her immediately to end her suffering.

We had aquired the cannibal chickens from a neighbor that was tired of taking care of them which she did very sparingly. They where so hungry the started to eat the weaker ones. That is when she had them. When we got them I never let them go without food and thought they got over eating each other until this happened. There where some litle bantys of some sorts in there that would just walk up to the bigger hens and start to peck at their vents. They where really bad at the canniblism. I started keping an eye on them when I noticed some of the hens with sore behinds. That's what was going on. So I removed the bad girls and the others started to heal until one day I noticed a hen getting around slow. After further inspection of her, I found under one wing she had a hole about the size of a lemon where she was bing eaten. I removed her and she actually healed. I found a new home for them all where they could roam free. I don't know if they stopped or not but I doubt it. My coop stayed empty for about a year before I attempted to give it another try. My birds never run out of food.

I had my grandson participate in the Tyson bird show one year and we had many left over. WE put several in the freezer and decided to keep one for our Thanksgiving dinner. These birds just keep growing and get huge. Well, she got so big she couldn't hold up her own weight. ONe day I noticed she was being pecked at and had a huge hole in her thigh. I removed her and the hubby culled her to end her suffering. My birds havne't done this again so I'm hoping they are over it. The Tyson hen was weak and would just sit there. Hardly move to eat. She ws geting culled that day anyway because she was crippled, but the other hens had to make her last day miserable.

I don't understand why they do this. It is just horrible

 

[the Old Rebel]

Hi Everyone!

THANKS for responding so kindly to my post.

In answer to some of the questions that have been raised:
(1) this was NOT a hatchery hen. Hope was hatched and raised right here. Her great-grandparents came from McMurray Hatchery, but that was 10 years ago.
(2) Hope was 4 years old.
(3) As for symptoms: I noticed Hope standing in the corner of the pen by herself. She looked weak around the eyes. When I picked her up, I noticed the big, semi-hard ball that started between her legs and went to her vent. It was HOT to the touch. My girls are big girls, so I could not see the ball when she was just standing there.
It has been my experience that an EGG BOUND hen will stand straight up. They look like a penguin standing there. But an internal layer stands like a normal hen. The first hint of illness is the swelling in the abdomen and a general attitude of not feeling well.
(4) Hope did not burst open. Thank God. Actually, with the warm baths, she was pooping a LOT of dark green stuff with what looked like boiled egg yolk mixed in. The ball was actually getting smaller and stopped being so hot.
Her breastbone still had some meat on it, though not a lot. She was eating everything I put in front of her which included chick starter mixed with cottage cheese, and plain yogurt with two droppers of olive oil mixed in.
We opened her up after she died, because I have lost hens like this before and I wanted to know what goes on inside them. However, as SpeckledHen wrote, her hens looked entirely different on the inside. We think it depends on what causes the internal laying to start in the first place.
I don't know if a vet had successfully removed all of those egg yolks with surgery if Hope could have survived and gone on to lay normally again. She had been one of my good layers. Unfortunately, I have so many, there is no way to know when one stops laying until she shows sign of distress.
I'd like to think we made Hope's last days as pleasant as could be for her. We had a lot of one-on-one time with her. She actually rallied the afternoon before she died. My husband thought she looked a LOT better. We both thought she just might make it. She died about 4 hours later in my arms.

One really cool thing, though. I've had a lot of birds die in my arms while I was holding them...... both very, very young and very, very old and everything in between..... and every single one has tried to fly away. Every single one has flapped his or her wings as if he or she was flying away. I envision them flying over the Rainbow Bridge to a place even better than what we have here. It has totally changed my view of death and dying. It comforts me a LOT! Perhaps it will comfort others of you who have lost ones you love.

Hope all this helps somebody. I also hope you all have a GREAT DAY!!

the Old Rebel

 

[speckledhen]

One really cool thing, though. I've had a lot of birds die in my arms while I was holding them...... both very, very young and very, very old and everything in between..... and every single one has tried to fly away. Every single one has flapped his or her wings as if he or she was flying away.

