chicken has dirty bottom-- please help!

[littleleila]

I had three hens that over the winter started to develop dirty bottoms. They were about 6 years old and had stopped laying about a year ago. 2 of them died a couple of months ago. One got sick and the other was very high strung and when we tried to clean her bottom, she seemed to have a heart attack. (I know it sounds crazy.) I am down to one hen, and she seems to be fine other than the problem with her bottom. I do not think it is a yeast infection because I have heard that the smell of one is horrendous, and the hen is not that smelly. I also don't see any kind of worms or parasites in her poo. She is essentially a pet and I am trying to make her life as happy as possible, given that she is all alone at this point. I know that the best solution would be to do a fecal sample, but I would rather not take her to a vet if possible. I have heard of an antibiotic powder that could possibly help her. Any ideas?

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Is she skinny too? If so I would consider deworming her. Worming medication is hard on chickens though, so it is a judgement call. I worm my flock twice a year and repeat at 10 days.

It could be bacterial or coccidiosis- I don't know. Diarrhea can be a lot of things, unfortunately.

 

[rides2far]

You might want to post this over on Emergencies & Diseases. There are some really knowledgeable folk over there. Good luck.