Causes of a Yucky Butt?

[Bleenie]

I just noticed that one of my young Buff Brahma pullets has a wet, icky behind. Her 'sister' and the other 2 girls their age have nice, clean, fluffy butts though. I am going to move them to their own pen and worm them but what else can cause her to get all gucky back there??

sorry for the weird question and thanks for any help!

 

[Blue_Myst]

It's not a weird question at all, in fact, it is something that happens quite often!

One of the causes is something called vent gleet. Yes, it sounds disgusting, and it is! Here's a good link on it with pictures so you can see if this is what your hen has: http://www.birdhealth.com.au/bird/chick-fowl/ventgleet.html

Apparently it's caused by an infection, I've even heard a yeast infection sometimes. Hope this helps

Good luck!

 

[Laurieks]

Quote:
Wonderful link! Thank you. Now... what is Quickgel & where can we get it (& the other things he mentions) in the US? He also mentions citric acid, but not how much... I have powder.

Thanks again

 

[Bleenie]

That link was really helpful! Now I am going to be watching anyone with pasty butts to see if they're having a hard time going potty

.

On a small suspicion, I checked the vent area of my Wyandotte roo that i adopted some months ago and it looked red, scaley and irritated... I think he may have mites AGAIN and might have given them to everyone else... I know mites can cause the vent to get/look all irritated and red but can it make it so bad that their butt gets all pasted up and icky?

I dusted everyone, they weren't happy about it either!

 

[Blue_Myst]

I've never had to treat a hen with vent gleet before, but I know that unless her life was in danger and a bacterial infection was certain, I wouldn't use antibiotics until I'd tried something else. It seems as if Quickgel is an energy supplement, and if that is the case, there are plenty of substitutes. My favorite is Poultry Nutri Drench, but it is a little on the pricey side.

I would try cleaning off her bum, and maybe even clipping a few feathers around her vent so that she can eliminate without getting it all caught in her feathers. Whatever treatment you decide, cleaning her vent thoroughly seems to be the first suggestion.

I'm sorry I can't tell you more than that. Good luck!

 

[Bleenie]

I did wash the yucky-butt girl and let her dry before i dusted her.. extra heavy on the bum area too. She seemed to feel a little better when i checked on them a while later.