chicken constantly 'pushing' + white pasty bum *video included* help please?

[spish]

can anyone tell me what this might be? chicky is not well at all. she is an exbattery chicken rescued 2 weeks ago with 330 others.

 

[KayTee]

It's difficult to see in the video - is the white on her bum soft and wet, or hard, dried poo?

Have you been able to do an internal examination with your finger to see if she has an egg stuck or if there is inflammation inside?

Just to note, chickens don't breathe in exactly the same way as humans. Their lungs do not expand and contract like ours - they need to use their body muscles to move the air around the air sacs in their bodies. If you watch a 'normal' chicken's bum as it breathes, you will see that it moves with the movement of the muscles.

There is a (slightly complicated) explanation here:

http://www.fragmentsfromfloyd.com/environment/nature/do-chickens-breathe-through-their-butts/

That is not to say that there is no problem with your girl, just that it may explain what you are seeing. The fact that she is missing lots of feathers around her bum, and may have an infection or 'vent gleet' could explain things.

I am no expert - these are just my ideas. Maybe someone else will be able to give you some more advice.

In any case, well done to you for rescuing ex-battery birds. I hope that she thrives in your care.