Butt blocked on Roo?

[Candy11]

Not sure what to do here. His butt is cristy and we bathed him but we currently have him in an epsom salt bath. He's been lethargic too. Drinking okay but not eating much. Is he possibly blocked up? What can I do now?

 

[ChickenWhisperer101]

I hope he gets better, I’m not sure what’s wrong, sorry I can’t help

Not sure what to do here. His butt is cristy and we bathed him but we currently have him in an epsom salt bath. He's been lethargic too. Drinking okay but not eating much. Is he possibly blocked up? What can I do now?

 

[topochico225]

@Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive @azygous

 

[azygous]

I confess I have trouble processing information from a two dimensional photo and admit that it's possible not everyone has this problem. So I need to ask questions to fill in the third dimension.

1. Is the photo before you washed his crusty butt?
2. Or is the crust pictured what was left after washing and the remaining crud is impossible to remove?
3. Do I detect pus and necrotic tissue?
4. Is there a decaying (roadkill)odor?
5. Is he eating and drinking and pooping okay?
6. Is the "crust" laced with blood and oozing scabs?

 

[Candy11]

I confess I have trouble processing information from a two dimensional photo and admit that it's possible not everyone has this problem. So I need to ask questions to fill in the third dimension.

1. Is the photo before you washed his crusty butt?
2. Or is the crust pictured what was left after washing and the remaining crud is impossible to remove?
3. Do I detect pus and necrotic tissue?
4. Is there a decaying (roadkill)odor?
5. Is he eating and drinking and pooping okay?
6. Is the "crust" laced with blood and oozing scabs?

It's after a 15 minute epsom salt bath. I cut off some feathers with 'cement' poop on them. The thing that looks like pus right on his vent is actually crust also.
No odor like decaying matter. He's pooping but it's not the normal size. Nothing is oozing and there is a smidgen of blood but I think it is from us messing with the crust. He's drinking fine but he is eating small amounts of mash. I have him inside in a large dog crate away from the other chickens. Also we have had tons of rains here for several weeks and it been muddy and damp. We are taking care of the mud this week and thankfully the rain has stopped.

 

[azygous]

Thanks for trying to clear this up for me. I'm still not clear on what we're dealing with - poopy crust or a crusted over wound. If this is a wound, do you know how long it's been like this? Is this the first you've noticed it?

Two years ago, I discovered a hen of mine with a serious wound on her tail nub that looked a lot like this. I soaked her and debrided the wound and treated it for weeks. It did not heal even a smidge. The hen became lethargic and appeared to be in a lot of pain. Finally, I euthanized her because she was only getting worse in spite of my care.

A few months went by and I saw a thread with a similar wound here on BYC. It turned out it was a squamous cell carcinoma. A wound that does not heal in spite of careful and consistent treatment is very likely cancer.

 

[Candy11]

I doubt it is a wound. He had the same stuff on his butt feathers and we had to cut the feathers off
This was the first time we noticed it because his butt is always hidden by his thick feathers. The reason we found it was he's been lethargic the last 3 days and we thought he might either have worms or coccidiosis sice we've had so much mud up here for the last couple months. Then we treated him and he got better then got worse again. When we lifted his tail feathers up and saw what was going on we were shocks. Had we seen that sooner we would have washed him then. Anyway we found out that 2 of our hens now have poopy butt so we took care of them. Washed and dried them and one of them had a few crusts just on the feathers that would not soak off so we cut those. We're keeping close eyes on the rest of them now. But no one else seems sick or lethargic. We are going to check our other Roo too tomorrow. Thank you so much, I will let you know what transpires.

 

[tripletfeb]

I have been dealing with a pullet who was pecked in the vent and started leaking urates (white stuff mixed with their normal poop). Her wound has been treated but she still leaks a little. It looks a little like what your roo is dealing with. I gave her epsom salt baths and it stayed hard and crusty and actually blocked her vent. So tonight, during her bath, I used vegetable oil and worked that in and around the crusty stuff. After 45 minutes, the grossness came loose and she was able to poop. I would try vegetable or some other kind of oil(mineral, coconut, etc.) and try to work all the crusty stuff off. After all the crusty comes off, take another picture and post it. Maybe then we can get a better idea of what is causing his issues. You could also feed him yogurt and scrambled egg. The yogurt would be good because of the probiotics

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have been dealing with a pullet who was pecked in the vent and started leaking urates (white stuff mixed with their normal poop). Her wound has been treated but she still leaks a little. It looks a little like what your roo is dealing with. I gave her epsom salt baths and it stayed hard and crusty and actually blocked her vent. So tonight, during her bath, I used vegetable oil and worked that in and around the crusty stuff. After 45 minutes, the grossness came loose and she was able to poop. I would try vegetable or some other kind of oil(mineral, coconut, etc.) and try to work all the crusty stuff off. After all the crusty comes off, take another picture and post it. Maybe then we can get a better idea of what is causing his issues. You could also feed him yogurt and scrambled egg. The yogurt would be good because of the probiotics

Good post!
Hopefully you can get the vent cleared.
Now the question would be why is the vent clogged up on a rooster - what's causing it. I would give him foods as suggested, make sure he's drinking well.
Take time for a few days to see that his crop is emptying overnight. If you have access to a vet, a fecal float to see if worms are an issue would be a good idea too.

 

[Candy11]

I have been dealing with a pullet who was pecked in the vent and started leaking urates (white stuff mixed with their normal poop). Her wound has been treated but she still leaks a little. It looks a little like what your roo is dealing with. I gave her epsom salt baths and it stayed hard and crusty and actually blocked her vent. So tonight, during her bath, I used vegetable oil and worked that in and around the crusty stuff. After 45 minutes, the grossness came loose and she was able to poop. I would try vegetable or some other kind of oil(mineral, coconut, etc.) and try to work all the crusty stuff off. After all the crusty comes off, take another picture and post it. Maybe then we can get a better idea of what is causing his issues. You could also feed him yogurt and scrambled egg. The yogurt would be good because of the probiotics

Great idea I will try that with coconut oil. And the egg with yogurt too. Bless you for responding!