Hen with Diarrhea - Gangrene!?! **UPDATED with PHOTO**

[loralei]

I noticed on Sunday that one of my rescue gals had white drippy poo on her backside. I have her isolated and the smell is horrible! Not like regular chicken poo at all. It smells of infection. I know little about her. She is a Black Star I think. I don't know her age. She has not laid since I've had her in the "princess palace" but she is eating and drinking. Actually she seems to be drinking a lot. She acts perfectly fine. She will not eat yogurt.

Will OACV added to her drinking water help?
Should I get her on an antibiotic?
Should I try worming her?
If so, what do I use? I have not seen worms.
Should I treat the entire flock?

All advise is greatly appreciated!
Laura





Pray for Hatii

 

[PunkinPeep]

My first thought is that maybe she has a stuck egg. Have you checked? Can you feel her abdomen and see if something's going on there? If there is infection, it might be from a broken egg.

A warm shallow bath sounds like a good idea to start.

 

[loralei]

Thanks PunkinPeep! I felt around and she has a squishy mass where an egg might be. I tried the bath... it reveal something that does not look good at all! Her vent area is black and scabby.

I am ill prepared for this and don't have a clue what to do! I thought maybe some olive oil to help the egg pass but she already has diarrhea. I don't want to make it worse.

 

[PunkinPeep]

Loralei,

That seems alarming to me, but i do not have personal experience with this problem, and i don't want to lead you wrong.

I would recommend pm-ing SpeckledHen or ThreeHorses or both and see if you can get some personal instruction from those experienced ladies. There are others, of course, but those are the two who come to my mind immediately.

I hope you get some better help than what i have to offer.

Beth

 

[loralei]

Thanks Beth! I'll check to see which one is online. Thank you for the bath advice. Because she is black I couldn't see what was going on until she was wet. I just never dreamed what was going on was so bad! I thought maybe she ate something bad or had worms. There was no indication from her behavior that there was anything wrong and certainly nothing like this!

Thanks again!
Laura

 

[lilray]

it looks like you may have a predator problem that black is probably old blood

 

[usschicago1]

While your waiting for an answer i would seperate her in a nice dry place and i would give her a bath. esp clean out that area as best as possible. I would keep it inside since a bath would chill it and you want it to stay warm. can you bear a chicken inside for a few weeks?

 

[speckledhen]

I think you've entered the territory where a vet needs to be involved. Sorry, I would be afraid to give you any layman's advice on this one.

 

[loralei]

Thanks, Cynthia. I know what needs to be done. She's enjoyed a few good days in the princess palace with warm food and lots of attention. From past experience I know that no vet in my area would treat her. I could try to treat it myself but it would likely just prolong the inevitable.

Thanks again!
Laura

Vaya con Dios sweet black hen!

 

[lilray]

I would give olive oil to both ends. Massage to try to get her to pass the egg. But make sure she is not going to rip because of scabs too much, hence the oil. electrolytes could be good also