First things first, this post comes with a warning of graphic content of the necropsy (animal autopsy) I performed on one of my favourite chickens, Sweetie. This post is for people who own chickens and want to understand as much as possible about them and the various diseases/health problems that afflict them.
Further down this post (I will warn you in advance) there will be photos and video of a miniature necropsy (only one incision) that I performed to confirm the cause of death in Sweetie as Sour Crop.
I understand there are those of you who prefer the romantic notion of owning chickens and not necessarily the accompanying horror that inevitably comes with these animals. For those of you, I direct you to these more pleasant posts from my past chicken experiences.
- The Coop: A look at my contemporary chicken coop.
- Will They Eat it?: Episode 2 in a video series.
- Pretty Pictures of my Chickens.
- The Best Fly Prevention Method - Parasitic Wasps.
- How to Ferment Chicken Feed
If you do not wish to see an actual chicken necropsy do not read further.
GRAPHIC CONTENT BELOW.
(honestly it isn't that bad, but if you're the sensitive type you might cry)
O.K. this is where the real post begins. Last week I told you how one of my chickens, Sweetie, died unexpectedly. That's kind of the hallmark of chickens by the way, dying unexpectedly.
They're miracle workers when it comes to hiding that they're sick or injured. It's a genetic trait to keep them alive. If they look weak they know they'll be the first picked off by a predator. Plus if they look weak they'll get harassed by their fellow chickens. So they hide their symptoms.
Which is exactly what Sweetie did. Last week I told you about how Sweetie, my black Ameraucana died recently. I suspected it was a sour crop because of impaction but I wasn't positive. And I wanted to know for sure what killed her so I could be sure it wasn't something contagious.
If I had NO idea at all what killed her, I wouldn't have cut her open looking for random things, but I was pretty sure I knew what was going on, I just needed to confirm it. If you're interested in some of the symptoms of Sour Crop and how it affects a chicken you can read this post.
This post isn't about Sour Crop, it's a general look at what it was like to necropsy one of my chickens and what I did exactly.
Since it seemed like the issue was sour crop I knew all I had to do was cut open her crop, which sits right next to the skin of her chest and take a look inside. No big deal. No breaking or cutting bones, no looking at organs, nothing like that.
First I had to remove a few feathers from her chest to access the skin over her crop.
Then using a sharp blade I gingerly cut the skin, unsure how thick it would be or how difficult to cut through.
The skin on the breast was fairly thin and easy to cut through. Directly beneath the skin was the crop.
I then cut through the crop (which is like a stomach almost), and what came next was something so horrifying I cannot even explain it.
Sweetie's crop was filled with putrid, stinking juice. I assume it was infection. It came streaming out like an abscess and smelled bad enough, even through a mask, to make me gag. But I kept going. Like an idiot.
Once the crop had drained of rotting fluid, I could see what was in there.
There was a bit of a nest inside Sweetie's crop. She'd been eating straw which is a hazard with chickens but usually it just passes into their gizzard.
I pulled the tangle of straw out of Sweetie's crop and assessed it.
This is the majority of what was found in her crop. A fair amount, but after all that I wasn't sure if this was enough to cause Sour Crop or impaction so I sent the photo off to Dr. Mark.
According to Dr. Mark, this could have been enough to cause an impaction in Sweetie and Sour Crop. Another chicken may have been fine with it and worked it through, and another chicken still might have been able to fight the infection, but that wasn't the case with Sweetie.
In case you're wondering where all the blood is (like several of my friends asked), there is no blood because the heart isn't pumping.
If you're feeling particularly brave I also videoed the entire procedure, although I've cut what was 16 minutes of footage down to 3 and a half minutes.
I've eliminated most of the really gross stuff like spewing puss and extraordinary language on my part. This video is for the curious.
CHICKEN NECROPSY
Really the worst part of this was the smell. It was surprisingly easy to cut into Sweetie once she had died because it was just her body and I was somehow able to mentally separate her body from her. It wasn't an ideal Thursday morning but I'm glad I did it just to see what it was like and to better understand the inside of a chicken.
I can say with great honesty that that very night I went to the grocery store to pick up something quick for dinner and I had a make a U turn at the pre-cooked chicken section. That wasn't happening.
Thanks for sticking it out with this post to the bitter end. You, are a brave and curious soul and I'm happy to have you around.
Have a good weekend!
