Incredibly awful, crusty black absess on bantam rooster's vent area

[GardenerGal]

It looks like a cancer. The skin around my little rooster's vent area is a black, crusty scabby, thick mass. I don't dare cut it away because there are blood vessels underneath and where a bit of the mass split, there was a little blood. I have put him in "sick bay" in a heated room and am keeping the infected area cleaned two or three times a day, and dressed with triple anti-biotic ointment.

At first he was having trouble pooping, but since I started cleaning and dressing with the ointment, he is not having any issues, and poops normally.

This rooster stays in his own rabbit hutch coop, because he is half blind - has been so for years. His coop has pine shavings and with a roost. I keep it clean and he has no mites, lice or any kind of vermin. He is five years old and never had anything happen like that. He is not in physical contact with any of the other chickens in the barn.

This is baffling. Any ideas what could cause this? A couple questions I had were that if might be the bacteria that causes bumblefoot, or could it be a form of Marek's?

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Could it be vent gleet that has gotten really bad?

http://www.ultimatefowl.com/wiki/index.php?title=Vent_Gleet

 

[TeamChaos]

How are you cleaning it? I would soak it in a nice warm tub of epsom salt water or very dilute betadine and then look at the black crust to see if it has any edges you can loosen up to see what is underneath... that might give a better clue as to what is going on there.
Best of luck!

 

[GardenerGal]

Thanks, to both of you. I think you nailed it, ChickensAreSweet. It looks like really grotty vent gleet. I've only had a single chicken get that in 20 years. So when this little guy got it, maybe I just was too disbelieving.

TeamChaos, I have only been cleaning with warm water and antiseptic, then applying antibiotic ointment. I have Betadine and will use that and get some epsom salts too. I have copper sulphate but am reluctant to use it. Also, I will try anti-fungal ointment (athlete's foot cream) instead of antibiotic ointment. I've been feeding the rooster yoghurt since I discovered his problem.

He is pooping normally and his droppings smell and look normal, but he is still drinking excessively and not eating on his own (I'm hand feeding him yoghurt-dipped pellets). I added yoghurt to his water, too, and he is drinking it when I give him his water dish. I remove it so he wont over fill his crop with fluid.

Hope I'm doing the right stuff now! Thanks for your help.