Help needed --Treating two chickens for suspected gleet but no improvement

[Wyorp Rock]

The chickens pecked at her around her vent which bled. I removed her, noticed possible gleet so cleaned her up etc and put her in quarantine with the other that has suspected gleet. She was constantly producing white discharge even as I cleaned her. There was a thick yellow coating around and inside the vent which I couldn't get off. There was lots of stuck together white stuff going up inside which no doubt made it difficult to poo.

The other one called Chiney was the first I spotted and had already been in quarantine a few days. She too had been bleeding from her vent, presume from pecking. I originally though that she had a prolapse but it was a mixure of dried discharge and being swollen. and white discharge. She still had a tiny bit of white discharge not much. She is rather is active, eating ok and drinking. But she does sound a bit chesty and I think its been a couple of weeks like this.

Is vet care an option for you?

If the discharge smells bad or yeasty, then it might be Vent Gleet.
The white could also be a lot of urates or discharge from reproductive problems - you don't mention if they are laying or not.
Sounding a bit chesty may be from crop issues or she may have a respiratory illness.

 

[lisajnuttall]

Is vet care an option for you?

If the discharge smells bad or yeasty, then it might be Vent Gleet.
The white could also be a lot of urates or discharge from reproductive problems - you don't mention if they are laying or not.
Sounding a bit chesty may be from crop issues or she may have a respiratory illness.

Unfortunately no vet isn't an option
Checked Chiney's crop before eating this morning and that seems ok & empty. She has no nasal discharge.
She still has white around bum.
She hasn't laid an egg for a bit but I did also reduce the hours of sunlight she had to try and help her recover. Believe it or not I have no sense of smell so can't really comment on that right now. I noticed another one of my flock yesterday with a bit of white on her bum. So it looks like whatever it is seems to of affected up to 3 of them. Here is Chimney this morning. I will try and look in her mouth later- she doesn't keep still to let me so will be difficult. The purple is anteseptic purple spray.

Thanks for all your help

 

[Wyorp Rock]

The poor things!
They both may have some infection.
I would try my best to dig out the gunk inside the vent. Epsom salt soaks may help with that. Since you are in the UK, I'm not sure what you have available to you, but if you can find some Nystatin that may help. Your Canesten cream may help, but it's hard to know if you should give it orally. Some people do give vaginal yeast creams orally to help combat yeast in the crop (sour crop) and use it to treat severe cases of Vent Gleet as well since Vent Gleet is often related to digestive issues.

Your hens may be suffering from a reproductive disorder which can be common in laying hens, since these are Ex-Batts, they would be production breeds which are a lot of times even more prone to problems like Egg Yolk Peritonitis, cancer, Salpingitis, Internal Laying, etc.

@Cragg Klefor may also have some tips for you, I believe she has dealt with quite a few issues with Ex-Batts.

You may find the link below helpful, it's an active thread by a member who is seeing something similar - the vent is clogged up.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/cloaca-plugged-pictures-in-post.1331676/

Vent Gleet https://www.fresheggsdaily.com/2013/09/vent-gleet-symptoms-causes-and-natural.html

 

[lisajnuttall]

Thank you for your help, it's much appreciated. I cant have her in the utility room any longer so gone out & bought a dog crate so I can put her in our shed. I have been giving daily baths ( apart from yesterday ) with epsom salts. Will keep using Canesten cream, ACV in there water. Got some pro biotics too. I will have a look at those links you kindly sent through as soon as possible. I don't think I can get Nystatin but will have another look.
The chicken that went under our utility never came out. I cant see her as my torch isnt strong enough. I feel really bad.

Will keep you posted.
Thanks again.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you for your help, it's much appreciated. I cant have her in the utility room any longer so gone out & bought a dog crate so I can put her in our shed. I have been giving daily baths ( apart from yesterday ) with epsom salts. Will keep using Canesten cream, ACV in there water. Got some pro biotics too. I will have a look at those links you kindly sent through as soon as possible. I don't think I can get Nystatin but will have another look.
The chicken that went under our utility never came out. I cant see her as my torch isnt strong enough. I feel really bad.

Will keep you posted.
Thanks again.

I hope she comes out soon. Sometimes chickens can get into some odd places and can't seem to find their way out, you may want to leave a light on at the entrance so she can see that and hopefully come out.

