Does this Chicken have Vent Gleet

[Sistoskipper]

Hello everyone,
I believe that I have found the articles for treatment, but do other members suspect that my chicken might have Vent Gleet? (Graphic pic to follow). It is -25c here, -13F so I initially thought my 1.5 year old Rhode Island Red

hen had become egg bound due to a lack of water(the heated waterer was freezing until we built something new). I cleaned her up, but got busy removing the 3 feet of snow we got this week. I checked on her today- still perky, eating, drinking, but I had to remove a lot of frozen poop, and her vent was bleeding. Everyone else is fine (19 hens) and she is not egg bound, and she acts normal but this has to be painful. The white nodule cannot be removed with cleaning and I did not want to risk injuring her. I change the water frequently but it is possible that the water became contaminated with feces. Today I gave her a bath, put yeast cream in and around the vent, mixed a Tbs of yogurt in the water per hen, along with 4 tbs of apple cider vinegar per 4 liters (gallon) and threw in a clove of garlic as well. If I am wrong, at least they can all work their way to a healthy digestive track. I never expected this in the dead of winter. This is my first year owning chickens, and I realize it is hard to diagnose with a photo, but I will be just thankful for everyone's thoughts on the matter.

 

[azygous]

It's possible it's vent gleet. But if it is, it's not easy to clear it up with just topical medication. If you can, locate a store that sells pigeon supplies and buy some Medistatin. It's nystatin without having to get a prescription, and it's the best thing to treat stubborn internal fungal infections.

Vent gleet does irritate the skin raw like that, but it could also be from the frozen poop burning her tender skin. She needs to be kept very clean, and if you can get it, Vetericyn is wonderful wound treatment that will heal and promote new tissue growth. On top of the Vetericyn, a topical antibacterial ointment would be good at protecting and keeping moist the tissue for maximum healing.

The other chickens may notice the raw skin and peck at it. This would be very dangerous and could kill her, so protect her from the other chickens until she's healed.

 

[Sistoskipper]

Thank you for your clear input!
I tried calling the local vet Pharmacies but they don't supply much but I will absolutely look online and order it as soon as I can. They even apologized! I agree about the chance of pecking- thankfully my hens have never gone after each other but there is always a chance. I appreciate your thoughts thank you!

 

[Glennlarch]

Hello all!
I can appreciate your concern with the cold weather. We here in South Eastern BC Canada anticipate -27c to -34c in the next couple of days. Piles of snow too. Pretty, but scary for our flock. Snow cleared, hens and rooster safe and well cared for, I cam across one hen with a clear case of vent gleet. Off to the chicken condo in our basement to help her recover with all the above suggested treatments. If I may ask....how do you cure the lovely hen, then set her back out into the cold environment...maybe as a newcomer? Which can happen after a long absence? My concern is she will be accustomed to the warm human house and not be able to keep warm (I know about how a chicken warms and sustains in the winter, which is why we don't heat our coop until its absolutely necessary). Just a little worried to set her back out there after she is back in business...

 

[azygous]

It helps to bring her inside to a room that is kept much cooler than the rest of the human dwelling. Then when she's well, you need to acclimatize her to cold temps again by exposing her to gradually cooler temps over several days. It can help speed up the process by letting her join the other chickens outside during the day for increasingly longer periods each day.

The day trips can also gradually get her reintegrated with her buddies.

 

[Sistoskipper]

Unfortunately bringing my hen inside is just not an option, but I agree with the poster above- gradual re-entry at this point is indeed necessary. I am continuing to treat my hen as best as I can within the coop but at these temperatures bringing her in would cause more physical stress. I don't have the set up for an indoor nursing station, but I look forward to the day that my little homestead can sustain such high end care- way to go!
Best of luck-
From Northern BC at current temps of -47 with the wind!