2 Hens with Matted Rears. Help!

[Lov'emSouthernEggs]

Well! I'm a new chicken owner but I have read the books and done the research and have hit a wall...

We have 22 laying hens and 1 rooster. When we first brought them home they had the runs. We figured it was stress and choose to wait and watch for them to settle in. It has been two weeks now and some of them still have the runs. Every one's eyes are clear and bright, combs are bright red and standing up, feathers are good, smooth, clean, beaks are good, nostrils clear, no cough, no sneezing, eating and drinking well. All seem to be laying well. (We have one that lays soft shell eggs.)

Ok. Remember runny poo...Today we found one of our hens dead. No signs of an attack, no blood, no drainage. I have checked them tonight and the poo under the roosts seem healthy, didn't see any runny but two hens have matted feathers on their back sides. One of them has (what looks like) yolk draining from her vent, and the other just has matted feathers. I can't find any clear answers to this.

Should I treat with an antibiotic? Should I treat them for parisites? Both? They seem fine other than the matted rears.

Sorry this is so long. My questions is...Why the matting on the back feathers?

Thanks So Much!

 

[NotTheMomma]

Lice

Dust the ENTIRE FLOCK with seven dust. Repeat in 10 days. Dust coop and runs as well.

Good luck
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Try feeding the flock some milk with their feed. Soak the feed in the milk, and when it's crumbly in texture. feed it. It should help with the runs since no one is acting sick.

Lice will kill so dont' delay treatment too long.

Huggles

 

[Lov'emSouthernEggs]

Thank you so much!

 

[vixchix]

So, how in the world do lice cause matted vent feathers? I logged in today with the very same question. 3 out of 8 of my hens have been having matted vent feathers, too. One of them has a blue-tinged comb and bluish legs. Makes sense now because she's probably losing blood, right? I guess I just don't understand the connection between lice and the matted booties.
Oh-and I have some parasite powder, but it says not to apply directly to the chickens, but in the coop itself. Would this be effective or should I get some 7 dust?

 

[Lov'emSouthernEggs]

I have checked my whole flock. Not a lice or Mite in site. My one hen now has bloody discharge and my other hen's tail is really drooping. I'm really worried about them. The one hen with the bloody discharge seems to have a swollen vent. Looks like a donut on her rear. Sorry, best way to discribe it.

Please! Can anyone tell me with I should do. I have an antibiotic...what about this whole Preperation H thing I keep reading? I'm afraid they won't make it through the night.

Color is still red and pink on both.

I'm at a loss...

 

[NotTheMomma]

Ok, not lice then! Good!!

Swollen vent, could it be egg bound? Sounds like the donut you're seeing is a prolapse, meaning the vent is OUTSIDE the body.

Do a search on here for that and see if that sounds like what she has.

The runny poop could be from the questionable egg bound. Could also be Cocci or something else.

I'd work on the prolapse first, and then try to find out what else, if anything is going on.

HUGS!

 

[Msbear]

sorry to hear about that. wish I could be more help.

I know that the knits from lice cause the matted feathers under the vent. It's whitish like powdery.

Im not sure if the bloody stool or discharge would be because of lice but I know that lice and mites can weaken the immune system and leave the birds suseptible to many things. You may have a secondary illness.

Im sure someone with more info will be on here to help. In the mean time, google, google and google

 

[NotTheMomma]

Quote:
Sometimes when the chickens have lice, the eggs are layed near the vent and makes the feathers lump together. Diarrhea will sometimes make it matted as well as pasty butt.

Sevin dust is what I've read most here use for lice infection. You'll notice them if you go out when they are roosting, pick a chick up and use a flash light to look for them near the vent, and under the wings.

If you do a search on here for lice you'll find a wealth of knowledge.

You might want to make a separate thread if you don't see lice on yours. Blue comb, and legs doesn't sound good at all!

 

[karen71]

The bump sounds like prolapse -
I read about as I have a hen with it-
some use Preperation H and your have to push it back in and some use honey
I choose the Prep h as sounds like a hemmoroid type thing-
good luck

 

[Lov'emSouthernEggs]

Husband checked chickens this morning and all still there. Color looks good.

After some up close looking last night...My RIR hen has a prolapse...will get some Prep H and try to put it back.

My WLH doesn't seem to have a prolapse but the area seems swollen and there is a lot of drainage. Started out yellow, egg like and now it is red. Drips consistantly. Any suggestions?

Also, we have a few eggs that are blood covered. How normal is this and could this have to do with any of these other problems?

I value all this help and support so much!