Bath for crusty butt?

[Soujrnr]

Hi all. One of our girls has a really nasty looking crusty butt, and tonight it appears that she tried to poop, but it all just kind of stopped at the feathers. It doesn't appear stuck inside. It just appears like it got hung up and didn't drop. In any event, we are new to this and I'm thinking a warm bath would soften the crust and also allow me to trim the wild feathers around her vent. Should I give her a bath and should I use Epsom Salt? If so, how much should I use? I think the container we have is probably three to four gallons in size. It won't be full, but that's just the overall size of it. I don't have a photo to share, but it looks pretty nasty at the moment.

Oh, my wife wanted me to ask if it's OK to use baby shampoo or Dawn dishwashing liquid to clean them. I've only read about Epsom salt so far.

 

[Eggcessive]

Dawn is fine about a tsp per gallon, or Epsom salts, a handful per gallon. The soap probably would clean her up better. Look out for any maggots which can be a problem in warm weather. If you have a disposable glove, you can insert a finger into the vent just to clear the opening. Trimming some extra fluff can help it from getting stuck. When they drink a lot of fluids in hot weather, their poops can be runny at times, and then it just clings on. Take a picture of her bpvent after she is cleaned up. There could be some caked up poop or urates. A little vaseline inside and outside the vent may help.

 

[Soujrnr]

We managed to finally catch Lucy, our girl with a bad case of crusty butt, and soaked her in warm water with Dawn. It was quite a chore to clean her up. I also trimmed some feathers that were caked with poo pretty severely. She seemed to love the warm bath.

Her vent looked very clean (as far as chicken butts go). It just appeared that her feathers were terribly crusted over.

I tried to get some photos as well.

Here is a photo after getting all of the crusty poo removed. It looks awful, so we're wondering if this appearance is "normal."

You can't see in these photos, but her vent was clean pinkish flesh. No marks, no bugs, no nothing. The portion beneath her vent is what I'm not sure about. I did feel it and squeeze it gently and it doesn't feel like there is an egg there. I'm no expert on chicken anatomy, so I don't know if that's where an egg might be stuck.

 

[Eggcessive]

Her lower belly looks a bit enlarged. Does it feel spongy, solid, or like fluid inside? There could be water belly (ascites,) internal laying, or a mass in there.

 

[Soujrnr]

It feels spongy. Should I give her something for it??

 

[Debbie292d]

Her lower belly looks a bit enlarged. Does it feel spongy, solid, or like fluid inside? There could be water belly (ascites,) internal laying, or a mass in there.

Sadly, that's what I'm thinking too. I'll let you explain it.

 

[Eggcessive]

The swelling is a common problems in hens. Reproductive problems and ascites or water belly are common in hens over 2-3 years. To confirm ascites, an 18 gauge needle can be inserted to withdraw any possible fluid. It fluid is yellow to amber, that would be confirmation of ascites. If not fluid is seen, the it could be swelling for something else. In hens with internal laying, the abdomen can be full of internally laid egg matter. Some hens will live a couple of years with some of this problems, but some problems can be more acute.