chick with white discharge and hard tail

[Minaxwe]

Hello folks,

I have a group of 100 freedom rangers who arrived Feb 6. They were all doing really great, until I found this guy (gal?). I would post a picture but although I've been reading BYC for about a year, I only just today made an account so I could post, and I don't have image privileges yet. So, I'll do the best I can to describe him.

Basically, looking at him from behind he has no feathers around his oil gland or his vent. His oil gland/tail is a circle of hard, shiny, red skin that covers about the area of a nickel. The redness ends abruptly and the skin and feathers on his back looked totally normal when I found him two days ago, and are now starting to look a little ragged (but the hard red skin doesn't seem to have expanded). His vent looks bad--it's not hard, but he is kind of leaking a white, ricotta-cheese discharge that stinks and solidifies to a crust. I don't know if the two things are related, but it would be quite a coincidence if they weren't.

He is active, and he is pooping but they are little, firm wormy poops (although this could just be because sometimes the white crust obscures a part of his vent). I separated him from the group and I've been soaking his behind in warm water with epsom salt, and I just thought to oil up his tail/gland with a little olive oil.

He is eating and drinking a little bit, and walking around his enclosure. I already "hardened off" his group (turned off the heat lamps), but I figured since he doesn't have any buddies to snuggle with I should give him a lamp at night (it gets cold in the house). He is vigorous and actively fights me at "bath time". I found him like this two days ago, and his condition pretty much has not changed. They are on an organic non-medicated chick starter grower, in a time tested brooder with about a foot of composting wood shavings.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

P.S. I apologize if this answer is already easy to find, I'm new to BYC and couldn't find anything like it in the forum.

 

[RedneckChikns]

poop sounds like its just getting stuck to his fluff....I wouldnt keep soaking him if its not blocking his hole. As for the bald spot-probly some other chickens taste testing him (cannibilism) or could even be mites or lice. Also if memory serves the freedom rangers are a broiler cross...they are given to brittle feathers and not many of them thanks to the broiler in them. Check for mites/lice...put a dab of neospoyrin or VET RX on the spot and call it day...too much fuss over him could just make things worse. Also I like Toad Juice-its organic and wonderful on dogs, horses AND chickens for all kinds of skin funk.

 

[Minaxwe]

Thanks for your response. I hope you're right! I'll post an update if anything new develops. I was just concerned because the skin is so hard and shiny, not like the bald patches I see from the occasional minor bout of feather eating.

 

[RedneckChikns]

Pictures always help...ad some if you can.

How do you like that breed so far??? Have always been curious about them.

 

[AZBootsie]

The "ricotta cheese" made me think of a yeast infection. You could try one of the OTC female creams. Since is is gentle enough for a woman's vagina, I think it should be safe to rub around the vent and tail area? But he might try to clean if off and eat some....not sure how healthy that would be. Maybe some diluted vinegar to change the pH. That would be safe applied externally for sure. If the skin is red and irritated it might sting a bit.

 

[AZBootsie]

AND

 

[Minaxwe]

Thanks for the suggestions. I forgot to mention I've been giving him a splash of raw apple cider vinegar in his water, would that be enough to affect his pH? I didn't think to apply it topically. He's still plugging along, doesn't seem to be getting any better or worse. I am cleaning him up once a day.

So far we've really liked this breed. We're used to CX, and I've found these guys to be really smart by comparison. They never needed to be directed to the brooder heat lamps, and they started scratching around in the brooder shavings at day 3.

Thanks so much for the welcome, I have learned so much just reading here, I figured it was time to start talking!

Here's a few pictures, right before I clean him... it makes it look like there is a white sheen over his tail redness, but that's just the bad flash:

 

[KatieBugg]

That kind of looks like a staff infection, it looks from the side view like there is flesh that has deteriorated? I know the stinky cottage cheese is definately infection, I have lanced enough abcesses in cattle in my life time!

 

[MMPoultryFarms]

Im gonna lean on Pecking damage caused by cannabalism Followed by infection since the area was not kept clean. The vent seems slightly prolapsed as well. You need to clean the are up well get some wound kote or blue kote and spray the area. Do stop soaking his rear Maybe try to add oil to get some of the crust off. before you spray it. neosporin for infection and get him on a antibiocic of some sort. I would suggest a 3 day treatment and include suger water in his diet as well maybe even some scrambled eggs and yogurt.