Butt-less chicken...

[FluffyButt789]

Okay so I have a chicken named Butt-less.. it's quite a story. We got her and 3 others from a neighbor who keeps chickens in pretty crappy and cramped quarters. My hubby just had to have this one chicken that wouldn't leave his side. She has no feathers on her tail, and we thought it was from a molt because that's what the neighbor said. We've had her for almost a year and she never grew the feathers. She also has issues with runny poop and we have tried a few worming medicines but that didn't help. She lays nearly every day and it's a pale green/olive egg with wrinkles every time. A few months ago a friend came by and he has experience with chickens and saw her and told us that her butt looked strange, that he believes she has a tail bone sticking out of all that mess. She also has some missing toes, which I'm not sure how that happened, it was before we bought her. Poor thing has had such a rough life, I'm not sure if she may be sick, in pain, or what, because she has not improved at all. My hubby mentioned maybe we should cull her. Here are some pictures of her if you can please help me figure out what breed she is, why her toes are messed up, and what the heck is up with her butt. Sorry for the gross pictures.

 

[Kiki]

Thanks for sharing. I haven't a clue what to say, I'm sticking around to see what others will suggest.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Toes are probably from frostbite, I have a few that have lost the tips. The tail looks severely injured, the black is usually from dead tissue. Could also be from frostbite, or another type of injury or even pecking.

As far as culling, that's a personal decision. It does look unpleasant, but if she's laying than it can't bother her that much, but I guess we probably would cull if it hasn't improved, or if she seems to be in pain.

 

[FluffyButt789]

Toes are probably from frostbite, I have a few that have lost the tips. The tail looks severely injured, the black is usually from dead tissue. Could also be from frostbite, or another type of injury or even pecking.

As far as culling, that's a personal decision. It does look unpleasant, but if she's laying than it can't bother her that much, but I guess we probably would cull if it hasn't improved, or if she seems to be in pain.

I am sorta new to chickens, only have had them about two years, and never had an injured chicken before. I thought her butt was a normal butt... I've never seen one with no feathers on it. I didn't know that it may be her bone sticking out. I wonder if she got attacked by something at her previous home where her butt got bitten off?

Chickens hide their pain so well, I don't know how she is feeling. I hate to cull but will if there is no cure for her. I had thought of taking her to the vet but it's far and a lot of money and the way they sounded on the phone seemed like they didn't have much experience with chickens. I figured BYC might be a better place to ask first.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Interesting for sure, since she's been this way for a long time.

It's hard to tell if that's a tail bone or at one time there was a prolapse that hardened. Since she still lays eggs, it could also be from injury.

The hanging clumps of poop and dirt you can do something about. It will take several soakings and trimming, but you can most likely get rid of the "dingle berries". Do this is stages. She looks like she doesn't mind being handled, so that's a plus.

You need a dish pan (I have one dedicated for chickens), dish liquid (original Dawn works well), a small sharp pair of scissors (again, I have a dedicated pair for chickens), a pair of pliers and rubber gloves.

First give her a good soaking in warm soapy water . With gloved fingers work the soapy water into the clumps. This will help loosen some of the debris, for loose clumps, you can carefully cut those out. For really hard clumps, even if they are wet, take your pair of pliers and crush them up (careful not to pull or tear skin). Just keep working at it. You may need to do this in stages (over the course of a few days) it really depends on how agreeable your hen is. Having a helper is a blessing and some extra jugs of clean water on hand is great too.

The necrotic/dead tissue that we don't know what is, leave it be at the moment. Handling her while bathing will let you know know if this is a tender spot for her.

If you do decide to clean her up, be sure to post some updated photos

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/common-egg-quality-problems.65923/

 

[FluffyButt789]

Interesting for sure, since she's been this way for a long time.

It's hard to tell if that's a tail bone or at one time there was a prolapse that hardened. Since she still lays eggs, it could also be from injury.

The hanging clumps of poop and dirt you can do something about. It will take several soakings and trimming, but you can most likely get rid of the "dingle berries". Do this is stages. She looks like she doesn't mind being handled, so that's a plus.

You need a dish pan (I have one dedicated for chickens), dish liquid (original Dawn works well), a small sharp pair of scissors (again, I have a dedicated pair for chickens), a pair of pliers and rubber gloves.

First give her a good soaking in warm soapy water . With gloved fingers work the soapy water into the clumps. This will help loosen some of the debris, for loose clumps, you can carefully cut those out. For really hard clumps, even if they are wet, take your pair of pliers and crush them up (careful not to pull or tear skin). Just keep working at it. You may need to do this in stages (over the course of a few days) it really depends on how agreeable your hen is. Having a helper is a blessing and some extra jugs of clean water on hand is great too.

The necrotic/dead tissue that we don't know what is, leave it be at the moment. Handling her while bathing will let you know know if this is a tender spot for her.

If you do decide to clean her up, be sure to post some updated photos

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/common-egg-quality-problems.65923/

Thank you so much for the link you included as well! That answered a lot of other questions I have had!

