Egg yolk peritonitis in a black swan: A case report

Abstract

Egg yolk peritonitis, sometimes referred as egg peritonitis and is a common condition seen in poultry, from the point of lay onwards. A black swan from a private farm was presented for postmortem examination to the Department of Veterinary Pathology, College of Veterinary Science, Hyderabad. History revealed anorexia, pale comb, reluctance to move, poor feather condition, diarrhea, weakness and death. Egg peritonitis was diagnosed based on gross necropsy findings and bacterial culture test. Necropsy examination of affected swan revealed the presence of amorphous or insipissiated yolk material in the abdominal cavity with inflammatory changes in the ovary, oviduct and intestine. The Escherichia coli organisms were identified based on lactose fermenting pink colored round, smooth and glistening colonies on Mac Conkey’s agar and black metallic sheen colonies on eosin methylene blue agar.