Same here. Thank you so much for posting those pictures for us. Seems our girls and yours had similar symptoms during the time they were going downhill, though my girls never had a huge abdomen like that. Two of mine were SLWs and two were RIRs, all hatchery stock, all between two and two and a half years old. I just hope I never lose another one to this malady. RIP Lacy, Lorelei, Ruby and Rosemary, and now Hope.​

 

[the Old Rebel]

Thanks, SpeckledHen

 

[dlhunicorn]

Those pics are not typical of internal laying (altho as so often is the case, more than one thing can be going on at the same time and may or may not be inter-related)...adeno carcinoma is more common than you might think and occurs spontaneously in poultry (dependent upon the breed and genetics can occurs as high as 35%) ... it is usually very slow and often only diagnosed in combination with something else (thus a primary underlying condition >a secondary complication often causes death:
Adeno Carcinoma
http://netvet.wustl.edu/species/birds/aviandis.txt
(excerpt)
"...ADENOCARCINOMA
OCCURRENCE
By far the most common type of ovarian tumor in the chicken. It has
also been reported in turkeys. It has also been reported in
Budgerigars and pigeons.

CLINICAL SIGNS
Abdominal distension, dyspnea, and difficulty in passing droppings.
Affected hens are thin and assume a penquinlike position.

LESIONS
Early cases may only be detected microscopically or grossly as minute fleshy enlargement of atretic follicles. In advanced cases the ovary is enlarged, cauliflowerlike in shape, firm, and gray-white. Numerous transcelomic implants vary from small and pearllike to massive nodular growths on serosal surfaces of the pancreas, mesentery, oviduct, and intestines, with other abdominal organs less affected. Ascites usually develops, presumably because of hindered lymphatic circulation, and intestines become thickened, knotted, and often blocked. Since the oviduct is so often involved, care must be taken to rule out a primary oviductal adenocarcinoma, which can grossly and histologically resemble ovarian adenocarcinoma. This can be done by looking for tumors in the mucosal lining of the oviduct, because primary oviductal carcinomas
are always found there and their absence indicates an ovarian primary. Usually there are no maturing follicles in advanced carcinomas, and the oviducts are atrophic. The tumor is probably multifocal in origin, grows fairly slowly, and does not produce hormones. ..............

......Occasionally, ovarian adenocarcinomas are found in ovaries covered with grapelike clusters of what look like follicles filled with yellow fluid. These cysts are not neoplastic growths and thus are entirely unrelated to ovarian cystadenocarcinomas of mammals. ............. "

...a few excerpts from my thread on reproductive disease thread at my library:
http://dlhunicorn.conforums.com/index.cgi?board=linksgeneralinfo&action=display&num=1158765194

TERMINOLOGY of Common Disorders:
CYSTIC OVA - when an ovarian follicle becomes grossly enlarged and filled with fluid.

EGG BINDING -Egg binding is defined as failure of an egg to pass through an oviduct at a normal rate. Will often present with straining and a penguin-like stance.

DYSTOCIA -Dystocia is defined as a condition in which a developing egg is in the caudal oviduct and is either obstructing the cloaca or has caused oviductal tissue to prolapse through the oviduct-cloacal opening.

PROLAPSE -Usually the uterus protrudes through the cloaca; often an egg is present. It is important to keep these tissues moist.

SALPINGITIS - infection of the upper reproductive tract. Depression, weight loss, anorexia, and abdominal enlargement can occur with salpingitis.

Metritis is a localized problem within the uterine portion of the oviduct. It can be a result of dystocia, egg binding or chronic oviductal impaction. Bacterial metritis is often secondary to systemic infection. Shell formation and uterine contractions can be affected by metritis. Metritis can also cause egg binding, uterine rupture, peritonitis, and septicemia.

OVIDUCT IMPACTION -This is a condition in which soft-shelled eggs, malformed eggs, or fully formed eggs are stuck in the lower oviduct.