Please do keep us posted on how they are both doing.

 

[Cragg Klefor]

Hi @lisajnuttall and welcome!
Sorry I am only chiming in now, I haven't been online the last few days.
The poor girls. They look in pretty bad shape.
You are doing all you can. Being ex battery, in my experience, I would lean towards reproductive disorders especially with leakage from the vent area. Any time I have had vent pecking here it has been from soft shelled eggs which break on their way out. When this happens the chance of the 'soft egg layer' getting an infection is really high.

Your girls remind me (especially Maisy) of an ex battery I received earlier this year also. She was like that when I got her and only lasted a couple of days despite me trying everything I could think of (including suggestions from here!). On necropsy, it turned out she had an all too common reproductive disorder. She had lash material completely clogging her up, right out to her vent and that was what was making it impossible to clean her out. She also had an egg stuck in her oviduct which was also covered in lash material. The lash material is the result of an infection which at that late stage is incurable. My little one was also wheezing due to a blocked crop as her whole system was blocked up. It's horrible what these hens end up like, simply from being bred to lay. Poor things.

If you are dealing with vent gleet, I would expect you should be seeing some signs of improvement by now. Believe me when I say I know how exhausting and frustrating it is to be dealing with sick chickens with a hands on approach. Also believe me when I say there is only so much you can do. You took these chickens in when alternatively they would have been slaughtered. Every day they have had since has been because of you. It's horrible to watch them fade but you've given them a life for however long that lasts, it's certainly a bonus for them.

It would be great to hear how they are getting on?!

 

[lisajnuttall]

Thank you for that message. It's been an unpleasant few days. Massey never came out from under the utility room and died there. I tried all I could to coax her out. Luckily my neighbour helped by making something to get her body out.
Also I'm said to say that I also took the decision to get two euthanised
Chiney who's chest wasn't getting any better and looked like it was gettting rather laboured and no improvement of a number of weeks. There was another chicken I found to be bleeding quite badly out of the vent and seemed rather down. I had felt inside for an egg and believe one of her issues was that she was eggbound. I cleaned her up and tried to help her with getting it out by light massage & baby oil. I couldn't do it and she kept trying to get stuff out every now and then with out luck but would let out a sad cry as she did. I couldn't let her suffer.
It's been a hard few weeks. It's been emotional ( still is when I think too much about it) . I don't like suffering but I also don't like having to make such decisions, I'm feeling guilty.
Thanks to everyone offering words of advice and making me feel a little better. I will be using all the things I have learnt recently and all the health supplies I had got to help the sick ones to try and keep my other 3 chickens in the best shape I can. Knowing this forum is here with all these kind people is of comfort.
Thanks everyone. Will take a bit to get over the last few weeks and a little getting use to only having 3 hens.
Xx

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you for that message. It's been an unpleasant few days. Massey never came out from under the utility room and died there. I tried all I could to coax her out. Luckily my neighbour helped by making something to get her body out.
Also I'm said to say that I also took the decision to get two euthanised
Chiney who's chest wasn't getting any better and looked like it was gettting rather laboured and no improvement of a number of weeks. There was another chicken I found to be bleeding quite badly out of the vent and seemed rather down. I had felt inside for an egg and believe one of her issues was that she was eggbound. I cleaned her up and tried to help her with getting it out by light massage & baby oil. I couldn't do it and she kept trying to get stuff out every now and then with out luck but would let out a sad cry as she did. I couldn't let her suffer.
It's been a hard few weeks. It's been emotional ( still is when I think too much about it) . I don't like suffering but I also don't like having to make such decisions, I'm feeling guilty.
Thanks to everyone offering words of advice and making me feel a little better. I will be using all the things I have learnt recently and all the health supplies I had got to help the sick ones to try and keep my other 3 chickens in the best shape I can. Knowing this forum is here with all these kind people is of comfort.
Thanks everyone. Will take a bit to get over the last few weeks and a little getting use to only having 3 hens.
Xx

I'm sorry for your loss
I hope things get better for you.

 

[lisajnuttall]

I'm sorry for your loss
I hope things get better for you.

Thank you!

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Sorry for your loss. Chin up ole girl you did all you could.