Bloddy vent

[ChicksNBoys]

Poor girl!
So she was able to lay an egg today?
I'm sorry, I wish I could see the video, but it says it's private.
The hard gritty part at the top I would suspect is hardened urates and poop or possibly a mixture with lash material or a membrane if it's rubbery, so hard to know. Looking at it, I would say that's what she's feeling and trying to push out. You can try working some oil around that to see if it will loosen up and finally release.

The blood clot is concerning to me. She may have a rupture somewhere or it may just be an accumulation from the injury.
I would be inclined to administer an antibiotic. Amoxicillin would be good, but usually that needs to be ordered online. Do you have anything on hand?

At this point, I think you are doing everything you can for her. I do understand, it can be stressful not only for the hen, but for the keeper as well. It would be warm in the vent, not sure if you have a thermometer, but an adult hen's normal body temp ranges 105-107F.

View attachment 2581287

This is very helpful info. Thank you. I so appreciate it.

I don’t have any amoxicillin on hand. I do have colloidal silver...? I also read something about a fish antibiotic you can get at the store. Would either of those work?
I will rub some coconut oil on the hard stuff tomorrow. She pooped some after Ihelped her lay the egg and some of it was hard. A few hours later she pooped more of a light beige color liquid. I did give her coconut oil in hopes to help her crop empty and anything else move through her and was thinking maybe that’s why it is so light. It does smell pretty bad.
Is it likely she will produce another egg? I’m afraid of this as it was so hard for her to lay this one. I have been keeping her in a low lit room.
I hope I’m doing the right thing. I’m a first timer with a flock and it seems I have been through the ringer so far with my girls.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Oh my gosh! That poor girl! I'm having labor flashbacks.......

I am following and rooting for you!!!

 

[ChicksNBoys]

Oh my gosh! That poor girl! I'm having labor flashbacks.......

I am following and rooting for you!!!

Seriously! I feel the same way! Thank you. She has always been a sweet girl so I want her to pull through.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She may produce another egg. Even injured they can still lay eggs.
To stop her from laying she would need to be in total darkness for 16hrs a day. It would take several days for her to stop.

Fish antibiotics are fine to give. The Amoxicillin is called Fish Mox https://fishmoxfishflex.com/collect...-equivalent-aqua-amoxicillin-250-mg-100-count
Tractor Supply used to carry it on the shelf, but I noticed the last few times I looked it up for folks it was no longer available.

Baytril has to be ordered as well. https://allbirdproducts.com/products/baytril-10

Shipping may be slow on some things. If you have a good relationship with a vet that cares for another pet you have (dog/cat) you may be able to talk them into giving you meds - that's another thought.

Those 2 would be what I would prefer to give her if she were mine, but since you mention odor - if infection, then if you can't get meds fairly quickly, I would go to TSC and get Procaine Penicillin G. It's in the refrigerated section. Get the smallest syringes they have along with 20gauge needles. You can use that, but it's not as effective as Amoxicillin or Baytril.
Do keep in mind that if you or someone in your family is allergic to penicillins or baytril, that any eggs she lays should not be consumed.

You are doing fine. She may have more going on and it's possible she may not make it, but you are doing all you can for her.

 

[ChicksNBoys]

LONG Update on Opie:
She has laid an egg each days since I helped her lay the first one on Monday, after not being able to for 2 days. The first two were accompanied with small blood clots and she hasn’t had one since. She has, however, had light pink discharge occasionally.
Yesterday (Wednesday in Ca) I was able to remove some of the hardened gritty gunk that was stuck in her vent and she was able to push some out today which felt gritty and rubbery.
I have let her out of the crate a few times to let her walk around. She has liked that.
Yesterday I also allowed her in the run and coop, locked away from the other girls and she wanted out. She flew up a few times, I’m assuming she thought she could get through the gate to her friends. I went out to check on her and she was in a corner with her eyes closed....maybe it was too much for her?
This morning I let her out, in my garage and safely with me, to walk a little. She was exploring and then would take breaks, puffing out and closing her eyes.
She is eating some, not much, and drinking...pooping little bits here and there. She will sometimes poop and it is watery and white. She will sometimes just push out a clearish liquid.
In one of the videos you may be able to hear it but she will periodically let out air..not a grunt but air. As if she has been holding her breath or grunting.
Below are pics of her poop and a couple videos of her recent behavior.
Should I continue to keep her in the crate even if she is desiring to be let out?
At what point does someone decide to cull a chicken? This is my worst fear but I also don’t want her to suffer.

https://youtube.com/shorts/rPn2fRYXN9k
https://youtube.com/shorts/UPBRrIxhXNI

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Looks like she's moving around pretty good. The only worry I would have is that the others may pick at her vent, otherwise, I think they do better if allowed to be outside with or near the flock.
Her feathers look to be nipped all over - do you notice the flock nipping/pulling her feathers before all this happened?

