Hen with crusty butt feathers

[chippysmom327]

My hen has been getting crusty butt feathers lately. The first time (when I got her) her whole butt had poop all over it, and looked like vent gleet but without the redness and foul smell, discharge, etc. We gave her a warm bath with Dawn dish soap and she was fine. Has a nice, fluffy butt. This was last week.

Today I noticed the problem is reappearing. She has normal poop (weird I know), always a healthy crop, no redness around the vent, no lice or mites, and lays clean eggs daily. Something just isn't adding up. All of my other chickens are perfectly fine.

Any idea what's happening? It's stumping me. She's a very healthy bird otherwise.

 

[Judy]

Is it just that her butt is so fluffy that the poop gets caught on the feathers? Some people trim the feathers just to keep them clean, with certain hens.

 

[chippysmom327]

Her butt isn't as fluffy as my other hen's though. My other hen's butt is way fluffier and she never had a problem.

It would also mean I'd have to cut about half of her butt fluff off. She wouldn't look right...

 

[Judy]

You say that when you first got her, it looked like vent gleet, but without the discharge. Not sure I understand that. If the feathers are a mess, what would they be messy with, if not a discharge?

Vent gleet is a complex group of conditions, basically having to do with an intestinal imbalance of some sort. I'll give you a couple of links on it, in case you want to try treating it as vent gleet.

http://www.birdhealth.com.au/flockbirds/poultry/diseases/vent_gleet.html

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/796143/is-this-vent-gleet/0_20#post_11482574

 

[chippysmom327]

It didn't look EXACTLY like vent gleet, but it looked somewhat similar. The pictures I've seen have wet, gross poop "slicking" down the feathers. Her poop is all dry and hardened. The vent wasn't red and irratated/inflamed and there was nothing else except the crusted bum feathers.

 

[chippysmom327]

Today I noticed on the coop floor there is some diarrhea. Not insanely watery, explosive diarrhea but just really soft poop that could easily get caught in her feathers. Don't know why though. There's no worms or blood in it, and she's eating and drinking fine.

Should I give everyone some yogurt? Would that help?

 

[Eggcessive]

You might read this link about vent gleet. I have some ameraucanas that repeatedly get the dried on poopy butt feathers, and although they also don't have the redness of gleet, I'm going to be giving them more ACV and yogurt than I have. Also worming may clear them up. Here is the link: http://www.ultimatefowl.com/wiki/index.php?title=Vent_Gleet

 

[chippysmom327]

You might read this link about vent gleet. I have some ameraucanas that repeatedly get the dried on poopy butt feathers, and although they also don't have the redness of gleet, I'm going to be giving them more ACV and yogurt than I have. Also worming may clear them up. Here is the link: http://www.ultimatefowl.com/wiki/index.php?title=Vent_Gleet

You know what's funny? She's an ameraucana. I have some fresh garlic that I could use if you think it would help. I have ACV, but I don't know if it has the mother in it or not... :/

 

[Veer67]

You know what's funny? She's an ameraucana.

I have some fresh garlic that I could use if you think it would help. I have ACV, but I don't know if it has the mother in it or not...

I used to have an Easter egger with the same problem too.

 

[chippysmom327]

I used to have an Easter egger with the same problem too.

Should I just bathe her/trim her feathers often?