Silkie Chicken Died - Intestines Came out ? & one w/ White Caked Vent

[TeresaT]

I had a sillkie chicken, I think it was a male, not 100% sure since it was only about 4 months old. He was in kind of close quarters with its siblings and they started pecking at one another, I think because I was using a white heat lamp instead of red. I switched to red a week ago and they seemed to be growing their feathers back (the ones that were being pecked at). So yesterday I went down to feed them and there was one dead. He didnt show any symptoms before hand (that I noticed). It was just lying there and its intestines were hanging out of its vent (probably like a total of 6" of intestines). How could this happen and what could cause it? Should I be concerned for the others?

I inspected all the others and found one has white caked all around its vent. I feel bad because I have not been paying much attention to them, just feeding and watering everyday and making sure their area is clean and warm. (Just had my first baby 2 months ago so have been getting used to everything) Once this one died I inspected them and found this one. I tried rinsing it under warm water and rubbing it, most of it comes off but all around the vent it is like the white stuff is so caked on that as I tried to get it off, it wants to take skin with it. It looks swollen and red in the center. There is also some white kind of oozing out a little bit too. What could this be? I feed them layena medicated chick starter grower feed still.

Please let me know what you guys think!

Thanks.

 

[TeresaT]

Does anyone have experience with these two issues? I really need to help the one with the white stuff coming from her vent. I am pretty sure she is a girl. It is not egg white, she is still too young to be a layer. It just oozes out. I have given her yogurt and boiled egg smashed up. What else could I do, what could it be?

 

[chickerdoodle]

Sorry, I am not an expert but certainly keep her indoors, warm, did she eat the egg and yogurt? Give her water with electrolytes and vitamins. How is she acting? Does she want to eat? Is she active and acting normal? Any pictures of them? Go get the sticky on illness and answer all the questions and repost. I hope an expert chimes in soon

.

 

[Lolita]

So sorry for your loss

I have no answer but hope that the knowledgeable ones see this.

 

[kathyinmo]

That sounds like lice.... white caked on at the vent. Lice, mites, worms ... all these things can take a bird down, and ultimately kill them.
Read these threads, for directions to treat ...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=226143

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=2525157#p2525157

 

[TeresaT]

Thank you for the replies so far.

I don't think its mites, but I will take a picture when my DH gets home so he can hold her while I take the photo, and will seven/DE dust her just in case. Here is the info requested.

1) What type of bird , age and weight.
Silkie, 4 months, Kind of Thin
2) What is the behavior, exactly.
Always hungry, seems to be fine other than her rear is oozing white stuff and it is caked on. The ooze seems to come from the outer crust and not directly out of the vent, but her vent is swollen and red and protruding a little (puckered) so I am not sure 100% where it comes from. But I clean her every couple of hours because it builds up after a while.
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?
Only noticed yesterday.
4) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
No
5) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
She was in with other chicks when they were born and were on shavings, we moved them since to a wire bottomed cage with more room. It was kind of crowded before hand and there was pecking on the rear ends.
6) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
She has been eating boiled egg and yogurt mixed several times a day, its all of it very quickly and I assume she is drinking but I havent seen her do it.
7) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
Poop is runny, medium brown (probably b/c of the egg and yogurt?)
8) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
Separated her from the rest of the chickens into a crate in my garage, she is warm in there, given egg and yogurt and cleaned her but up a little bit. There is crust all around her vent that will not come off and it looks like it will take skin with it if I scrape too hard.
9 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?
I will have to treat it myself. I can get anything from TSC, or a local feed store.
10) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
I will do that this evening.
11) Describe the housing/bedding in use
Currently she is in a crate, but she was in a wire bottom cage, no bedding except for some hay up above where nest boxes are. They were not even using the nest boxes yet.

Any help would be appreciated. When I rinse/wash her vent area, there seems to be a constant slight ooze of white liquid coming from around the vent. It does not look like lice/mites, but i will treat for it anyways. She eats like she hasnt eaten in forever, always hungry. I keep rinsing her back end, but really the stuff around her vent will not come off without taking skin, it has made it crusty and looks like a white scab around her vent. I think this is probably because I didnt notice it for a while so who knows how long she has had this condition. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[chickerdoodle]

Try checking this thread:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=226459&p=2

It may be yeast or an infection. Perhaps the other chicken was sadly pecked to death?

 

[cochin44]

I need help with this too. Found 3 chicks dead today, 1 still alive with white on his butt. Intestines out of the dead ones.

 

[max101]

You mentioned close quarters
How close??
Over crowding 4 month olds can create numerous problems

Have you separated the sick one

 

[Speckly Sarah]

I noticed the same thing with one of my red hens yesterday, hence I am on here looking for information. I watched "Martha" for a while and when she had a poo, the small protruding bit of intestine seemed to go back inside. I will keep an eye on her but hopefully that's solved itself. Sorry to hear about your bantom though. However, I found this and thought it might help anyone else who has the same sort of problem:

The following is from "The Chicken Health Handbook" by Gail Damerow ISBN: 0-88266-611-8.

"Prolapsed Oviduct, also called "blowout" or "pickout" is a condition in which the lower part of the hen's oviduct turns inside out and protrudes through the vent. Prolapse occurs most often when a hen starts laying at too young an age, is too fat, or lays unusually large eggs. Caught in time, the prolapse can sometimes be reversed by applying a hemorrhoidal cream (such as Preparation H) and isolating the hen until she approves. Otherwise, the other chickens will pick at her vent, eventually pulling out her oviduct and intestines and causing the hen to die from hemorrhage and shock. Not all vent picking is due to prolapse, but instead may result from faulty management - feeders, waterers and roosts may be positioned in such a way that birds below can pick on the vents of birds above."