 

[ChicksNBoys]

Looks like she's moving around pretty good. The only worry I would have is that the others may pick at her vent, otherwise, I think they do better if allowed to be outside with or near the flock.
Her feathers look to be nipped all over - do you notice the flock nipping/pulling her feathers before all this happened?

Yes, we have been having issues with our girls pecking at eachother. We are looking into giving a few away We thought we had enough room and have given them some enrichment toys but they aren’t interested. We have 10 and all but three are missing feather. My assumption is that the three better looking ones are the culprits

I hear all these awesome stories of raising chickens and while I love having mine I feel like I have so many issues. It’s a bummer.
I so appreciate all your input. It is very helpful.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I would say you are right that the 3 better looking ones are the picking culprits.

Sometimes even with a lot of space you can have issues. More protein in the diet can sometimes be helpful as well, so if you are only feeding a 16% poultry feed, try an 18-20% all flock feed.

That's the way it is a lot of times - you can read wonderful stories/blogs, etc. about chickens and the writer paints a lovely picture/description. Happy, sweet tempered, fluffy bottom hens just sauntering joyfully through the yard. Well. They don't tell you that hens are quite jealous of one another and can sometimes be plain downright nasty with each other. I've had some mean ones and I've had some very sweet ones. It is what it is, but downsizing/culling is sometimes a solution to those meanies. I've not done it that often, but I've found that removing a hen or a rooster can often bring a lot of peace within a flock.

You are doing fine. Do the best you can.

 

[ChicksNBoys]

I would say you are right that the 3 better looking ones are the picking culprits.

Sometimes even with a lot of space you can have issues. More protein in the diet can sometimes be helpful as well, so if you are only feeding a 16% poultry feed, try an 18-20% all flock feed.

That's the way it is a lot of times - you can read wonderful stories/blogs, etc. about chickens and the writer paints a lovely picture/description. Happy, sweet tempered, fluffy bottom hens just sauntering joyfully through the yard. Well. They don't tell you that hens are quite jealous of one another and can sometimes be plain downright nasty with each other. I've had some mean ones and I've had some very sweet ones. It is what it is, but downsizing/culling is sometimes a solution to those meanies. I've not done it that often, but I've found that removing a hen or a rooster can often bring a lot of peace within a flock.

You are doing fine. Do the best you can.

Would you recommend a certain brand of food? We shop at tractor supply for our pet needs.
I keep telling myself that..that “I’m doing my darndest” but these girls are giving me a run for my money!!
I do love them as does the rest of my family and hate the thought of culling anyone but I know it is sometimes a necessity.
I may have someone who is looking for a few so that seems to be the better option.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Would you recommend a certain brand of food? We shop at tractor supply for our pet needs.
I keep telling myself that..that “I’m doing my darndest” but these girls are giving me a run for my money!!
I do love them as does the rest of my family and hate the thought of culling anyone but I know it is sometimes a necessity.
I may have someone who is looking for a few so that seems to be the better option.

Personally I feed an all flock feed from Southern States which may not be in your area.

TSC carries Purina Flock Raiser and I think Nutrena Naturwise All flock. The Flock Raiser is 20% protein, not quite sure about the Nutrena since I have never used that.

My birds ate the Flock Raiser just fine, but it's only available in crumble form here and I do prefer pellets so use another brand, but if I can't get what I normally buy or if I have chicks, then I will still buy Flock Raiser.

Provide oyster shell free choice like you are doing. The all flock feeds have minimal calcium but I've not had an issues with shell quality. I also feed back my eggs shells as well.

As for culling - cull can mean "removing" from the flock, so re-homing or downsizing is considered culling too. (so is killing them) If you have someone that will take them that's a good option, especially for hens that are in good condition and laying. I don't rehome, but I will cull and eat if I need to.