Cecal and hepatic granulomas of unknown etiology in chickens.

One hundred and seventy-nine outbreaks of cecal and hepatic granulomas were diagnosed in small flocks of 3-to-7-month-old chickens in Saskatchewan between 1968 and 1981. The lesions were generally found at slaughter in the autumn. Outbreaks were widely distributed in farming areas in the province. The granulomas were either rough or smooth and were commonly confined to the liver and ceca but were also found in some outbreaks in the spleen, lung, mesentery, heart, kidney, and pancreas. The cause of the granulomas is unknown. Most granulomas were sterile on the basis of routine bacterial culture, but either Escherichia coli or a mixed flora of bacteria was isolated from some others. Acid-fast organisms and fungal elements have never been demonstrated using special histological stains.