Ambiguous condition, vent gleet? worms? possibly a combination?

[FastEddy22]

One of my hens has had something going on, but I'm not sure what. I noticed one day that she had some butt cement going on, so my first thought was vent gleet. She has been acting well enough and bright, eating and drinking.

I brought her in, cleaned her up, and started offering some yogurt. Just after I had bathed her, she pooped on the floor and it was watery and green. I was not on super high alert at that because it had been a bit hot so they were drinking water and they had just had greens for treats a couple times. I noticed it a bit the next day, but didn't see it after, so I passed it off a bit.

This morning, I saw that she had some cement going on again, so I said ok, brought her in, bathed her, clipped some feathers. I also applied some topical antifungal to the vent area. She had a bit of unflavored Greek yogurt as well and I decided I have to start adding ACV to the water (I know many people do this all the time, which I may).

She again pooped in the bathroom and it was that green color. I Googled it and saw that it could be an indicator of worms. I checked the poop and didn't see any worms in it, but I know that doesn't mean that she doesn't have them.

I have never dealt with this, is it ideal to just worm the flock, and if so, what is my best option to use? Preferably something I can get at a local feed store/Tractor Supply as I live in a rural area and don't have lots of choices. Also, should I put DE in their food? I have heard this, but I am unsure if it helps with treatment or only prevention.

Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this, I know its a long one!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Can you please post some photos of the hen, the vent and the poop?

How old is the hen?
She's acting normal?

Personally, I would not add DE to the feed unless you are worried about grain weevils.
IF you feel you need to de-worm and a fecal float is not an option, then use Safeguard at a dose rate of .23ml per pound of weight given orally once a day for 5 days in a row. This will take care of most worms that chickens can have except for Tapeworms.

Check her for lice/mites, see that her crop is emptying. Some hens have a lot of fluff and can get poopy butts - it doesn't mean anything is wrong, they just don't give a good enough grunt to clear the fluff.
Vent Gleet would have a white pasty sticky yeasty smell and the discharge would be pretty constant, it would also be hard to clean off.

 

[FastEddy22]

Can you please post some photos of the hen, the vent and the poop?

How old is the hen?
She's acting normal?

Personally, I would not add DE to the feed unless you are worried about grain weevils.
IF you feel you need to de-worm and a fecal float is not an option, then use Safeguard at a dose rate of .23ml per pound of weight given orally once a day for 5 days in a row. This will take care of most worms that chickens can have except for Tapeworms.

Check her for lice/mites, see that her crop is emptying. Some hens have a lot of fluff and can get poopy butts - it doesn't mean anything is wrong, they just don't give a good enough grunt to clear the fluff.
Vent Gleet would have a white pasty sticky yeasty smell and the discharge would be pretty constant, it would also be hard to clean off.

Thank you so much for that detailed response!

I actually don't have pre-cleaning pictures of her, I never even thought to do that beforehand, I wish I had. I do have a photo of the poop though:

She is a year old and has been acting normal. I have been trying to sneak on her to watch her behavior when she isn't aware of my presence so she doesn't act different.

Thank you for the advice on the wormer should I need to go that route.

I didn't see any lice or mites when checking her over. Her crop has been empty in the morning. I had never considered that maybe she could just be susceptible to getting poop on her feathers, but that makes sense.

It was definitely very hard to clean her butt up, there was quite a bit of pasty white stuff. It was a bit smelly too, I had to soak her bum for a while and I cut some of the feathers around the vent.

I suppose the reason that I considered worms is that although she has been eating, she felt almost thin in the breast area to me. It seemed like I could feel the keel bone more than I expected to. And I guess the green color in the watery poop made me concerned, especially after there has not been access to green stuff to eat for days now.

Thank you again for trying to help me with this.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I can see your concern. If the poop is consistently like that, then I would consider deworming all of them.
Urates are also white and can be hard to clean off the feathers too, so it would be good to continue to keep up with her and clean as needed. Poopy feathers attract flies and that can cause problems.

You do want to be able to feel the keel bone in laying hens, but if it's really prominent, then she may be a little underweight. See if deworming makes a difference. I understand that we (I) have a mindset of nice fat hens=healthy hens, but hens that have too much fat on them can actually have difficulty laying eggs (fat usually accumulates in the abdomen and around the organs), fat hens are sometimes more prone to prolapsed vent and too much fat can lead to fatty liver disease among other things.

 

[FastEddy22]

I can see your concern. If the poop is consistently like that, then I would consider deworming all of them.
Urates are also white and can be hard to clean off the feathers too, so it would be good to continue to keep up with her and clean as needed. Poopy feathers attract flies and that can cause problems.

You do want to be able to feel the keel bone in laying hens, but if it's really prominent, then she may be a little underweight. See if deworming makes a difference. I understand that we (I) have a mindset of nice fat hens=healthy hens, but hens that have too much fat on them can actually have difficulty laying eggs (fat usually accumulates in the abdomen and around the organs), fat hens are sometimes more prone to prolapsed vent and too much fat can lead to fatty liver disease among other things.

I think to be safe, I will go ahead and worm the lot of them. I will make sure daily to keep her cleaned up so it doesn't cause problems. I am hoping the feather trim might help a little too.

I appreciate the education on healthy weight. Taking this into account, I am not sure if the bone is actually too prominent or not. I will focus on that a bit and compare to the other birds that aren't having any issues to see if I still feel she is thin.

I am hoping this will help. I love all my chickens, but this one is my most affectionate baby and much more like a pet to me.

Thank you so much!