hen has white poo caked around vent

[feathersnfur]

Our rir hen has white poo caked around her vent. It is foul smelling. We gave her a bath, but it is still there..small amount coming out of her vent as she is pushing...like she has to poop or lay an egg. I felt her, but she doesn't seem to have an egg. She is panting and her tail is down. We have put solumet in her water and put her in a crate with a towel. She is in the laundry room right now. What is going on? It's not coccidiosis is it? I looked it up but nothing mentioned the white poo...Help! She is one of our breeding hens!

 

[meezermom]

From the amount of distress she is in, could she be egg bound? You may want to take her to a vet ASAP - just in case! I'd rather have coccidia than an egg bound hen.
Good luck & keep us posted!!!!!!!!!

 

[CTChickenMom]

I was just reading about this happening with chicks...its called pasting. Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens says that it can be pealed off (soaking probably helps). They say that pasting in chicks older than a week is likely caused by an intestinal disease. They recommend (for chicks) combining starter ration with equal amounts of cornmeal or crushed uncooked oatmeal or feed scratch designed for them (in this case for your girl), until it stops. Search for pasting here. I'm sure you'll find something. I would think yogurt would be helpful for her too.

Soak her hinney in some warm water and try to peal off the poo, mineral oil around her vent may help it too, to soften it up. Clearing the vent is critical, if left alone it could be fatal.

 

[chicknmania]

White poo caked like that can be a sign of Avian TB. Probably other things also, but that is one I know about. Hopefully it is not that. If you don;t want to call a vet, you know you have the option to contact the Chicken Doctor at www.firststatevetsupoly.com. He is excellent. Good luck to you.

 

[feathersnfur]

I scrambled an egg for her last night...she just pecked at it. It was still there this morning. This afternoon after I got home from worked, checked on her and all her food is gone...lots of regular poop in the crate, but still white stuff oozing from the vent and caked around the vent. Really, really smells! She's up and about and tail is up. She was even clucking to me. I'm going get some electrolytes and make a mash for her....I've heard about yougurt too....I'll try that as well. Any other suggestions? How do I know if she is eggbound? I didn't feel anythin. We just had a light brahma die... saw an egg right in the vent....If our RIR is eggbound, what is causing this?

 

[katrinag]

Could she have a yeast infection? Has she layed yet?

 

[CATRAY44]

I am having the same issue. It looks like ricotta cheese. If anyone has any ideas, I would appreciate it. I have isolated her from the rest of the flock and am trying to decide where or not to cull her. She seems healthy, otherwise. The other chickens had picked at her , which I think I caught at first start.

 

[bootsuu]

Does anyone have any further information about this? I have one of my 2 year old hens with this problem. The only reason I moved her out of the coop was that the other chickens were pecking at her vent and it was bleeding a bit. This has stopped, but even after cleaning her vent it has come back. What should I do?

Thank you!

Bootsuu.