Inquisitive and often paranoid rookie

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ChickenCrazy25

ChickenCrazy25

In the Brooder
7 Years
Aug 27, 2012
22
0
22
New Hampshire

Hello everybody!
I am a chicken raising rookie. I got my very first flock in May. Of the original flock we lost one to an unknown illness (that didn't affect any of my other birds) in June. That same week we integrated 3 birds. A pair of sebrights and a NH Red. They were older than my original girls and the red and sebright hen began laying the week we got them. Just in the last few weeks have my original girls started joining the fun. Still waiting on 4 or 5 more to start laying.
My worry now is in the last 2-3 days I've noticed 3 of my gals have dirty vent areas.the feathers around the vent are caked with poo and one of them has poo caked on the skin surrounding her vent. :( I know this can't be good. What I don't know is what it is, or what to do about it. All of my birds are kept together in a chicken run. The best I've got for a secondary enclosure for these girls is a dog crate. They are behaving normal. Eating and drinking just fine. The best guess I've got from reading my chicken encyclopedia is some kind of an outer parasite. Should I catch the offending girls and clean their bums with warm water and then dust them? What would you folks recommend? I'm clueless, and worried. :/
 
Welcome to BYC!

Now for the vent issues.. I would give all of them baths to get rid of the poop that is caked on. I would treat for mites/lice with sevin dust (even if you can not see them, I would do it as a precaution) after that, I would add apple cider vinegar in the water every day. This will help regulate their bowel movements and cause less mess issues on their feathers.

This symptom alone does not have me worrying for your girls. It just seems like they may have a bit of the runs.

Also, you could treat for worms as a precaution as well.
 
Hi and welcome to BYC from northern Michigan
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First, closely examine the skin around the vent for external parasites. I would also recommend having a fecal check performed at a vet office, as there are several different kinds of parasites and you use different dewormers for them if they are present.
 
I will take a look for sure. I need to catch those girls to clean them anyway. Although I'll admit, I don't know how successful my check will be. It tied getting a good look at one of them a couple days ago, but she wasn't overly thrilled with my intrusion (shocker right??) and my hubby works 60+ hours a week so I'm usually lacking a second pair of hands. Won't stop me from trying to get that look.

Also a warm thanks from this rookie in New Hampshire! :D
 
A fishing net is a great tool if you have flighty chickens.

Not the same, I know, but our dogs get poopy butts from time to time as well...if their stools are a bit loose, it'll sometimes get caught up in the hair. I should think the same could happen to chickens...by all means check for parasites and add some cider vinegar to their water (DON'T put it in a metal waterer...bad reaction) and give 'em a wash with warmish water to keep it from crusting. I'm sure they'll be fine!
 

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