Sorry Karen, but thanks for doing that and sharing it.
How you kept going after that first whiff!
For years I've kept a mental list of why I'll never get a dog. Since reading your blog I've also started a second list of why I shouldn't get chickens. My chicken list is now complete.
You are missing out on both! The pleasures overwhelm the heartaches (and gross-outs!)
I completely agree, Jen! Loss is a part of life. I can't imagine never having experienced the utter joy in having a pet, any kind!
Very interesting, Karen. I learned a lot and I suspect you did, too.
I had never saw a post with the comments so quiet around here. I can tell you that I learned a lot about chicken digestion through this. Thank you.
I was watching a TED talk the other day and learned this: "What is a vet that treats only one species? A Medical Doctor." Vets are the best.
Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with your chickens. I once had a dream of raising chickens but after nursing several guinea pigs of my kids and getting attached to them I think it's best to live through you! You are a brave soul, and terribly sorry for your loss.
I look at this post as a wonderful way to honor Sweetie and to make sure that she made a difference in the wider world! I'm sure that the information will help others, and Sweetie's legacy will live on.
Also, I may now call you The Chicken Lady instead of Karen. It seems more formal, and since we've never met, it is awkward to explain to people that you're not actually my friend, whom I quote and refer to regularly, but someone from the internet that I admire.
Feel free. The Chicken Lady it is. ~ karen!
I don't own any chickens, so I could watch this pretty much without fear - it's interesting! And I really think you did the right thing with the necropsy. This might protect/save your other and all your future chickens, and other people's chickens too!
In a way, Sweetie is now a heroine of medical science. <3
Sad, informative, brave...those are the words that come to mind. Thank you for doing that for the benefit of the rest of us, backyard chicken owners.
Interesting. I've heard that sometimes crop ailments are the result of something worse happening in a different part of the chicken's body first. Once it gets sick enough from that, the digestive system can't function well, and the chicken also gets sour crop. Poor little Sweetie!
It's possible but basically sour crop results from an imbalance of the pH in the chickens crop. It can be the result of Mereks disease or impaction. I have a whole post written by Dr. Mark coming up next week on Sour Crop and Crop Impaction. ~ karen!
So sorry about Sweetie. Well done you for doing what had to be done. I found it interesting and educational, but if you had known about the crop Nest when she was alive, would you have been able to do anything about it? Just wondering in case it happens to one of my girls.
Ha, necropsy on a crop nesty!
I have a whole post coming up on Sour Crop and Impacted crop where I ask Dr. Mark all of these questions and he answers them Therese! I think it goes up next Friday. ~ karen!
You are braver than brave!!
I would have wept all the way through that procedure, never mind having to have a bucket for my insides right next to me!
Thank you, Karen, for that hard thing. Now I know.
Oh. Sweet. Goodness. Yup, you warned us, you did. You really did, several times. As sad as it was, I think we all learned a lot.
And I swear, I could smell it from here!
Thank you Dr. Karen for our chicken lesson. May Sweetie rest in peace.🐔
Interesting post, although I can see how it wouldn't appeal to everyone. Regardless, it's always difficult to lose our fur/feather family members.
I would be down for the video without the spewing puss but including the extraordinary language. :)
I can actually imagine how the 16 minute version sounded
So sorry about Sweetie. Even though we know they are gonna go, it doesn't make it any easier.
Poor little Sweetie! I'm so sorry for your loss, but thank you for all your great teachings on things chicken, as well all this other stuff, great and small.
You are an inspiration!
Have a good week-end,
Catherine
P.s. I find blue eggs (Ameraucana, according to my teacher Karen) at my lovely corner grocery store, and every time I take one out of the fridge, I think of you, the chicken lady😁
Ha! That's great. :) You're so lucky to be able to get them at your corner store! I'm sure a lot of people would be envious of that! ~ karen!
Chicken lady??? Reminds me of Kids In The Hall.... lol https://i.ytimg.com/vi/HHOFmHMTN5k/maxresdefault.jpg
lol!
Loved the chicken lady! And Kids in the Hall. SO great. ~ karen!
Very interesting..and closure.
Wow, yucky but facinating!
So sad. I had a similar experience, and found that my sweet Red swallowed a yellow pushpin which led to massive internal infection and death. Thanks for encouraging folks to be curious and brave DIYers! (even when it is a necropsy)
I admire your curiosity and insistence on getting to the 'bottom of things'.