Hen with messy vent and bad odor coming from mouth

[kinardmommy]

I have a hen that is about 3 years old. I have noticed the past few days she has a messy vent when she has never had this problem befor. Today when I let the chickens out I noticed that she had layed down in the grass in the yard. This is very uncharacteristic of her. When I approached her to check on her she got up very slowly. I picked her up and could smell a nasty smell coming from her mouth so I opened her beak to look inside and that is surley where the smell was coming from. She is not walking or standing funny but she seems somewhat lethargic and a little disoriented. What am I dealing with here?

 

[leonphelps]

I would get some apple cider vinegar down her and maybe a few drops of vegetable oil.

something in her digestive tract seems out of whack.

 

[kinardmommy]

I read up on the internet and after going back out and feeling her crop it was full of fluid and I could also feel a whole corn kernel in there. I know it was a corn kernel b/c there was some scattered on the groud in the yard ( thanks to my kids). She has had a messy vent for a few days so I hope i'm not catching this too late. I held her head downward and massaged the crop and she did vomit a good amount of really horrible smelling fluid. After emptying the crop I gave her some olive oil followed by yogurt. I hated to treat her prematurely, however, given her condition I don't know if she will even make it through the night. If she is still alive in the morning I am going to isolate her and repeat the steps above. I am hoping she can pass the corn.

 

[FenikT]

Seems she is tore up from the floor up.

It could be sour crop and a bit of gleet. The sour crop definitely gives off a septic tank smell from her mouth. A messy bottom might indicate the start of gleet, which would be the downstream result of a digestive bacterial imbalance.

ACV won't cure either, but it won't hurt either. Separate her from the flock, keep her caged up, warm, and dry. You might want to purge her system w/ epsom salt or molasses mixed w/ water. Offer this as her only hydration source for at least one day. This will help purge all the crud in her tract so you can start fresh. Get some Activia yogurt (4pk) and give one container free choice each day.

As for her bottom, clean off her dirtied feathers and keep her vent area dry. You can powder puff her vent area w/ an old tube sock filled w/ talcum powder, garden-grade sulfur powder (found at hardware or big box home centers in the garden section) or combo thereof. Sulfur powder is an antifungal. Some have mentioned having success using a short (3-day) treatment of Monistat capsules (ovules), cut each into thirds and said pieces fed morning, noon, and prior to roosting until treatment is gone.

Stay away from grains or anything which could easily compact, sour, or ferment. Scrambled eggs is a safe bet, along w/ an electrolyte solution (Pedialyte or any comparable store-brand). Gatorade or Powerade is also okay, albeit you could probably dilute 50/50. I know someone will probably jump in and say the latter aren't good for chickens. FYI, the sodium and dextrose content in the latter is actually lower than vet-grade crystalloid Ringers solution.

 

[PoultryPedia]

She likely has at least some fungus in her crop or other parts of her digestive system. There are some guidelines for treating that on a page on my site. Non-sugary diet is important, & Oxine can also be helpful.
I'm glad you spotted her trouble early!

 

[kinardmommy]

She has survived the day. ACV, yogurt, buttermilk, and Olive oil is what I have given her today. Had to give it by syringe, she is not eating or drinking anything. There is so much conflicting info on this topic. I fell like it isn't a good idea to make her vomit. Aside from the possibility of pneumonia it seems like it would also really irritate her throat vomiting over and over. I'll see how it goes. I did read up on the Oxine and it seems a little too risky for me personally. So does the monistat and lotrimin. It just doesn't make sense to give something to a chicken that will end up in their stomach when humans aren't supposed to consume it. We'll se how it goes.

 

[Michael Apple]

Ketoconazole is anti-fungal: http://www.fishmoxfishflex.com/inde...ketoconazole-fish-fungus-fish-antibiotic.html
Get some and start giving 1 200mg cap morning and night. Make sure the birds gets fluids. Vitamins-electrolytes in the water would help. Sour crop isn't always just a crop issue. Sometimes it is some problem in the digestive track. I hope that helps.

 

[FenikT]

Unfortunately, homeopathic remedies are hit or miss. Nothing of what you listed will stave off (cure) a bacterial or fungal imbalance. They are supportive at best.

Its sounds like a systemic issue (mouth to vent). The active ingredient in Monistat is miconazole. This medication is used to treat mouth thrush and a variety of other systemic yeast infections. The only difference is the delivery method (pill, cream, or ovule). Naturally people won't eat a foot cream (Lotrimin) or ovule when a doctor would likely prescribe an azole-based antifungal prescription med (which are expensive) if a systemic issue was suspected.

I don't recall anyone advocating you try to make your bird vomit. Inducing a laxative effect was what I suggested, especially if its a systemic issue.

Best of luck w/ your hen.