3JT
In the Brooder
Hi everyone. I have a year old hen that I think has gleet. She has always been one to have a “poopy butt” despite having good solid stools and occasionally needs a butt bath. A couple weeks ago I noted she looked dirtier than usual so bathed her. Two days later she looked just as bad. I didn’t think much of it; I've been busy integrating our new pullets with the others so I guess I was distracted.
A week ago I noted a faint smear of blood on her egg. I quickly examined her bottom/vent and saw nothing other than her normally dirty feathers. Later that day I went out to check on everyone and saw she was bleeding from her vent. She was partially prolapsed and someone pecked her. I brought her in right away and went to work cleaning and disinfecting. I was using vetericyn spray and hydrocortisone cream at that time along with vaseline. She would not keep her prolapse in; it would stay in on it's own but she would push it back out. As the days went on I noted she was having a chalky white crusting to her feathers and the pad in her cage was wet. After doing research I came to the conclusion she had gleet, likely from yeast. The only vet around that will see chickens or give any advice on chickens is very expensive and quite frankly I have had bad experiences with. I chose to get Miconazole cream and suppositories to treat. I have been bathing her twice daily, spraying with Vetericyn, then using the Miconazole cream along with medical honey twice daily on her vent and the protruding prolapse. She has been getting 1/3 suppository twice daily for the last 3 days. Much of the scab/necrotic cap has come off her prolapse from being pecked though there is still a bit left and she will not keep it inside her. I feel like she can feel the extra tissue and feels like she has to push it out; I am hopeful once that falls off she will keep it in. She continues to drain quite a bit of some cheesy white discharge along with a lot of thin clearish/white discharge. The inflammation seems to have gone down some and I noted her belly seems smaller so she must have been swollen some. She also had a bit of bloody discharge (very small amount) the last few days but that has now also cleared up. She is eating/drinking well and is active when I let her outside for exercise.
My questions are: 1) how long should I keep giving her the Miconazole suppositories for? 2) how long may it take for the drainage to clear up/stop? 3) should I be doing anything differently? I am really hopeful that she will stop prolapsing once the cap falls off since she seems to be intentionally pushing it out and it's not "falling out". I really don't want to cull her but know it may come to that. I am just not sure how long to wait to determine if she will fully heal.... Thank you for any input.
A week ago I noted a faint smear of blood on her egg. I quickly examined her bottom/vent and saw nothing other than her normally dirty feathers. Later that day I went out to check on everyone and saw she was bleeding from her vent. She was partially prolapsed and someone pecked her. I brought her in right away and went to work cleaning and disinfecting. I was using vetericyn spray and hydrocortisone cream at that time along with vaseline. She would not keep her prolapse in; it would stay in on it's own but she would push it back out. As the days went on I noted she was having a chalky white crusting to her feathers and the pad in her cage was wet. After doing research I came to the conclusion she had gleet, likely from yeast. The only vet around that will see chickens or give any advice on chickens is very expensive and quite frankly I have had bad experiences with. I chose to get Miconazole cream and suppositories to treat. I have been bathing her twice daily, spraying with Vetericyn, then using the Miconazole cream along with medical honey twice daily on her vent and the protruding prolapse. She has been getting 1/3 suppository twice daily for the last 3 days. Much of the scab/necrotic cap has come off her prolapse from being pecked though there is still a bit left and she will not keep it inside her. I feel like she can feel the extra tissue and feels like she has to push it out; I am hopeful once that falls off she will keep it in. She continues to drain quite a bit of some cheesy white discharge along with a lot of thin clearish/white discharge. The inflammation seems to have gone down some and I noted her belly seems smaller so she must have been swollen some. She also had a bit of bloody discharge (very small amount) the last few days but that has now also cleared up. She is eating/drinking well and is active when I let her outside for exercise.
My questions are: 1) how long should I keep giving her the Miconazole suppositories for? 2) how long may it take for the drainage to clear up/stop? 3) should I be doing anything differently? I am really hopeful that she will stop prolapsing once the cap falls off since she seems to be intentionally pushing it out and it's not "falling out". I really don't want to cull her but know it may come to that. I am just not sure how long to wait to determine if she will fully heal.... Thank you for any input.
