What is this chicken sickness?

[MTchicken ranch]

RI Red autopsy showed body cavity full of dark but clear liquid. 3 year old hen was non-ambulatory for 2 to 3 days, I euthanized her to perform the autopsy. Is it a "disease", an "illness", an "injury"? What is it? What caused it? Any ideas. thanks MTchicken ranch

 

[DStewart PDX]

In people, this is consistent with ascites, or fluid in the abdomen. In people it is associated with liver disease. Turns out chickens can get ascites, but it is uncommon. http://www.thepoultrysite.com/diseaseinfo/6/ascites
Here is a thread on the subject from BYC https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/68731/laying-hens-with-water-belly-or-ascites

 

[MTchicken ranch]

Thanks much for the reply, I really appreciate it. It seems this is more common in meat chickens according to others in other threads. So in meat birds that grow fast and are butchered quickly. There could easily be birds that have the early stages of this and are butchered and eaten with not ill affects to the human consumer. I would imagine that a significant percentage of animals eated by us have "diseases" at some stage of progression and we eat them without knowing or thinking about them. I suppose as long as the meat is cooked well this must not be a problem. Am I correct in this line of thought as far as you know? Thanks again, Bob

 

[DStewart PDX]

I can't say. In humans that have ascites, their liver enzymes are elevated, and they have other markers in their blood that are off. A person may get ascites if they have hepatitis. I am not a food safety expert at all! But thorough cooking should kill anything infectious. It is possible the meat could have an off flavor. When the liver fails, metabolic waste products will back up into the blood and tissues. I don't know that it would harm your health to eat to meat.

 

[Country4ever]

I had a chicken that developed ascites. The vet said it could be from the liver, or cancer. She drained the fluid out on 2 occasions. I watched her, and started doing it myself. I had to be careful not to hit any organs.
Her fluid was completely clear. Sometimes I would get 2-4 cups out! I did this about every 3-4 months and she lived quite content for about 7 years after that. I did need to keep her in her own little pen, because she must have had something that just made her less strong than a normal chicken.

Then I had another chicken with fluid in her abdomen. I drained her fluid and it was bright green. She died soon after that. I'm thinking it was peritonitis or something..

Sometimes we just can't know for sure what is wrong.