Postmortem findings of ostriches submitted to the Oklahoma Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory

A review of 121 ostrich necropsies from the files at the Oklahoma Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory was conducted. The birds ranged in age from unhatched embryos to 4 years; the majority were less than 3 weeks old. The most common cause of death was ostrich chick fading syndrome (OCFS). OCFS is characterized by depression, anorexia, and death 3-5 days after onset of clinical signs in ostriches less than 3 weeks old. Escherichia coli and/or Klebsiella pneumoniae were isolated from various organs in these cases, and mortality ranged from 40% to 100%. Other conditions observed were edema in chicks associated with high incubator humidity levels, aspergillosis, leg deformities, and impaction of the proventriculus.