Deaths of 24 chicken in Bathinivaripalli prompt necropsy

TIRUPATI: Bathinivaripalli village in Puthalapattu mandal of Chittoor district has come into focus following the deaths 24 chicken, their owner lodging a complaint, and police registering a case.

The incident came to light when Subhashini, a resident of Bathinivaripalli, who has been rearing chicken in her backyard, lodged a complaint with Puthalapattu police about 24 of 30 chicken she has been rearing suddenly dying within the past few days.

Subhashini went on to mention that she had seen her neighbour Shyamala applying urea and pesticides to her saplings. Subhashini went on to allege that the pesticides have led to the death of her chicken. She wants legal action taken against Shyamala.

Puthalapattu police station has registered a case. Its station house officer (SHO) M. Ram Bhupal told Deccan Chronicle that police are committed to thoroughly investigate all complaints. He revealed that the chicken carcasses have been sent to a local veterinarian for a necropsy—a procedure akin to human autopsy—to determine the actual cause of death.

Veterinarian Dr. Geetha Reddy performed the necropsy on Tuesday. Her findings and samples of chicken have been forwarded to the Regional Forensic Science Laboratory (RFSL) in Vijayawada for further analysis. A report is expected within the next five days, SHO Ram Bhupal said.

The distressed owner of the birds said, "We have been nurturing 30 hens at our residence. In recent days, they started dying one after another. So far, 24 have perished. We suspect the hens are perishing due to ingestion of urea our neighbours are using.”

Local veterinarian Dr. Ramesh Kumar said pinpointing the cause of sudden chicken deaths will be a challenge. "Chicken are adept at concealing signs of illness. Their death can be notoriously abrupt. It will be possible to determine the cause only after a thorough examination of the necropsy report and forensic analysis of the deceased hens," the vet added.