Hello! Please help with my chicken problem.
My white Australorp, 9 mos old, has not started laying and has a crusty vent. It does not look like gleet to me. I have only found two posts in this forum that seem to describe the same issue, and both leave the question unresolved.
The attached picture is from early May. Perhaps you will recognize the issue from that. I will put the whole LONG story below for context.
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It started in late March, when one of my birds stopped laying. I thought it was worms, because I spotted a wormy poop. Then another girl got sour crop and died. I dewormed, but then another girl died. I took her for an autopsy and it was ovarian cancer, so I thought all was well, and I got two more girls--pullets. One was laying and the other not.
After quarantining, I integrated the birds. They were fine for a time, but then I noticed something weird on the white Australorp's vent--it was surrounded by a yellow crust and she had diarrhea. I thought maybe vent gleet, so I treated with miconozole and yogurt, etc. The diarrhea settled down and the crust, too, but did not go away. I called the vet who suggested mites. So, I treated for mites. (spinosad). Then I treated for mites again. And again. I have been treating for mites for months now, using spinosad, permethrin, that oil spray, ivermectin. But the Australorp still has some of that crust on her vent. It's not as bad as the picture anymore, but we clean it a couple times a week. She has not started laying yet. And all three of my birds have lost their belly feathers. Last night, part of my leghorn's comb looked bluish. When I check for mites, I have never seen one crawling around...sometimes it looks like there is debris in their feathers. But it doesn't look anything like the internet pictures. So now I am thinking...am I missing something? Could this be something else? They are happy otherwise. No signs of lethargy (except the initial bird who stopped laying--she is about 2 1/2).
My white Australorp, 9 mos old, has not started laying and has a crusty vent. It does not look like gleet to me. I have only found two posts in this forum that seem to describe the same issue, and both leave the question unresolved.
The attached picture is from early May. Perhaps you will recognize the issue from that. I will put the whole LONG story below for context.
*****
It started in late March, when one of my birds stopped laying. I thought it was worms, because I spotted a wormy poop. Then another girl got sour crop and died. I dewormed, but then another girl died. I took her for an autopsy and it was ovarian cancer, so I thought all was well, and I got two more girls--pullets. One was laying and the other not.
After quarantining, I integrated the birds. They were fine for a time, but then I noticed something weird on the white Australorp's vent--it was surrounded by a yellow crust and she had diarrhea. I thought maybe vent gleet, so I treated with miconozole and yogurt, etc. The diarrhea settled down and the crust, too, but did not go away. I called the vet who suggested mites. So, I treated for mites. (spinosad). Then I treated for mites again. And again. I have been treating for mites for months now, using spinosad, permethrin, that oil spray, ivermectin. But the Australorp still has some of that crust on her vent. It's not as bad as the picture anymore, but we clean it a couple times a week. She has not started laying yet. And all three of my birds have lost their belly feathers. Last night, part of my leghorn's comb looked bluish. When I check for mites, I have never seen one crawling around...sometimes it looks like there is debris in their feathers. But it doesn't look anything like the internet pictures. So now I am thinking...am I missing something? Could this be something else? They are happy otherwise. No signs of lethargy (except the initial bird who stopped laying--she is about 2 1/2).
please help
