Poopy butt on 4 year old

Little red needs to have a soak in epson salt about once a week to keep her clean. We've also clipped her feathers back a little. We've treated for yeast infection. this has been going on for about 6 months. She gets prolapsed every so often and anything stress full happening (new c oop, new pullets, ect) and she drops eggs without shells. We've been lucky so far that none of our girls go after the prolapse, so knock on wood, we've not had any signs of infection, blood or anything.

She's very perky, food being her number one concern all the time and follows us around if she even thinks we will hand out treats. She used to go broody on us all the time, but so far she hasn't this year at all. She lays eggs almost daily, and keeps up with the one year old sex link in egg laying, so thats a lot of eggs, probably 6 a week. They are tiny, but she is a bantam wynadotte.

She's been treated for worms back when she first started getting the issue and we treated for mites. I can't think of anything else to do. It kinda drives me nuts, I know she hates being washed so often, but I'm not sure what else to do. She can't be left with it. Does any one have any chickens with similar issues or have any ideas on how to relieve the issue?

Your Little Red is very pretty! So you're bathing her often because her butt area gets poopy? Just watch for blood feathers (new feathers freshly growing will bleed like crazy if cut), but I would trim the fuzz below her vent as close as you can safely do so. My wyandotte hen has ALWAYS battled poopy-butt (she's seven years old) - for some birds, it just comes down to the way they squat...not at the right angle maybe? So a little gets on the feathers...and then a little more...and soon enough it's a big clump back there.

Anyhow, trimming the butt fuzz as close as possible should help, so maybe she can reduce her baths to once a month or so???

As for the prolapse...there's no answer for that really as far as I know

Do make sure that oyster shell is available free choice - to help with egg issues. But some chickens just have a messed up egg tract. I have a little serama that laid two perfect eggs when she first began laying. It's been nothing but jello eggs or tissue paper eggs since then, and she's almost five yrs. old. So they can live a good life even if their egg tracts aren't healthy.

I wish I had answers for you...

Help i just had to shot my 4yr old hen. She had same issue with the poop and we cut her feathers to help keep her clean but she never started walking right. This morning we found her laying out in yard her butt was like huge and she had worm attached all over her. So we had no choise but to shoot her now i am worried about the others. I am cleaning there house and spraying with bleach. And checking each of the other ones. And suggestions

teach1rusl said:

Your Little Red is very pretty! So you're bathing her often because her butt area gets poopy? Just watch for blood feathers (new feathers freshly growing will bleed like crazy if cut), but I would trim the fuzz below her vent as close as you can safely do so. My wyandotte hen has ALWAYS battled poopy-butt (she's seven years old) - for some birds, it just comes down to the way they squat...not at the right angle maybe? So a little gets on the feathers...and then a little more...and soon enough it's a big clump back there.

Anyhow, trimming the butt fuzz as close as possible should help, so maybe she can reduce her baths to once a month or so???

As for the prolapse...there's no answer for that really as far as I know

Do make sure that oyster shell is available free choice - to help with egg issues. But some chickens just have a messed up egg tract. I have a little serama that laid two perfect eggs when she first began laying. It's been nothing but jello eggs or tissue paper eggs since then, and she's almost five yrs. old. So they can live a good life even if their egg tracts aren't healthy.

I wish I had answers for you...

Click to expand...

Thank you. I think I need to get more serious on the clipping her feathers under her vent. We always have oyster shell available, and her eggs with shells are always nice and thick shelled. Drives me nuts, I can't stand seeing poop on the butt. Ruins her cute little bottom.

Chickenstat-sounds like yours have worms. I would treat the whole flock. Here is a thread that has a lot of worming info: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/401475/worming-with-valbazen/70

thank you so much for the post i am so worried for the others. She was one of my first ones and my son who is now 17 didnt want to loose her but she was infested with them. I will check the site. Am I doing the right thing by bleaching everything?

I wish i would have taken a picture of her because these worms were actually eating her
skin and also some were attached to her. My son tried to wash them off but didnt really help.
They were white about 1/4" long. Yuck so bad!

chickensat15 said:

I wish i would have taken a picture of her because these worms were actually eating her
skin and also some were attached to her. My son tried to wash them off but didnt really help.
They were white about 1/4" long. Yuck so bad!

Click to expand...

If the worms were eating her, then those were maggots. So she must have had an infection of some kind (possibly started by a prolapse or pecked wound???) - flies will lay their eggs in infected tissue and the maggots will hatch. I would not worry about the others in your flock other than inspecting them to make sure they are heatlhy with no obvious wounds or areas that might be infected.

thank you so much i was thinking maybe magots but was hoping not. We will be doing major
cleaning of there house and the other hens today!

Do a google search on fly strike and see if that's what it looked like - I'm betting your case was similar.

I unfortunately dealt with fly strike once when a chicken of mine had a poopy butt for too long. Next thing I know, the strike turned into a giant mass of maggots. Stomach turning.

I would be happy to post a pic if you're interested but it's NSFW to be sure.