Necropsy of a rooster, pictures (very graphic) and discussion

Well, I thought I had better share my experience with you guys, who knows what I may learn, or what you may learn! So I took pics.
Tony was a 1 year old rooster bred from my flock. I was very sorry to lose him he was gorgeous. All seemed fine. One day while they were free ranging I noticed him alone and droopy. Lots of runny white poop behind him. Picked him up and he was waaaay too light. Went from 7 lbs to 6.
I remembered hearing a sneeze or two from him within the last 2 wks. Put him on antibiotics for respiratory...seemed the first symptom. He did not improve. More runny poop and emaciation setting in. For some reason I thought maybe cocci so ran everyone on that (also getting paranoid now). We treat for worms with cayenne and garlic in water but have never seen signs of worms and, well, I look at poop everyday.
Thoroughly check the rest of the flock. A couple of poopy bums but no blood or runiness. No discharge (eyes/nose) of any kind from anyone. Some lice but not much.
Then I had started to wonder about sour crop or an impacted gizzard etc etc. Over the last couple of days I did check his crop and it did not change. Was syringing mineral oil and baby cereal and massaging. By this point he is not walking and I'm not hopeful.
So he finally died and I called a friend with a biology background. Being concerned for the other birds I was hoping if I cut him open that we could find an obvious answer. Having never done this before I was happy that she was as curious as me to come over.
What we found was an extremely unhealthy liver. LOTS of tumours. His gizzard was jammed full but no foreign objects. Just food and rocks all of the same size. Crop was full of food.
So the pics are graphic...


Well this doesn't look right!!
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Removed
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Jam packed gizzard full of food...some hay bits as well maybe
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So here's us two new moms trying to dissect a dead roo (ok well my friend was) with these two looky-loos, who were not happy about not being the centre of attention. I'll tell you they were smiling behind there....but they weren't, lol
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So....any ideas on the tumours?
A virus caught from rats/rat feces? (it is a problem)
did the digestive system stop working due to liver problem which then led to the emaciation?
where does the runny white/green poop then come from? Bile problems?

Aurelia

Wow those are impressive tumors on the liver, I found this on a search.
Lymphoid Leukosis (Big liver disease) Chickens Virus. Egg borne or transmitted to very young chicks from infected older birds. Weight loss. Green droppings, tumors, enlarged liver. Sick birds usually die. Deformed, thickened leg bones. P-Brood away from older chicks. T-None.

Here is another abstract about fatty liver. I have seen fatty liver in cats, that are obese and then lose weight quickly.
Nutritional and metabolic aspects of fatty liver disease in poultry.

Whitehead CC.


Abstract

There are two metabolic disorders of major commercial importance in poultry that involve the occurrence of fatty deposits in the liver. Fatty Liver and Kidney Syndrome (FLKS) affects young birds and the main manifestations, lipid infiltrations into liver and many other organs, are apparently secondary effects of the primary lesion that lies in carbohydrate metabolism. Although several nutritional and environmental factors influence FLKS, the main factor is the vitamin, biotin. In the absence of an adequate supply of biotin, the hepatic activity of pyruvate carboxylase, a biotin-dependent enzyme, becomes so low that gluconeogenesis in the liver via pyruvate becomes negligible. When the bird is then subject to a mild stress and/or short term fasting, liver glycogen reserves become rapidly depleted and a progressive hypoglycaemia develops that ultimatley proves fatal. Supplementing diets with adequate amounts of biotin can prevent the syndrome. Fatty Liver Haemorrhagic Syndrome (FLHS) is brought about by an excessive accumulation of fat in the livers of adult hens which weakens the cellular structure of the liver and allows fatal haemorrhaging to occur. The aetiology of the syndrome is not clear, but a major factor is an excessive intake of dietary energy. However, the involvement of hormonal and toxicological factors, as well as other nutritional factors, is also possible.

What an amazing thing for you to do and then to post the pictures for us. Makes me think we should do more of that, to really find out what is going on when we lose a bird. The pics of the kids is priceless.

Ugh, those tumors are HUGE. What Jayme researched about Lymphoid Leukosis sounds right on the money. Poor boy didn't stand a chance...I thought biotin was a supplement added to most pre-made feeds? I will have to check my bags.

Your kiddies are adorable, btw. And thank you for sharing the pics.

The pics online of Lymphoid Leukosis don't really fit either. But, we couldn't do this until the next afternoon that he died so I'm not sure what changes would have happened after death. Looking back I wish we had opened the tumours...but the babies were getting pretty cranky.

Also, no other birds have enlarged or deformed legs. My birds are directly from other Island breeders so if that is it...it is more common from these lines??? But, I'm not jumping to conclusions yet.

I thought about sending him away but had no time/extra cash for a bus trip or enough room to freeze the carcass.

I have an email address of someone who may be willing to look at the pics and will keep you all updated.

Edited: I emailed and received a response from a DVM. It is likely either Mareks or Lymhpoid Leucosis. The only way to tell is to examine cells by microscope. So I'm absorbing what this may mean and have asked if there is a way to test the flock.