OOPHORITIS and OVARY REGRESSION
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/205810.htm
"Regression of the ovary may result in leakage of free yolk into the abdomen (yolk peritonitis); this rarely causes death except when yolk material migrates through the air sacs to the lung and causes foreign body pneumonia. Free yolk occurs in many cases of acute illness, injury, or forced molt. Regression of the ovary is frequently caused by low body weight, deliberate reduction of feed, overcrowding, or lack of feeder space. Infectious diseases such as exotic Newcastle disease, fowl cholera, pullorum disease, and avian influenza are known to cause this condition. It can also result from severe stress, which is often accompanied by feather molt, emaciation, and dehydration. "

PERITONITIS -Peritonitis can be divided into two categories: Septic and non-septic....see the excellent article below for more details/treatment within the above definitions:
http://216.109.125.130/search/cache...udate+eye+avian&d=Z8ih05IFNpkg&icp=1&.intl=us

http://www.funnyfarmexotics.com/IAS/2003Proceedings/Romagnano_Critical_Ill_hen.pdf
An excellent review of the critically ill eggbound hen

http://www.michvma.org/documents/MVC Proceedings/Labonde3.pdf
"....Surgery of the reproductive system
Reproductive related procedures are one of the most common celomic surgeries for avian patients. Indications in female birds would include egg retention, egg binding (dystocia), trauma or oviductal torsion, egg related coelomitis, ovarian cysts or tumors, diagnostics (culture, biopsy) and sterilization to stop egg laying.

Dystocia with Prolapse
Surgery is indicated if adhesions of the egg to the oviduct can not be remedied by massage and manipulation of the egg. In prolapse cases where the lumen of the vaginal os cannot be identified or teased open. An incision is made in a nonvascular area of the
uterus and the egg is removed. The uterus can be suture or not, depending on the condition of the uterus.

A salpingohysterotomy is indicated for removal of retained eggs (not prolapsed), eggshells, or for biopsy and cultures. A left lateral or midline incision with a flap is the preferred approaches for best exposure. A nonvascular are is selected and closed with a
6-0 to 8-0 monofilament absorbable suture with an atraumatic needle in an inverting continuous pattern.
Salpingohysterectomy (spay) is indicated of chronic egg laying, recurrent egg binding, and oviductal disease......

Cloacal Prolapse
Cloacal prolapse can be secondary to dystocia, chronic cloacitis, ............ In minor or acute cases, the cloaca
is reduced with 50% dextrose and lubricated cotton swabs. Then a vertical single suture can be place in the skin and sphincter to prevent the cloaca from reprolapsing. In chronic cases a cloacalpexy can be performed. A lower abdominal midline incision is made to
expose the cloaca. Then non-absorbable monofilament sutures (3-0 to 5-0) ..........."

ALSO SEE ELSEWHERE IN THE MANUALS AND CASE STUDIES THIS CATEGORY FOR INDIVIDUAL ARTICLES ON REPRODUCTIVE DISORDERS

 

[speckledhen]

From what you posted, Diana, you're saying that the Old Rebel's hen probably died of ovarian cancer? Very interesting.

 

[dlhunicorn]

Those look like cystic ovum to me > and yes it would not surprise me if adenocarcinoma was involved although I am too inexperienced to identify right off the bat ... I have sites and articles (including the cornell pathology site) with photos to help identify but yes I have seen that and it was not "internal layer" >that will look like cooked egg yolks (although in many cases , dependent on the cause and complicating factors , internal layers will often reabsorb the yolks ...
If you read the articles on the thread at my library (not all deal with internal layer but several do even though I may not have the section excerpted ) ... you will see that there is no cut and dried
"symptom XXX = disease/disorder XXX"
All you can do is read the articles and I strongly urge all to do so (don't try in one sitting tho !) Those eggs (reproductive disorder and disease) end up being the cause of death of our beloved birdies and often promt attention and identification of problems can prevent alot of heartache.

 

[speckledhen]

Well, that would certainly explain why our two birds were so different inside. I was told by someone who is very experienced that my hens did die of internal laying with the cooked yolk material compacted inside. Those look like egg follicles that are just blown up in Old Reb's pics, something I'd never seen previously. Also, that hen was twice the age of my four who passes of this last year, if that is at all significant. Seems most internal laying deaths happen at about two to three years old.