I will give her a bath to hopefully clean all of that off. I had tried when we got her but it didn't work very well, so I'll probably cut it off. Won't she continue to have runny poop and a naked bottom? When she re-grows her feathers I'll have to continue bathing and cutting off? I was hoping to get her back to looking like a normal chicken.

I will post pictures when I get it done, thank you!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

What are you feeding?

If you do have a vet, taking a fresh poop sample for testing of worms and cocci overload would be a good idea. Since she has a history of wrinkled eggs, she may at one time have had an illness or she may not be absorbing nutrients like she should.

You can give her some extra TLC by adding some poultry vitamins to her water or direct dose her a couple of times a week with something like Poultry Nutri-Drench (1cc per 3lbs). Offer extra calcium - crush a Tums and add it to her feed over a favorite treat, give liquid calcium (1cc or follow dosage on bottle) or give 1/2 tab calcium carbonate (like Caltrate) - do this daily for a few weeks to see if there is improvement. You can also give her a boost in protein by giving egg, tuna, beef liver, etc.

Once she goes through her yearly molt, the bum feathers that you trim should fall out and regrow. But, yes, once the fluff comes back in, you may still need to do some trimming. If that is an injury to the vent/tail bone she may not be able to (for lack of better term) "shoot the poop" so it clears the fluff. I have one girl that I trim, she's very fluffy and if I don't she has some dingles berries. If you trim dry - wear a mask - the fluff is very fine and flies everywhere, so you don't need to be breathing that.

If after a fecal float and if necessary de-worming and offering extra vitamins, protein, etc. and she still has runny poop, then you may need to evaluate what else in her diet could be causing the runny poop.

Keep us posted.

 

[coach723]

Wyorp Rock gave you very good advice.
Only other thoughts on injury is that if she was in overcrowded conditions it could have been caused by severe pecking. Once it was open the pecking would just get worse. So time and care may heal it.
Just wanted to add that as to breed, she looks like she's maybe a RIR or New Hampshire Red cross with an EE. Just a guess, but that would explain the egg color. I have some brown egg layer/blue egg layer crosses and the eggs are a little more olivy green. Since she's laying and seems to be doing relatively well, I would give her a chance. Proper living conditions and proper feed may give you a healthy, happy bird a few months down the road. Best of luck with her.

 

[FluffyButt789]

What are you feeding?

If you do have a vet, taking a fresh poop sample for testing of worms and cocci overload would be a good idea. Since she has a history of wrinkled eggs, she may at one time have had an illness or she may not be absorbing nutrients like she should.

You can give her some extra TLC by adding some poultry vitamins to her water or direct dose her a couple of times a week with something like Poultry Nutri-Drench (1cc per 3lbs). Offer extra calcium - crush a Tums and add it to her feed over a favorite treat, give liquid calcium (1cc or follow dosage on bottle) or give 1/2 tab calcium carbonate (like Caltrate) - do this daily for a few weeks to see if there is improvement. You can also give her a boost in protein by giving egg, tuna, beef liver, etc.

Once she goes through her yearly molt, the bum feathers that you trim should fall out and regrow. But, yes, once the fluff comes back in, you may still need to do some trimming. If that is an injury to the vent/tail bone she may not be able to (for lack of better term) "shoot the poop" so it clears the fluff. I have one girl that I trim, she's very fluffy and if I don't she has some dingles berries. If you trim dry - wear a mask - the fluff is very fine and flies everywhere, so you don't need to be breathing that.

If after a fecal float and if necessary de-worming and offering extra vitamins, protein, etc. and she still has runny poop, then you may need to evaluate what else in her diet could be causing the runny poop.

Keep us posted.

We feed her the same as all the others - a mix of layer feed with scratch grains, cracked corn, and oyster shells. They are all free range and my other 12 chickens are perfectly healthy. Thank you for the suggestions. I will try what you mentioned and hope that she looks and feels better soon.

Wyorp Rock gave you very good advice.
Only other thoughts on injury is that if she was in overcrowded conditions it could have been caused by severe pecking. Once it was open the pecking would just get worse. So time and care may heal it.
Just wanted to add that as to breed, she looks like she's maybe a RIR or New Hampshire Red cross with an EE. Just a guess, but that would explain the egg color. I have some brown egg layer/blue egg layer crosses and the eggs are a little more olivy green. Since she's laying and seems to be doing relatively well, I would give her a chance. Proper living conditions and proper feed may give you a healthy, happy bird a few months down the road. Best of luck with her.

That could have been what it was - severe overcrowding and excessive pecking at her prior home. I wonder if I should report the neighbor. Thank you! I thought the same for breed as well, but she doesn't have the fluffy face that I thought she would get if she was a EE mix. Thank you for convincing me to give her a chance. I was hoping to not have to cull her. I hope she heals quickly and looks better soon. I will post pictures in maybe a week or so.

 

[Kiki]

Not all easter eggers have to poofy face.