EMERGENCY Hens vent swollen and black??

[CluckYeah8908]

My neighbor has chickens and brought me this hen today and told me if I don’t take her he would cull her. I thought I would try and save her. What happened and is there a way to treat her?

 

[Sequel]

I hope someone with more experience sees this, @Wyorp Rock @azygous @casportpony @Texas Kiki are some I can think of off the top of my head. Bless you for taking this on, do you think a dog attacked her?

 

[CluckYeah8908]

I hope someone with more experience sees this, @Wyorp Rock @azygous @casportpony @Texas Kiki are some I can think of off the top of my head. Bless you for taking this on, do you think a dog attacked her?

No idea. I put some wound cream on her and cleaned her up the best I could. I hope she heals up okay

 

[Kiki]

Poor think she looks pretty bad.

Is a vet an option? Do you have any antibiotics on hand?
She could have been pecked by the other chickens.
The dark areas.... Is it dead skin or scab?
Does she stink/have a bad smell coming from this area?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

My neighbor has chickens and brought me this hen today and told me if I don’t take her he would cull her. I thought I would try and save her. What happened and is there a way to treat her?

Can you post some more photos of her - whole body too?

I would definitely keep her separate from your flock.
From what I can see she's suffered damage to the vent. Daily soakings in warm epsom salts, keep applying your triple antibiotic ointment to the area. The dried/scabby skin will hopefully start sloughing off, but you will need to keep her cleaned up so poop does not irritate it further.

Overall how is the hen's condition - is she alert, eating/drinking on her own, able too poop, can she walk?

Check her for lice/mites too.

 

[Eggcessive]

The hen has been vent pecked by the other chickens. She has pretty significant vent damage. That happens with over crowding, not getting out to roam around, and not getting enough protein in the diet. I would separate her from your other chickens, i a dog crate with food and water, and try to heal her vent. Once a day, soak her bottom in warm Epsom salts for 20 minutes. Then apply plain Neosporin to her vent twice a day. Nustock cream is also good to use instead. She may have leaky poops for awhile. Once she is healed, then I would slowly introduce her to your flock slowly. While she is separated, it might also be good to worm her with Valbazen or SafeGuard, and treat her for any lice or mites with permethrin.

If her vent is still red or irritate when she is added to your flock, she may need an antipeck ointment applied. Nustock is still good, Bag Balm, PickNoMore, or Vick’s can be used.

 

[Eggcessive]

Here is some reading about vent pecking:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vent_pecking

https://extension.psu.edu/poultry-cannibalism-prevention-and-treatment

Here is a link for Nustock which is sold online and in some feed stores:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000HHSIYQ/?tag=backy-20

 

[CluckYeah8908]

Poor think she looks pretty bad.

Is a vet an option? Do you have any antibiotics on hand?
She could have been pecked by the other chickens.
The dark areas.... Is it dead skin or scab?
Does she stink/have a bad smell coming from this area?

Unfortunately I have no bird vets in my area. I put antibiotic cream for animals on her. It’s scabs. No smell.

 

[azygous]

It looks bad, but she may be able to recover. You will need to be a daily chicken nurse and soak her in Epsom salt every day as has already been suggested. I would use cortisone cream on the swollen tissue along with antibiotic ointment.

Her behavior is key. If she's behaving like a zombie, just standing around, not moving much, eyes closed most of the time, refusing to eat or drink, then she's probably reached the point of no return.

On the other hand, if she's perky, has a good appetite, she has the will to live and get better.

 

[CluckYeah8908]

It looks bad, but she may be able to recover. You will need to be a daily chicken nurse and soak her in Epsom salt every day as has already been suggested. I would use cortisone cream on the swollen tissue along with antibiotic ointment.

Her behavior is key. If she's behaving like a zombie, just standing around, not moving much, eyes closed most of the time, refusing to eat or drink, then she's probably reached the point of no return.

On the other hand, if she's perky, has a good appetite, she has the will to live and get better.

Oh she’s acting like nothing is wrong. She’s eating and drinking great! I really hope she heals up and is a good hen. She’s a golden sex link and I heard they lay pretty well. But it’s not even about eggs for me. Just a chicken lover!