Necropsy Fatty Liver Disease? (graphic post mortem images warning)

[Reboot]

While building my goat barn yesterday I saw one of our Wyandottes ( 2 yr old) off by herself sitting out in the open apparently looking pretty exhausted. She seemed to be breathing harder than usual and appeared close to falling asleep right there. I don't pretend to be a vet but that didn't look right so I kept an eye and continued working. Within a couple of hours she was dead. I thought of hardware disease so opened her up. The 15 birds we have, I have discussed before in this forum, but they wintered in a 10x12 coop with a winter run (didn't use it) and we just let them out free range a couple of weeks ago. Egg production has more than doubled in the last couple of weeks from 5 a day to over 12 which was great to see. We feed organic layer at about a 1/3 pound per bird per day but it is pretty much free choice.

When I opened the bird I saw firstly that its crop and comb were very pale but there appeared to be internal bleeding in the abdomen obvious to me as it was skinned. After cutting further lots of blood came out and the liver was very pale and fragile it just crumbled in my fingers with tons of lesions and cuts seen on its surface. She had one egg in there ready to go and several more developing. Its crop was pretty much empty though in comparison to the freezer birds I prepared last fall. Fat was everywhere under the skin and the abdomen was chock full of it.

I looked online for ideas as I had no transportation available to me to head to a vet. Given what I had seen after a short online query I saw lots of images of what was termed Fatty Liver Disease. We do have a pathologist with the University of Guelph (Ontario Canada) about a 2 hour drive from here and I have called our local large animal vet for direction. We were selling eggs but prudence given the circumstances has ended that practice until I figure out what we are dealing with. Other than fat and the signs mentioned the bird looks fine. I am thinking it would likely be safe to eat but once again I'm not a vet so it was disposed of elsewhere on the property.

As a possible treatment we've taken the free choice feed away as the flock is running around the 4 acres here all day having a blast after months of confinement in a coop. I was wondering if I should suspend the layer formula and go back to grower or just none at all given they are no longer in the coop surrounded by an electric fence like they were last year. I am hoping that will be the last of the birds dying (one yesterday and another this morning) but one more and I get worried as we only have 12 hens left and these birds are proving tough to incubate eggs from ourselves. The pathologist has a 24/7 cooler for drop offs over the weekend so if this continues I'll head out and get tests done. Any ideas?

[labradors]

I'm so sorry to hear about your poor bird. I'm also sorry that you haven't received any responses here. Hopefully, someone who knows more that I do has contacted you privately to help.

I just wanted to comment about something I read where a chicken owner blamed herself for feeding her flock sunflower seeds on a regular basis. I wonder if you do this? I started giving mine sunflowers in the fall to beef them up for the winter, but in the spring they were feather-pecking each other, so I felt obliged to continue with the sunflowers for added protein. I really hope that it isn't to blame for fatty liver disease!

I hope that you get some answers......

[Ontario Chick]

I have no experience in this department so pulled out my trusted Chicken Health Book and can't say I am much smarter now.
I do see abdominal fat deposit, could be just birds fed a bit too generously, but as you have Wyandottes in my experience they tend to be fairly self regulating.
The liver looks yellow, that would be one of the symptoms of fatty liver disease, but would expect other symptoms, such as diarrhea,
other symptoms, yellowish heart, mushy liver.
Can be caused by moldy feed, often associated with High Energy feed combined with inactivity.
Good news doesn't spread from bird to bird.
That is my book finding in a nutshell.

I personally would reconsider feed on all levels, protein content, storage, and feeders that may be retaining old feed on to bottom?
Also, the space they have to get enough exercise.
We need @windwalkingwolf to chime in she is much more experience with post mortem.

[Reboot]

We are losing a bird a day and I just found another one. If my wife didn't have the vehicle at work I'd be on my way to the pathology lab to drop this last one off. The breeder we bought the birds from advise that the birds are pretty tough, are self regulating and should not eat themselves to death. As to mold in the feed we buy fresh from the feed mill every two weeks. We were caught short on feed over winter once so I keep 2 bags on hand while we use up the last two we had open hence feed is only here a month tops. I certainly don't see mold in there or smell it. As for space; it was 15 birds (now 12) in a 130 sq ft coop over winter with a winter run for outdoor access which they wouldn't use when snow was on it. Currently they have 4 acres to forage on. I have seen diarrhea on some of the birds. I am sure it is something they are eating but it could be anything on the property and I am no expert at this. I feel bad turning egg buyers away (2 folks today) but better safe than sorry and until I know what I'm dealing with I will assume the eggs are not fit for consumption nor the birds themselves.

[Killerbunny]

Not sure what is up but she is very fat especially after the winter. Very pale comb and wattles for a laying hen. What did the heart look like?
As to feed I would go to layer mash as it is the correct protein and calcium levels. Any extra protein hey get from foraging for insects. DOes she have any mites or crawlies?

[labradors]

This might be of interest: https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/ ... in-poultry

[Reboot]

What did the heart look like? DOes she have any mites or crawlies?

Heart seemed okay (image uploaded). I thought some birds had mites but my breeder suggested rooster tracks were the cause of the feather loss on the hens backs. I won't touch this last bird and leave it intact for a proper exam. I have a dust box in the coop and they use it. For awhile I would dust them with DE in the evening when they were on the roost but later figured it must be my rooster causing the feather loss. I've looked up Guelph's avian necropsy submission requirements so I'll make an insulated box and drive this bird, and sadly likely more, to the pathology lab in Kemptville on Monday. Its snowing out there right now so I'll leave her in the shed until Monday as she should be cool enough until then. They have all been on layer formula in the main coop. I have a pullet area in the coop as I just introduced 7 pullets I incubated into the coop a week ago and they have the starter formula in their area. I am selling my Hovabator this week once the batch in it (hopefully) hatches as after 3 batches I am running at a 10% success rate. I ordered a Brinsea 56EX which hopefully should be here before all my birds are dead! I am pretty sure I have screwed up something in their feed and it makes me sick to think about it. I just wanted eggs and meat birds when we started this last year but these little feathered critters have kinda taken on a different roll for me lately....

[Ontario Chick]

I am going to encourage you not to beat yourself up too much, (yeah I know it's hard)
You might have gathered I am somewhat more experienced, not by knowledge but by years put in raising poultry, and I have seem most of it.
My first batch of chickens I raised by holding a book in one hand and chicken in the other, while trying to figure out the mysteries of poultry.
This was before computers were invented
When I look back on some of the uphill battles I shudder at the mistakes I have made and no one to ask for advice.
You are eons ahead of the game and it will all come together eventually, I am sure of that.

[Reboot]

This might be of interest: https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/ ... in-poultry

Thank you very much for that! Interestingly enough thats the very article I read out loud to my wife a couple of days ago that had me thinking it was Fatty Liver in the beginning. The internet can be a wonderful aid but I won't rely on it as a Vet should be the one to make this call; specially as to what I have to do. Fortunately I started early and I have 10 pullets and what ever comes out of my Hovabator in a week to recoup our losses.

[Happy]

Did you say you are losing a bird a day? As in 3 birds in the past 3 days? If so then I cannot believe that your issue is from feed unless it's moldy or poisoned and that seems unlikely.
You said they just started free ranging recently. I tend to think they may have gotten into something OR you have some type of illness hitting you and that bird that you cut open just coincidentally had some sort of fat issue going on.