Hi everyone. I'm new to backyard chickens and needed some help on figuring out what is wrong with my hen. She's 3 1/2 years old like all my other hens and none of them have been laying lately since I live in New England, the days are getting shorter, they're molting and getting older. I had one hen mysteriously die the other day seemingly out of the blue, her vent was very red and swollen and she had diarrhea stuck to her butt. I'm suspecting vent gleet. But I noticed that my brahma had diarrhea stuck to her butt so I gave her a bath with epsom salts and separating her from the others until I know what's wrong. Her vent looks normal butt the area underneath is a bit red and swollen, and soft/squishy. She hasn't seemed to be eating and drinking since I bathed her, I offered yogurt grain and water but she hasn't taken. Her poop is also very watery and translucent now which wasn't so earlier. I've been trying to see what it could be but still haven't concluded anything. Right now I'm leaning toward ascites but I wanted more opinions. What can I do to help her? Her are some pictures of her butt (the middle two are with flash).
Welcome to BYC. It looks like vent pecking to me. This can be common if there is some overcrowding, boredom, too little protein in the diet, or a bully. Ascites usually involves tight swelling of the lower abdomen. Some chickens look a bit puffy under the vents when they have been pecked. Diarrhea can be from drinking a lot of water on hot days, but worms or intestinal infections can be causes. Make sure the chickens are eating a good layer 16%-18% protein feed making up 90% of their diet, and probiotic yogurt a couple of days a week in small amounts can help the gut health. Many chickens get soiled vents from excessive feathers or runny poops. Good wormers are Valbazen or SafeGuard Liquid Goat wormer. Having a few fresh droppings checked by a regular vet for worms or coccidia in a fecal float can determine if they have worms and what kind, or if coccidiosis is a problem. Here are a couple of good articles about vent pecking: https://pubs.ext.vt.edu/2902/2902-1095/2902-1095_pdf.pdf http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2013/03/chicken-feather-loss-cannibalism-causes.html
