Chicken abdomen

Sonopath Forum

  • 2 year old female rescue chicken with chronic upper respiratory disease
  • Received a progesterone implant 6 months ago to prevent egg laying
  • Has been depressed and off-feed for the past few days.
  • Blood work is normal
  • Radiology consult on radiographs stated high suspicion for egg yolk peritonitis and recommended an ultrasound and or ovariohysterectomy.  RDVM questions the consult as the blood work does not fit.
    • 2 year old female rescue chicken with chronic upper respiratory disease
    • Received a progesterone implant 6 months ago to prevent egg laying
    • Has been depressed and off-feed for the past few days.
    • Blood work is normal
    • Radiology consult on radiographs stated high suspicion for egg yolk peritonitis and recommended an ultrasound and or ovariohysterectomy.  RDVM questions the consult as the blood work does not fit.
    • This was my first time scanning a chicken and I was not allowed to pluck feathers.  I also do not think the bird was fasted.
    • There was no intra-abdominal effusion and no obvious evidence of egg binding or inflammation.
    • I used a ventral abdominal approach from just behind the xiphoid, aiming cranial and dorsally.  I kept coming across this shadowing linear echogenic structure on the left side of the abdomen at the level of the xipohid and don’t know what it is (I am n=1 for chickens).  All images are sagittal and oblique sagittal.
    • My rule outs include normal GI gas shadowing, GI FB, or malformed egg.
    • I tried to scan a rooster for comparison and could not find the same structure although he had much denser feathers (smaller window for me).
    • Any other thoughts?
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