hen leaking urates - looks like vent gleet - can you help me?

[jdu999]

I am fairly new to caring for chickens and I have a 16 month old hen who has symptoms that look like vent gleet. I first discovered the issue two months ago and since then she has been through a course of both nystatin and antibiotics plus every home remedy I could find on the internet (epsom salts, probiotics, vinegar, molasses, etc. etc.) and her symptoms have not changed. Oh, she has also been wormed and the vet checked her for worms and she does not have them. One thing that I am pretty confident about at this point is that it is not a yeast infection and not diarrhea of her feces. Here's what it is - her vent leaks urates which get her butt all wet and irritated and red and crust up around her vent and on her feathers. Otherwise she does not act drastically sick but she is losing weight. She is a great layer of sometimes super large eggs and is still laying.I can't find anything on the internet that talks about this problem specifically. Can anyone help me? I want to help her so badly and I am nearing despair. I would be so grateful if anyone can help.

 

[Allears]

Hi there, sorry your chicken is not well. Found these posts, perhaps it'll guide you to provide more info...?

http://birdhealth.com.au/flockbirds/poultry/diseases/vent_gleet.html
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/947671/possibly-vent-gleet

 

[StopTheWorldIWantToGetOff]

I know this was a long time ago, but how did things pan out for your hen? I think mine has same issue.

 

[casportpony]

Welcome to BYC! Can you take her to a vet?

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

Vent gleet means this:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote: Source:
http://birdhealth.com.au/flockbirds/poultry/diseases/vent_gleet.html

-Kathy

 

[jdu999]

Yes, I took her to a vet a month ago. The vet who is listed as a bird vet and treats chickens regularly. That is how I got the antibiotics and the nystatin. The vet was not certain what was causing the problem and my hen's condition did not improve after the anitbiotics and nystatin. I could go back to the vet but it didn't help the first time so I wasn't sure that was the best course. I have already seen the links that were sent but I'm not sure who but a vet can examine droppings under a microscope to figure out what's going on so maybe I have to take her back there. I have tried all the other treatments I found mentioned except when I don't know what they are and don't know how to get them, like "ER Quick" and "Gel Formula". I thought metronizole and penicillin needed to be prescribed by a vet (the vet I went to prescribed a different antibiotic). Perhaps my only option is to take her again but the first time it did no good, and caused her lots of stress. And cost hundreds of dollars, which I'm be willing to pay if it will help but it didn't before...

 

[casportpony]

Yes, I took her to a vet a month ago. The vet who is listed as a bird vet and treats chickens regularly. That is how I got the antibiotics and the nystatin. The vet was not certain what was causing the problem and my hen's condition did not improve after the antibiotics and nystatin. I could go back to the vet but it didn't help the first time so I wasn't sure that was the best course. I have already seen the links that were sent but I'm not sure who but a vet can examine droppings under a microscope to figure out what's going on so maybe I have to take her back there. I have tried all the other treatments I found mentioned except when I don't know what they are and don't know how to get them, like "ER Quick" and "Gel Formula". I thought metronizole and penicillin needed to be prescribed by a vet (the vet I went to prescribed a different antibiotic). Perhaps my only option is to take her again but the first time it did no good, and caused her lots of stress. And cost hundreds of dollars, which I'm be willing to pay if it will help but it didn't before...

Ignore the bit about the "ER Quick" and "Gel Formula", that I don't buy into, but the other stuff about the metronidazole and the penicillin type antibiotic make sense.

What antibiotics did the vet sell you?

Did the vet do a gram stain or fecal float?

Nystatin only works if if touches the yeast, so if she has a yeast infection in her repro tract it will do no good. For that you would need something like ketoconazole or fluconazole, both you can buy as tropical fish medications.

Metronidazole and amoxicillin can also be purchased that way.

Important questions... Has she been laying? Has she been de-wormed?

-Kathy

 

[jdu999]

Thank you so much for trying to me.

Yes, she is still laying very well. I wormed all 3 hens just before I took her to the vet. I asked the vet to check for worms to make sure and the vet said that she had none. The bill says I paid for Fecal Analysis (D & F), whatever that means - might that be a gram stain or a fecal float? The vet also took an x-ray which she said was inconclusive but had "shadow" that might mean an infection in the reproductive track which is why she prescribed the antibiotic. At that time I thought the Nystatin might be the answer because I thought the dried white stuff around my hen's vent was yeast since it seems that often vent gleet is caused by a fungal infection. But now I feel 99% confident that it's not yeast, it's dried urates. I have not been able to find anything on-line that specifically addresses the problem of the vent dripping urates.

The antibiotic that the vet prescribed called Septra, or Sulfameth-Trimeth.

Would you recommend that I go to an aquarium store and get either ketoconazole or fluconazole, and metronidazole and amoxicillin? Do you know the appropriate dosages and how long to give these things or do you know of a good place to find that info.?

 

[casportpony]

Thank you so much for trying to me.

Yes, she is still laying very well. I wormed all 3 hens just before I took her to the vet. I asked the vet to check for worms to make sure and the vet said that she had none. The bill says I paid for Fecal Analysis (D & F), whatever that means - might that be a gram stain or a fecal float? The vet also took an x-ray which she said was inconclusive but had "shadow" that might mean an infection in the reproductive track which is why she prescribed the antibiotic. At that time I thought the Nystatin might be the answer because I thought the dried white stuff around my hen's vent was yeast since it seems that often vent gleet is caused by a fungal infection. But now I feel 99% confident that it's not yeast, it's dried urates. I have not been able to find anything on-line that specifically addresses the problem of the vent dripping urates.

The antibiotic that the vet prescribed called Septra, or Sulfameth-Trimeth.

Would you recommend that I go to an aquarium store and get either ketoconazole or fluconazole, and metronidazole and amoxicillin? Do you know the appropriate dosages and how long to give these things or do you know of a good place to find that info.?

Not sure tropical fish store would have those items, so you'd probably have to order them online. I do know the doses for all of them if you decide to get them.

Can you post a picture of her poop?

-Kathy

 

[jdu999]

It might take me a little while to get a picture of poop that I'm sure is hers but I have seen it recently and (even though I don't consider myself an expert chicken-keeper) I'm am pretty sure I'm right in saying that it looks exactly the way healthy poop should look.

Sorry I misunderstood what you were saying about where to get those medications - but so do you think I should try to get them on-line?