What is wrong with my poultry?

[ClaireDL]

following...

 

[TheGonzo]

Update.

I called the Vet this morning and he wasn't sure what it was, but he aslo said it might be worms.

I slaughtered another hen an hour ago.
The chicken had some minor bald spots and scaly legs, but otherwise seemed perfectly fine.
I took out the guts which seemed worm free and looked in good condition - apart from liver, which again had this strange copper color and this time also a big dark spot (first pic).

This is all very strange

 

[casportpony]

Please do so. Maybe they know what it is

I sent them. Will let you know if he comments on them.

-Kathy

 

[TheGonzo]

Latest update:

I have contacted three Vets (one of them specialized in poultry) and none of them could tell me with certainty what it was. One of them mentioned mentioned it could be a case of fowl typhoid (Salmonella Gallinarum) which is treatable and not harmful to humans. To be certain I could freeze a liver sample and get it checked, but it would cost a lot more than just replacing the birds next spring. (400-1000 $), so I decided beheading would be best solution in my case.

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/diseaseinfo/130/salmonella-gallinarum-fowl-typhoid/

Reading about this and other fowl diseases made me pretty sure that it most likely is fowl typhoid. After the beheading of the remaining 6 birds I came to the following coclusion:


- All livers (even from my 3 months old, self hatched chicks) were copper colored liver (not sure if swollen - nothing to compare to)
- The (B/W) picture looks a lot like many of the livers
- All chicken were infected and morbidity was said to be up to 100 %
- Ruled out ILT, worms, all types of parasites, Marek's disease, Bird flue, Newcastle disease and Bronchitis due to lack of symptons
- Ruled out cancer since every single bird could not possible get it all at once by default.


Conclusion is that all chicken are now in chicken heaven. I know they've had a good life, so it is not so bad.
Next step is to clean out the coop and give it a good dose of chemicals to desinfect. And maybe give it another desinfection in the spring and then start all over in march/april.

Thank you all for the suggestions and help. It is highly appreciated!

I hope you all had/have a good weekend!

@casportpony I would still love to hear from you if the avian pathologist finds out anything

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Thanks for the update. I would have loved knowing what microscopic analysis would have found in the lesions.

 

[TheGonzo]

Me too, but I think the wife would rather have christmas presents than a chicken autopsy under the tree this year as well

 

[ChickenCanoe]

400-1000 is very expensive. Is that at a veterinarian or the Danish Poultry Lab?
A complete necropsy is about $80 at the state poultry lab here in Missouri. A vet would be hundreds. They're free in California. You wouldn't need a whole necropsy, just the tissue sample read.
We can get that done at our poultry lab for about $15.

The Ministry of Environment and Food may be able to steer you to the right place. It is usually the veterinary college.
http://www.foedevarestyrelsen.dk/en...ns_and_laboratory_projects/Pages/default.aspx

http://campynet.vetinst.dk/whoarewe.htm

 

[TheGonzo]

I'm impressed you found Fødevarestyrelsen!

I cantacted them the first and I think it would be a hard job to find someone who could care much less than they did, so no help there.

I've never heard about the second link. It says "Site last updated: December 21, 2001", so they're probably not too active. Anyway sending it to the US for a cheap necropsy probably isn't going to work, since the export of meat is a bit more difficult than mailing christmas cards these days. I wouldn't want to spread the disease either,

I was referred by the poultry expert Vet. Normal vets here take a starting fee of about $80-110 and then there is packaging, mailing, a $200/hr biologist, lab equipment and so on. It all ads up.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I'm just that good.

Sorry it didn't help.

I used to have good friends in DK that I've lost track of.

 

[TheGonzo]

All kinds of help are always highly appreciated!

I believe the old saying "A conclusion is simply the place where you got tired of thinking" applies here as well. When three Vets don't know and the danish FDA don't think it is a problem big enough to care about, I'll have to accept "unsolved" as the conclusion for my problem.
I still have the pathologist, who might mail back as a Maybe Ace up the sleeve and also the Poultry expert said she would ask her co worker, who had some 20 years more experience in the field and then "might" call back.
If I found out what it was, it would be nice, but (unlike my chickens) I will survive without knowing

Denmark isn't big. There are only 5,6 million citizens. It shouldn't be to hard to find them