Bacterial Osteomyelitis in a 3-Week-Old Broiler Chicken Associated With Enterococcus hirae

Enterococcus hirae infections are reported to cause growth depression, encephalomalacia, endocarditis, and septicemia in chickens. This report describes osteomyelitis in the proximal femur of a 3-week-old broiler chicken that also suffered from valvular endocarditis and liver necrosis. Histologically, clusters of gram-positive coccoid bacteria were found in many organs, including bone lesions. In tissues from 5 of 6 examined chickens from the same flock, E hirae was isolated in large numbers. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of spontaneous bacterial osteomyelitis where E hirae was cultured from bone and where coccoid bacteria consistent with Enterococcus spp were simultaneously demonstrated within bone lesions.