Chicken butt problems - cant find any info online!!!!

[seminolewind]

Look she isnt a family pet really, just here for the gardens and the eggs. I couldn't kill her myself though, I don't have it in me. I'd rather try everything possible before I take her to the vet to get put down.. I felt around the area and it was mostly just clear fluid which we let out. I couldn't feel any hard masses when I was draining the area. I have seen my chickens pass things exactly the same as in that link, probably about the size of my thumb. She is still pooing and they look quite healthy. It honestly looks like she has pooed got it stuck in her bum feathers and it has become fly blown, the area has become hard with dead tissue as you said and because of the maggots her body has started secreting lymph to the area. Could this be a possibility? Also we are in Australia, do you know how much it would cost to put her down at a vet? Please dont think I am silly I just cannot snap her neck or bear the thought of someone else doing it either.

I think you're right on here.

If that's a scab, fine. But if need be, you can peel some away and see what's underneath. I am sorry to say that I had noticed that my hen

had fly strike and I cleaned it and put ointment on it, and then a day later she died from EYP. Yes I did open her up and look.

I am wondering if she has that liquid in her true abdomen or not? Could be she has infection under that mess or it's been eaten deeper than you think. I might think about pulling that scab off and cleaning the area and put ointment on it and let it heal clean at least. If she has ascites or EYP her abdomen should be heavy, big, hard, or like jello.

 

[Thegoodwife]

Well she made it through the night. Once again the black area is looking even SMALLER, soaked her in warm salty water this morning and cleaned the area. No maggots, she is eating and drinking lots and is just resting in her cage. Its quite a warm day here so she is inside away from the flies and the heat. Will keep you updated on how she is going.

 

[Thegoodwife]

@ seminole wind I think you have hit the nail on the head. I think it is a fly blown wound with dead skin over it and the liquid in under the superficial layer of skin. It is like a balloon and is not hard at all, I have felt through around the are for any EYP and cannot find any. I phoned the vet yesterday and they said it would be $40 to have her put down, I only paid $5 for her in the first place. Not that I don't regard her life as important and I mostly certainly dont want her to suffer but while I am seeing some improvement I am going to save the money and keep trying to help her.

 

[MandyFitch]

Following this thread. Thanks for the updates.

 

[Eggcessive]

How is she doing today. I'm glad the maggots are gone, and that the dead tissue is getting smaller. I would be surprised if that wasn't ascites fluid from how thin it was and the amount. Is she eating and drinking still? Is she passing droppings okay? If you would like to try giving her antibiotics, the Procaine Penicillin G may help as a shot daily for 4 days in the breast muscle. Or Gallimycin (Erythromycin) or Aureomycin (chlortetracycline) in her water might help some with any abdominal infection. Keep us updated on her condition, and she is lucky to have you taking care of her.

 

[seminolewind]

@ seminole wind I think you have hit the nail on the head. I think it is a fly blown wound with dead skin over it and the liquid in under the superficial layer of skin. It is like a balloon and is not hard at all, I have felt through around the are for any EYP and cannot find any. I phoned the vet yesterday and they said it would be $40 to have her put down, I only paid $5 for her in the first place. Not that I don't regard her life as important and I mostly certainly dont want her to suffer but while I am seeing some improvement I am going to save the money and keep trying to help her.

I'm so glad that nasty thing is healing. I was quite shocked when I found my hen with it. I would have never expected seeing that ever!

I think with your care and it looking like it's healing, you may want to hold off on antibiotics.

Now, in the beginning you said she wasn't like a family pet, but your actions sure tell that you may be getting attached to the girl. How sweet!!!

 

[Thegoodwife]

Eggcessive I havent got her antibiotics yet but if she makes it to the weekend I will.

Well heres the update - I found the wound on friday night and removed all the maggots drained the wound and cleaned it. I have kept her inside since then with only a few short times in the garden to get some sun. I have drained the wound another 2 times with only minimal (maybe 30ml) of fluid the second time and even less the second time. I did not drain any fluid yesterday and today (Tuesday) I cannot see there being any fluid to drain. I have been cleaning the wound with a syringe and salty warm water. The area is still shrinking, went from the size of about a tennis ball to the size of a golf ball. Because the area is mainly dead skin is looks like a shrivelled up prune. I was cleaning the area this morning and the edges of the dead skin have started pulling off and there is fresh skin underneath. She is eating and drinking but is very lethargic, sleeping a lot and keeping her neck pulled in. She is still pooing and wasn't eating the pellets and sunflower seeds I gave her so I made up some weet bix mash with powdered milk and she LOVES it. She seems to enjoy her water bottle too which my chickens don't usually drink from. She likes to pick at it for water. I put some blackberry juice in with the water because I read that it can give the chickens a bit of a boost if they are sick. She also has some fresh water in a bowl if she wants it.

So I am pretty surprised that she has made it this far but I am happy to keep putting in the work.

On a side note when I was really worried on friday night I contacted a hen rescue and got two replies back telling me that I didn't know what I was doing and to get her to the vet immediately and if I didn't have the money for this kind of thing I shouldn't have taken on an animal and if it were my dog would I let it suffer in this way. I also got told that I could ask friends for money. I actually have the money to take this chicken to the vet but I honestly don't think she has higher intelligence that we are not recognising. Of coarse I never want to see her suffer and I will do everything to make sure she is comfortable but I cannot see the point in spending hundreds of $$$ to save an animal that I am eating for dinner every night. I tried to go vegetarian for a while there, only eating fish and free range RSPCA approved chicken but I got very light headed and decided it wasn't a good idea (especially because we are trying to conceive and don't want to hurt the baby if and when it happens) Sooooo I had to deal with that. BTW I actually spent $3000 saving my dog a few years back so I wouldn't let my dog suffer in this way (not sure what way they think the chicken is suffering when they haven't actually seen her) I think in my head there is a hierarchy in the animal kingdom and chickens matter but not as much as a dog.

 

[seminolewind]

What's kinda weird is that maggots are used in wounds to clean up infections (on people). That's why I feel that you may not need an antibiotic as long as she's healing and acting normal. I think you are treating just fine. I'd be doing the same.

 

[seminolewind]

Everyone has their limit on how much money they want to spend or not, and whether it includes the vet or not. I don't think anyone has to feel bad about their decisions. There's a lot of treatment that a vet can't do any more than you are doing.

 

[Thegoodwife]

Well the wound is healing and she is eating and drinking but is still lethargic so I will let her take her time and keep her away from flies and the heat until she is better.