Caring for a sick hen / dirty backside question ...

[lalaland]

you separate them when you think they might have something contagious, and also when they need to be kept quiet and safe from other chickens to recover.

It doesn't sound good - pale combs are a sign of illness. Your situation is over my head! you might try searching threads under all of her symptoms - but I usually find chicken health too confusing to find much out.

So. Loosing weight - could be worms. could be tumors. could be tons of things, but you want to reverse that if you can. And you should not worm her if she is weak. So feed her high protein - some people feed eggs, some tuna, some yougurt, some cat food.

See how it goes if you do decide to put her back in with the others - supervise her carefully because the others could turn on her, even if she was dominant before, if she is weak. You might let her be with them in your presence. You might put her in a dog crate in the chicken house so she has company but is protected. You might bring in a chicken buddy for her and keep the two of them separated.

Is she eating on her own?
Drinking?


wish I could be more helpful,
hopefully someone else will give you good advice
maybe put in a new post, with symptoms and the word "help" to see if you get some responses.

Rebecca

 

[MoodyChicken]

Does the poop have a pungeant, urine-like smell? It could be Gleet, which is not cureable but treatable. Clean her bum for sure, if it's Gleet her bum will be burned (the uric acid burns the skin) and you will need to put aloe vera on it. The skin will be whitish in color and rough to the touch if it's burned. Is she still laying? Is she having difficulty relieving herself?

 

[inksville]

Okay, I didn't see these replies before. Sorry, cause I appreciate the help. Yes, her poops smell acrid, I guess would be the word. Kind of acid-y and rancid and rotting. it was strong in the hutch she was isolated in.

She is back with the other chickens. The Gleet thing sounds like what it is. When I bathed her, I didn't know what to look for, but there was definatley some white skin around her vent but I thought that was normal. Now i am thinking that it looked like there used to be feathers where there but now there isn't. She still has a floppy comb that is pink with a tinge of grey at the tips.

Is Gleet contagious? i couldn't find much info through the search. It is a fungus like thrush?

 

[inksville]

Also, could the birds rooting around in the compost bin cause this?

 

[MoodyChicken]

Quote:
Totally gleet. Symptoms include: depression, pasty droppings, burns around the vent, loss of feathers around the vent due to plucking. If she's still sick, put her on Amoxicillian or Baytril to knock out the infection. Also, give her Motrin 200mg to reduce swelling (more often than not that's all you have to do, but treat with antibiotic for first infection). Wash her vent as frequently as possible, it's like serious diaper rash, she's really uncomfortable.

Gleet is a bacterial infection. You can compare it to the chicken equivalent of herpes and crone's disease. It is not curable, but you can reduce the symptoms and number of outbreaks. It's not super contagious (I believe there is a genetic, noncontagious form and a viral form that can only be spread during chicken sex, lol, fr lack of a better term... I could say mating but no), and outbreaks occur during times of stress (most often before lay). I have two birds with this. They live happy lives but need the be cleaned during and outbreak. Proper care minimizes outbreaks to maybe once a year. Simply wash the vent and abdominal area and put aloe vera or other soothing lotions on the burns. Then treat with Motrin morning and night.

It's surprisingly common but you won't find a lot of info on it. It might go by another name, but this is what I've called it and what my vet calls it. Watch her though, the floppy comb thing is not a common symptom, it could be something else.

 

[inksville]

Thank you. I have 4 *sick* kids keeping me up, plus a husband that's sick and still I am worrrying about this chicken. But I still don't know, what is this gleet?

 

[inksville]

I am sorry. You answered that.