Vent Gleet or ascites? Please help!

[Chloejay]

Hi all,

I neeD urgent help to try and figure out what is wrong with one of my girls and how to fix it! I’ve done a lot of online research but am not sure if Shae has vent gleet, ascites or egg yolk Peritonitis as her symptoms do not completely match any of them. I’d rather try and treat her myself before taking her to a vet as there are none close by.

so I have three chickens all are 14 months old. Shae is the only one with any symptoms. She has a dirty bottom, she poos normally but some of her poos are runny and she gets it on her feathers around her vent (which lead me to trim them for hygiene). The area around her vent is also swollen. The swelling is soft, feels like liquid is in there, I examined it to see if I could feel an egg and couldn’t. The skin around her vent appears normal, perhaps slightly pale. Her behaviour is unchanged, she’s still talkative, socially active, eating and drinking normally, laying eggs and her feathers, comb and wattles appear normal and healthy.

I’ve attached two photos one is of her rear and the other is a side pic that shows her swelling (note how low her feathers are hanging around the vent area, this is because of the swelling).

i should also mention that I have started giving her apple cider vinegar, garlic and probiotics in case it’s gleet.

Please help. Any advice is welcome. I don’t want Shae to be sick

thanks in advance,
Chloe.

 

[micstrachan]

Well, the fact that she’s acting fine is a good sign. Can you tell if the swelling is from fluid? Or could it be accumulation of fat? What do you feed your flock? I ask because I have had some issues with excess fat on my birds, even though I thought I was very good with not providing too many treats. Sometimes they can have a fat pad on the back side, beneath the vent. If the obdomen of the hen is protruding beyond the vent, it’s normal to accumulate poop there.

 

[Chloejay]

Well, the fact that she’s acting fine is a good sign. Can you tell if the swelling is from fluid? Or could it be accumulation of fat? What do you feed your flock? I ask because I have had some issues with excess fat on my birds, even though I thought I was very good with not providing too many treats. Sometimes they can have a fat pad on the back side, beneath the vent. If the obdomen of the hen is protruding beyond the vent, it’s normal to accumulate poop there.

hi,
Thanks for your response. The swelling appears to be liquid. I feed them primary a pallet feed called Red Hen, it’s meant to have all the nutrients they need and has 17% protein. I also occasionally give them treats like oats and veg like grated carrot, cucumber, cabbage, kale or zucchini.

 

[janiedoe]

Following.

 

[Kajoda929]

Following myself...Hope she's ok

 

[Chloejay]

So I took Shae to the vet and they weren’t sure. She definitely has ascites but they are not sure if it is ovarian cancer, liver issues or some other ovary issue. They want to put an implant in her and take some blood tests, drain the fluid and give medication. I cannot afford all of these procedures, so need to choose what I do carefully. The implant is for the ovarian issue (that she may not have). When the vet took a sample from the fluid it was clear, so not egg Peritonitis. Does anyone know what causes clear fluid in ascites? Any info would be hugely helpful as it would help me rule out some of the options the vet has given me. Thanks in advance !!