Female Golden Sex Link HELP!

[ORCHKNlady]

I'm a first year chicken owner and for the past 6 months they have been great. No issues or anything, today I go out and see that one of my female GSL is missing a ton of her under but feathers and it's matty and white and wet and has a bloody sack hanging out of her butt. I tried to get her but she wont let me. She is eating and running around fine, but occasionally she will turn around and peck at it. I don't know how to help. If I can at all. Any help? If I can't help her without it costing more than she is worth so to speak I need to know if she is still eatable? As much as I hate saying that it is the way the cycle was meant to go. Any advice would be very appreciated.

Sad day!

 

[Fred's Hens]

Picking up your birds for health inspection is a MUST part of flock keeping. Some folks just corner them and grab them. Old time keepers often use a fowler's hook to catch them by the ankle and pick them up. Others, go in at night and pluck them off the roost when they are sleeping, or any combination of the above methods.

Soak her in a tub of warm, 90-95 F water. Soak for 5 minutes, calming her as you do. Clean the vent area well.

We'd need photos to tell for sure, but she may have prolapsed and you'll need to gently try and to push the prolapse back in. Do some research about doing this. If this fails and you wish to cull her, of course, she is edible.

 

[ORCHKNlady]

Thank you for the advice. Just to specify I am NOT scared to pick them up I just didn't want to hurt her more by having her freak out. At night would be a good idea, but so how long would she need to be isolated from the others? I am pretty sure its the whatever you said, I have been doing lots of research and just didn't find the experience that I felt comfortable with. I will try what you said and I hope she gets better. I have named all of my chickens so killing is LAST resort!

 

[ORCHKNlady]

ok so I did the soak thing, and was able to see what the issue is and this is the dilemma:

Bare with me as I do not know the terms that are proper but ok so where the eggs come out, that pouch of skin, it isn't back in her and has like a calcium buildup around the opening of it not her actual butt the other one that I am assuming the eggs get pushed out of. Its a creamy white caulky feeling stuff and is like glued to her actual skin. I've tried getting it off with soaking and a cloth but its still outside AND i dont know what to do. She is healthy and eating and drinking, not lethargic. No blood just her poop gets stuck on it and then causes more buildup. She did however lay an egg this morning with no flaws... any advice. Is she ok should I just put her back with the others? This sux, I felt like a midwife, and felt so bad she didn't act like it hurt when I was cleaning it but I didn't want to pull and cause her to bleed either!