I had a 7 week old underweight keet with a severely distended belly and covered in white poo. It's was a bit dehydrated and gasping for breath too. The keet didn't make it and I did a necropsy and also emailed with Dr. Eva Pendleton at Penn State.

Not sure if the problem is a blockage in the digestive system or if it's eaten something toxic or what the problem is. I had thought it might be a ruptured air sac. The keet was severely underweight and was having a very difficult time breathing. It was running a pretty high temperature and had white poo all over it's backside. I put it in a confinement cage with food and electrolyte water. It ate a huge amount of food but wasnt drinking. It was having a really hard time breathing with the swollen belly. The belly didn't feel like it was full of air.. felt more like full of water. If I pushed on it a bit, some green poo would come out. Keet really fought me on this so I figured it was some sort of digestive issue. Keet was totally dehydrated and wasn't eating. Wasn't able to pass much poo either, just white [urine].

Anyway, keet was in really bad shape and died while I was holding it. It took me about 20 minutes to get everything ready for the necropsy. (Which I performed in front of my summer nterns and had them take loads of pictures). The moment I opened up the belly, I could see that the ceca were both absolutely huge, full, bubbling. The ceca were about 5 inches long and 2 inches across (normal size is about 1.5 inches long and 1/5 inch across. All organs looked fine except there was very little weight on it. I took samples from the vent area,ceca, crop and mid section of the bowel. I only have a crappy high school microscope but was able to see several types of bacteria.

I emailed a few photos of the necropsy to the vet professors at Penn State and Eva wrote back with her opinions... It wasn't getting enough feed and possibly ate a huge amount of dry grass (I had just released them a few days prior and this group has about 45 keets in it) It probably was being kept away from the feeder and not getting enough food, when I let them out, it gorged itself on the dry grass (there is NOTHING here that is green except my garden which is off limits to the birds) This gorging on dry grass would have shut down the digestive system. Then a bacterial infection started (maybe cocci) and the poor bird bloated up in the cecum, which kept the system shut down. With the condition of the bird, it most likely wouldn't have survived even if I could get the infection taken care of.

I took samples from four areas: crop, gizzard, cecum, vent and looked at them under the microscope. There was alot of activity in there but I don't have a chart to know exactly what I was looking at.

I did not open the entire intestine from top to bottom and inspect all areas for lesions, worms, etc. but should have and will do so the next time I perform a necropsy.

The vet's findings indicate a "starve-out" (a keet that wasn't getting enough feed) which gorged itself on the dry grass causing a blockage. This shut down the digestive system, weakening the keet and causing an infection to take hold.

1. The keet laid out on it's back. You can see the bloated abdomen.





2. I have cut the skin and pulled it up and away from the body.





3. Examining the swollen abdomen after skin is removed.





4. Cutting into the membrane's just below the rib cage.





5. Here I have cut into the ribs along either side and pulled up on the sternum to gain access to the body cavity. The silvery/blue thing on the right hand side is the gizzard.





6. Intestines, bowel, liver, gizzard and cecum are visable here. Also note that the bird was very dehydrated (look at the legs and feet).





7. Another view of the intestines.





8. Removing the membrane from the second ceca. Note the size of the ceca that is already free of the membrance.





9. Here's the problem... Bacterial infection in the ceca. Normal size is tiny compaired to this.





10. It was a female. See the slight yellow stain center top of the photo? That is her ovary. I'm holding the gizzard.





11. Gizzard contents.





12. The crop. This bird was put in confinement with feed and water two days before it passed. It was eating, but wasn't able to digest any feed.





13. The inside of the crop. Flexible and normal looking, so this wasn't a case of crop blockage or yeast infection. Note the windpipe (it looks and feels like a flexible drinking straw.





14. The contents of one of the ceca.