Possible vent gleet

[Kedwar72]

Hi everyone!

Anxious first time chicken over here….

I have three 5 month old pullets and one just started laying this week. They are all about the same age and I think my other two are about to start because they have been very vocal and their combs/waddles are more red.

Anyway, one of my pullets who has not yet started laying had small amounts of white dried up poop/paste on her feathers under her vent. I did my own research and read about vent gleet. I just cleaned her up (should have taken a photo first but the white substance was very scant, not much at all and not smelly other than normal poop smell). The vent itself isn’t red at all and doesn’t appear to be causing her pain. She’s eating and drinking like normal and vocal, crop is normal, and she appears to be her normal self aside from the few drops of white substance on her bottom.

Does this sound like vent gleet or maybe just a little dry poop? I gave acv and nutridrench in some scrambled eggs this morning and all three of them ate well.

Thank you so much in advance!!

 

[azygous]

Probably not vent gleet which is pretty unmistakable with its rank odor and profuse chalky saturation of the butt fluff.

It's often caused by feeding moldy fruit and veggies.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Agreed, it doesn't sound like Vent Gleet. Sounds more like some poop/urates getting stuck in butt fluff. Some girls need to be cleaned periodically if they are extra fluffy, poop sticks in the feathers.

 

[Eggcessive]

ACV really doesn’t help anything. As long as she is eating and drinking well, she doesn’t need NutriDrench. That can add to diarrhea if used more than a couple of days. In most flocks there is usually one that may have a poopy vent problem. Just keep it cleaned off, since it can attract flies in warm weather, and potentially cause flystrike. Some chickens drink more water and that can cause runny poops.

 

[Kedwar72]

Probably not vent gleet which is pretty unmistakable with its rank odor and profuse chalky saturation of the butt fluff.

It's often caused by feeding moldy fruit and veggies.

Okay thank you for this information! Mine have definitely not been fed any of that.

 

[Kedwar72]

ACV really doesn’t help anything. As long as she is eating and drinking well, she doesn’t need NutriDrench. That can add to diarrhea if used more than a couple of days. In most flocks there is usually one that may have a poopy vent problem. Just keep it cleaned off, since it can attract flies in warm weather, and potentially cause flystrike. Some chickens drink more water and that can cause runny poops.

Good to know, thank you! She is normal looking today but I will keep in mind to clean her.

 

[Kedwar72]

Agreed, it doesn't sound like Vent Gleet. Sounds more like some poop/urates getting stuck in butt fluff. Some girls need to be cleaned periodically if they are extra fluffy, poop sticks in the feathers.

This makes sense. She does have very fluffy feathers in that area. I feel silly for worrying!

 

[Debbie292d]

This makes sense. She does have very fluffy feathers in that area. I feel silly for worrying!

I have one hen that gets horrible this way. About twice a year hubby and I tag team this by getting her out of the coop at night, then using a kitchen scissors, cut everything off we can. Then bring her in and stick her in the sink with warm soapy water, pulling off what we can. When done, we cut back there even more, towel dry, blow dry, put back in the coop.

This only needs to be done about two times a year, three at most. I feed them fermented feed so they get lots of probiotics/prebiotics and I believe it helps, but she's some cochin/silkie mutt bird donated to me years ago and she just has always been this way.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

This makes sense. She does have very fluffy feathers in that area. I feel silly for worrying!

Nah, you're not worrying, just paying attention

 

[Loving my girls]

This makes sense. She does have very fluffy feathers in that area. I feel silly for worrying!

Don’t ever feel silly for worrying, it’s a natural instinct for people who care.