Yesterday I butchered seven more roosters and in one I found something I am not sure about. There was a black hardening on one of his lungs. what could that be? the liver looked as normal as I have seen-when we did our first ones a couple of months ago, we did have one with a liver that was small and it was tinged with gray-decided not to keep that one to eat.

Does that sound okay to use to eat? what might it be? He was a healthy, (though smaller comb and feisty booger), 24 week old Buff Orpington.

Thanks!

-- Sarah (heartsong85@juno.com), December 08, 2000

Answers

Sarah I am sorry, but just unable to resist.

Was he a heavy smoker?

-- JLS in NW AZ (stalkingbull007@AOL.com), December 08, 2000.

Perhaps he worked in a coal mine? Seriously, I don't know what it could be. I have butchered chickens and I never saw anything like it. I hope someone will know. Good luck, Nancy

-- Nancy in CA (sonflower35@icqmail.com), December 08, 2000.

He must have been a blacksmith! I have black boogers for a week after a long spell working the forge! I have no idea what it might be. We butcherd 75 last fall and never found anything like that.

Steve

Cold and Clear in NW Wisconsin

-- steve collins (collins@cpinternet.com), December 08, 2000.

Not sure off hand, but here is an EXCELLENT chart. Good Luck http://www.angelfire.com/ar2/rojo1/postmort.html

-- Marci B. (daleb@kent.net), December 08, 2000.

You may already have heard of this, but I read the poultry information exchange message board where countless numbers of poultry owners ask questions about what the heck is going on with their birds, and they get a surprising number of responses from folks who have "been there done that". I usually need to reload immediately when I access it because otherwise I'm apt to get only the Q/A already stored in my computer, but aside from that funny little characteristic, it's a great source of info. Here's the address if you're interested:

http://ameraserve.com/chicken.html

-- Leslie A. (lesliea@home.com), December 09, 2000.

well I tried that form and I learned something...did you know that there are actually people who shwo chickens like they do dogs-and that the idea of butchering them is equal to murder???

Boy what a blunder...I feel really stupid. I guess I have been thinking the hillwilliam way so long it never occured to me that butchering the culls in a flock would be inhumane....seems to be the sensible thing to me!

sigh.

-- Sarah (heartsong85@juno.com), December 12, 2000.

LOL!! Yes, there are plenty of those types! One guy spent $250 in vet bills on a single chicken, and others wrote to say they'd done the same thing, if you can believe that. But there are also lots who butcher their birds, some culling any bird not in perfect health and some even raise fighting gamebirds. If you find an answer somewhere I'd love to know what the discoloration on your bird's lungs was.

-- Leslie A. (lesliea@home.com), December 14, 2000.

This may not be it, but I will utter the dreaded word: Tuberculosis.

This is from A Veterinary Guide for Animal Owners by C. E. Spaulding.

"Tuberculosis:

Avian tuberculosis is most often seen in chickens and turkeys, but has been found in ducks and geese as well. Avian tuberculosis is transmittable to swine and can cause reaction to a bovine TB test, although the cow does not show lesions. Poultry should not be allowed the run of the farm for this reason and should not be kept in the same pen with swine or cattle.

Tuberculosis occurs mainly in older poultry, which is the primary reason for not keeping older birds for several years. Affected birds show a weight loss and unthriftiness, or may show no signs at all until slaughtered and then examined.

Culling chickens over a year old, not allowing farm flocks to range free and culling any suspicous birds will usually keep tuberculosis from becoming a problem."

Elsewhere he notes Avian TB is not transmittable to humans.

By then Poultry Husbandry says: "Avian tuberculosois is a chronic infectious disease...which can be introduced into a flock by the purchase of infected birds or by wild birds and other animals.

The disease usually progresses slowly so that symptoms are for the most part observable only in birds over one year of age. In advanced states of the disease there is loss in weight, dullness, dry appearance of the feathers and diarrhea with greenish or yellowish droppings. On post-mortem examination the liver, spleen and intestines are covered with yellowish-colored tubercles of varying sizes."

You said the liver, at least, looked normal.

If you still have the lung you might want to take it in to your local vet for testing. If it turns out to be positive for TB, the vet can advise you on testing for other livestock.

On whether or not the bird is safe to eat, that is up to you.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), December 15, 2000.