Vent Injury w/ White Discharge

[ddboersma]

Hello!
I have a 22 wk old hen who has been laying for a little over 2 weeks. I’ve noticed a couple bloody eggs from her over the last few days, but didn’t think anything of it because she is a newer layer and they were bigger/double yolk eggs.
Today I noticed a bloody butt, and flockmates chasing after/pecking at her. I immediately removed her, rinsed her vent area and sprayed with Vetericyn Plus.
From what I can tell there is no prolapse, but everything around her vent is swollen and bloody. I believe they are wounds from hens pecking her. But I did notice she has a discharge oozing out. She did lay an egg today, so I would assume not egg bound.
She has only ever been fed scratch and peck organic starter crumbles and now layer pellets. No other food or scraps. They do not free range but live in a very large/covered run.
All the other hens are her same age and came together from Meyer Hatchery (15 total).
What could have caused this and what should I do? I read epsom salt bath, but fear the salt would hurt the wounds?
Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I would give her a clean up and inspect the vent really well just to be sure there is no prolapse. You may need to trim some of the feathers away from the vent just to help keep it cleaner.
Epsom salts soak can be used to help clean her up or if you wish use a mild soap/water and rinse well.

If her vent was damaged from picking, she may be leaking some urates, hopefully the damage is not too bad.
If there's no prolapsed tissue, then apply triple antibiotic ointment or vetericyn to the wounds.
IF there's a prolapse, then of course clean it all up as above, but be sure to keep exposed tissue moist with ointment, oil or honey. You can use triple antibiotic ointment if that's what you have, vaseline, anti-inflammatory cream, sugar pack - whatever just keep it moist, the tissue dries out, it will turn necrotic.

I would get extra calcium into her for 3-5 days. Calcium Citrate with D3 can be found at Walmart, CVS, etc. Just pop the tablet into her beak and let her swallow.
Keep her hydrated.

The feed, is it a crumble/pellet or a loose type feed where you see the individual ingredients? If a loose type food, sometimes a bird will pick out the things they like and leave the rest which can cause some nutritional deficiencies. Not saying this is the cause of the difficulties that she's having, just one thing to look at and see if it may be an issue.

Sometimes a pullet/hen may just be more prone to having trouble laying an egg. Having extra fat in the abdomen can be a problem. Or if she lays really large eggs, this can be too - nothing you can do about the size of an egg, it's just a "cause" of difficulties.

Hopefully she's doing o.k.

 

[ddboersma]

You’re the best, thank you for all of this helpful info!
Her bottom is looking better today. Lots of dried white discharge, so tried to clean that up some this morning and will rinse throughout the day.
Her food has always been crumbles or pellets, and she has laid a few bigger eggs.
Thanks again!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm glad to hear she's doing better.

That white discharge/urates can be a challenge to break up and remove from feathers and even the skin, so just work on it the best you can. The last thing you want is for flies to get on that area. In warm weather, maggots can emerge in about 24hrs and they will destroy tissue/skin, cause infection and perhaps death in a matter of days.
Not trying to scare you, you just don't want to have to deal with maggots on top of a wound, that's bad news.

 

[ddboersma]

Thank you so much! I am having a hard time getting it off her skin around her vent. It’s pretty well caked on there. She is not taking to soaking very well either, so I will keep working at it.
I noticed a fly in the house my garage where I had her so brought her in and have been monitoring.

 

[ddboersma]

I'm glad to hear she's doing better.

That white discharge/urates can be a challenge to break up and remove from feathers and even the skin, so just work on it the best you can. The last thing you want is for flies to get on that area. In warm weather, maggots can emerge in about 24hrs and they will destroy tissue/skin, cause infection and perhaps death in a matter of days.
Not trying to scare you, you just don't want to have to deal with maggots on top of a wound, that's bad news.

Can you tell me how long discharge/urates can typically continue? I’m having a hard time getting it off her skin right below her vent (caked on like cement). She is scabbing over where she was pecked and everything is less swollen. Just the continued discharge. She is starting to get depressed and won’t eat or drink. Not eggs or anything more appealing than pellets. I know I should put her in a protected cage in the run with the flock, but I was worried about flies finding her…and I have her close to me for ease of rinsing and soaking throughout the day. Anyway, guess I’m just wondering if this can last quite a while? Thank you!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Can you get photos?

Sounds like she's got some damage, so the discharge may continue until she heals up more.

Yes, it does cake like cement, it seems to adhere to damaged skin too which can make it tricky. Apply a little mineral oil or you can use coconut oil. This sometimes helps the crusty material loosen up, but don't be surprised if it's stuck to the skin and the skin bleeds, if that happens, stop and just apply your oils, keeping the crusty cement moist too.

Depressed because she's not outside or is there more to it? I'd definitely get the calcium into her. She may have an egg on the way and is not feeling the greatest. Even if she's not prolapsed now, she may have initially prolapsed and internal tissue was damaged.
It would be a good idea to feel inside the vent for an egg.

 

[ddboersma]

Can you get photos?

Sounds like she's got some damage, so the discharge may continue until she heals up more.

Yes, it does cake like cement, it seems to adhere to damaged skin too which can make it tricky. Apply a little mineral oil or you can use coconut oil. This sometimes helps the crusty material loosen up, but don't be surprised if it's stuck to the skin and the skin bleeds, if that happens, stop and just apply your oils, keeping the crusty cement moist too.

Depressed because she's not outside or is there more to it? I'd definitely get the calcium into her. She may have an egg on the way and is not feeling the greatest. Even if she's not prolapsed now, she may have initially prolapsed and internal tissue was damaged.
It would be a good idea to feel inside the vent for an egg.

I am not home and will get a photo soon. I felt her crop this morning and it’s squishy. So now we are most likely dealing with sour crop as well. I picked her up to rinse her bottom. Her head was tilted down and her bottom up, and she regurgitated warm liquid all over.
I stood her upright immediately and could hear gurgling in her crop…so this is most likely why she is acting depressed and not eating.
I tried massaging her crop a little bit and she seemed very uncomfortable, as if it was tender.
With my previous flock I had one case of sour crop and while massaging she vomited and died…so I am not looking forward to attempting to help this one. ‍♀
Is this and the urate discharge related? I have no idea what she could have eaten living in a run with sand and only chicken feed being consumed. Do the yogurt and apple cider vinegar blurbs I read about really help? Or does she really just need her crop emptied? Sorry for all the questions! And thank you! I will apply the coconut oil after next washing.

 

[ddboersma]

Can you get photos?

Sounds like she's got some damage, so the discharge may continue until she heals up more.

Yes, it does cake like cement, it seems to adhere to damaged skin too which can make it tricky. Apply a little mineral oil or you can use coconut oil. This sometimes helps the crusty material loosen up, but don't be surprised if it's stuck to the skin and the skin bleeds, if that happens, stop and just apply your oils, keeping the crusty cement moist too.

Depressed because she's not outside or is there more to it? I'd definitely get the calcium into her. She may have an egg on the way and is not feeling the greatest. Even if she's not prolapsed now, she may have initially prolapsed and internal tissue was damaged.
It would be a good idea to feel inside the vent for an egg.

 

[ddboersma]

This is after being washed once this morning. I left water only in her cage when I left the house (with a little apple cider vinegar in it). I don’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing. And crop def feels quishier, as I can tell she’s drank some water (I’m keeping track).