What disease/ illness is this?

[Chamelaucium]

Hi everybody.

WARNING GRAPHIC PHOTO’S

I’ve had a few( 4 chickens die in the last year)
ive Been googling and am still a bit unsure but tonight I put to sleep my chicken that was showing symptoms of the last 3 that got sick and died. Her abdominal area felt full of liquid, acting slower.
After doing what I had to do I thought I better take a look inside and after I cut her open LOTS of watery/ yellowish liquid poured out of her and yellow stuff around her ribs( sorry not correct lingo)
So could anyone please tell me what it is? And if my other birds are going to become sick?

I will try to add the photos. Please don’t view if you don’t want to see the inside of a sick dead bird.

 

[ChemicalchiCkns]

Internall laying?

 

[DobieLover]

So sorry for your recent losses and that you had to euthanize your bird. But it is of tremendous value to you (and her) that you were able to do it and even better than you are able to do an informal necropsy.
Can you carefully open her up a little further and get some pictures of her organs, particularly her liver and her right ovary?
So far, that looks like heavy fat deposits.
The yellowish liquid that came out is abdominal fluid build up called ascites. Ascites can be caused by stress in the liver which causes it to leak fluid.
What and how are you feeding your birds? Are they confined to a run for the most part and if so, how large is it?

ETA: You may want to edit your thread title to include the words "GRAPHIC PHOTOS" so the squeamish aren't surprised.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. I agree with @DobieLover in that your hen had ascites. It happens with liver disease and heart disease. It also is common when there is a reproductive disorder such as internal laying and egg yolk peritonitis. Fatty liver disease is also a cause. What did the liver look like? Was there a huge amount of excess fat inside the abdomen? It is helpful to see more of the internal organs, to see if there was egg yolk material, lash eggs, blood clots, or any signs of tumor.

What type of food do you feed your chickens? If you suspect fatty liver disease, the diet may be too high in carbohydrates, or a genetic predisposition.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi. I am also sorry for your losses but applaud your effort in opening her up to find out what you can.
Unfortunately those photos don't show enough to establish a cause of death (if you are able to open her up further and take more, that would be helpful) but the obvious thing is that there is a lot of yellow fat deposits which might indicate a dietary imbalance and together with the ascites, might point towards Fatty Liver Haemorrhagic Syndrome, especially if the liver is more tan coloured and mushy rather than dark red and stable. Yes, internal laying could also be the problem as that can also cause ascites (fluid in the abdomen) but better photos would be needed to establish if there are yolk masses in the abdomen. Being overweight/obese can lead to reproductive problems like internal laying, so it could all be linked to diet.
What do you feed them including treats and how old are they, would be two important questions that might shed light on this.

Below is a diagram of a hen's internal organs which may help you to identify the liver if you are unsure..

 

[Eggcessive]

Where are you located— not exact location, but country or state? The link below has some graphic images of fatty liver hemorrhagic disease:
https://htrchickens.com/2013/04/15/...er-hepatic-lipidosis-contains-graphic-images/

 

[coach723]

These links may help you, either in this instance or in the future. Lots of pictures to help with organ identification. I agree with all the previous posters, and there does appear to be a lot of visceral fat in the abdomen, but more pictures of organs would be helpful.
https://vet.uga.edu/oldvpp/programs/afvet/attachments/how_to_necropsy_a_bird.pdf
https://nctc.fws.gov/resources/cour...vestigation/Avian_Necropsy_Manual-English.pdf
Very sorry for your losses.

 

[Sue Gremlin]

Looks like peritonitis to me. Did you appreciate the ovary while you were in there? I've had a few of these and the ovary is always fibrous and very abnormal.

If the yellow liquid is clear, it could be a few things including heart failure or fatty liver.

 

[Chamelaucium]

Thank you everybody, it’s greatly appreciated
I’ll try and answer all the questions
Coop/run size about 36 square meters and I have 6 bantam chickens.
They get feed from a step feeder and containers.
They eat greens,watermelon, fermented grains, shell grit in their layer feed.
They get to have free range time 4 times a week?

I’m located in Melbourne, Australia.
I bought this chicken just over a year ago, she laid eggs when I first got her but then stopped after a few months? And sometimes would stilll go and sit in the nesting box( like she was going to lay)
I wasn’t sure if her age but I thought she was meant to be young( as you can guess I’m still new to chickens!)

I buried her after taking the first photo’s but dug her up after reading the posts.
I went and cut her more open this morning( rather hard for me to do but it needed to be done)
I think I found the liver ( in photo) and it was brownish in colour and fell apart easy.
Sorry I couldn’t find more organs( started to feel a bit Squeamish)


Any thoughts appreciated

 

[Eggcessive]

The liver looks tan as many of the references describe in fatty liver disease. Here are more links to read about fatty liver disease with pictures of tan livers:
https://www.hyline.com/userdocs/pages/TU_FLHS_ENG.pdf

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publi...oultry/219/fatty-liver-haemorrhagic-syndrome/