Is this vent gleet or just a poopy butt? (Gross pics warning)

[KaseySnow]

I noticed one of the Welsummer hens at the coop I volunteer with has had some poop stuck to her butt fluff below the vent for a few days now.

I thought it would fall off or she'd clean it like they usually do when this happens, but today it looked like more was stuck higher up by the vent.

My plan is to clean it off by soaking her butt in warm soapy water and then wiping it away with paper towels and/or trimming feathers as needed. I will then spray her vent with vetericyn just in case, though I don't see any red flesh currently.

Anything else I should do/any thoughts? Here's another pic with a slightly closer view if that helps:

 

[LaFleche]

After washing and cleaning her butt and trimming back the fluff, I would

• deworm her
• add some vitamins to her drinking water for 3 consecutive days
• feed her some probiotics
• feed her Moro's carrot soup to restore a healthy gut flora. But only use half the amount of salt as chicken kidneys are sensitive to it: https://www.ency123.com/2015/09/natural-remedy-for-diarrhea-professor.html

 

[LaFleche]

Thanks for the tips! I'll check and see when the last time they were de-wormed was, I didn't even think of that.

Are there any particular vitamins you recommend? They have a complete layer feed that should be giving them all of the vitamins and nutrients they need, but if you don't think it will hurt them I'll do it. They share water and I have nowhere to isolate her, so it would have to go in everyone's water.

Unfortunately it's been too cold since Sunday to do anything about it, we're getting snow all week now, ugh. Hopefully she'll make it to the weekend when it's supposed to warm up again. I hate to just grab her and pull the stuff off without wetting the feathers, but I'm afraid of making her too cold since I'd only be able to towel her off.

Worms deprive the chickens (and other species infested by them) of essential nutrients and vitamins, so after deworming them thoroughly, three days of poultry vitamins will help to compensate the loss and cause no harm to those that were not infested or otherwise deficient.
https://www.msdvetmanual.com/poultr...ement-poultry/vitamin-deficiencies-in-poultry

Until being able to give her a nice warm butt-bath, you could just trim some of the soiled fluff. This will also help to prevent more poop to get stuck.

 

[LaFleche]

Are there any particular vitamins you recommend?

The supplement should contain Vitamin B complex, A, D3+K and E. Others are optional and some also provide electrolytes etc.

With warmer temperatures it is helpful to add some organic ACV to their drinking water, but no longer than for three consecutive days.

This will help to reduce the bacterial growth in the water dishes.

 

[KaseySnow]

This would do, but rather add it to the drinking water according to the instructions on the label.
What I do not like about it, are these added artificial flavours, but that's just me.

Yeeeeahh...it's definitely made to be mixed in with smoothies, haha. Hoping it'll be a good interim solution as long as none of those added flavors hurt the hens.

This usually depends on the climate, grounds the chickens forage on, numbers of chickens, their age and overall health. Deworming twice a year will usually suffice.

I deworm my flock at least two times per year: In the spring prior to collecting hatching eggs and setting broodies, and in autumn.
In very wet years we will have a lot more snails that are known to be alternate hosts, so I will already deworm the chicks as early as 6-8 weeks old to prevent stunted growth etc.

These chickens are very lucky to have you taking such dedicated care of them!

Very good info to know, I'll be sure to advise the museum if they aren't already de-worming twice a year. We live in a dry climate at high altitude, I wonder if that lowers the risk of worms at all. Not a lot of bugs in general around here most of the time unless you're standing next to a body of water. Then again, we have scaly leg mites and lice that we are fighting in the coop right now, so we sure aren't totally immune, haha.

Thanks so much for all of the info and help! I really wouldn't be able to care for them at all without advice from people like you here on BYC! You all are truly lifesavers!

 

[Eggcessive]

Poopy butts can be common without vent gleet. Any runny or watery poops can cling to feathers and then that can become a place that catches more. Lice eggs can be a another thing that poop will cling to. I have had a few hens who always seem to have a poopy vent.

Vent gleet signs are a bad odor, constant runny urates coming out, an irritated or burned skin with missing feathers, and a chicken who seems unwell. I like this first article except for the treatment recommendations and the second article is good as well:
http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/vent-gleet


https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/vent-gleet-aka-nasty-chicken-butt.64647/

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

I run the rake over what they throw on the ground, it gets stuck up with poo. turn the soil and then won't eat it. If there were seeds in it they might sprout

maybe explain that 2 yr old food is compost. It does not contain preservatives so it is rotten regardless of the smell.

a single vet visit will out-cost the savings of a half-bag of feed.

if they are that poor, they should give away the hens to someone who can afford to feed them.

I am sorry if that sounds unkind, it is not meant to be.

if they fund-raise maybe they can do a 'chicken-sponsorship' program or sell eggs.

 

[LaFleche]

spring of 2019, so it's two year old feed at this point.

Oh dear. Processed feed that is older than 6 month is already too old.
There is no saving money by feeding old/rotten feed.

And spilled feed getting wet will start to mould overnight. Sometimes it only takes a few hours to start.

spilled feed on the ground that got wet the night before and had kind of disintegrated/crumbled into bits, but they still poke at them. Could that be the cause? I don't know how long it takes wet feed to mildew.

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

Good to know! It sounds like the chick feed is definitely the problem then. I will be sure to toss it tonight and let them know it had gone bad and was likely causing GI distress.

I wonder why only this one hen is having issues with it though. No one else has had digestive issues that I've noticed. Maybe she's just eating more of it than the others?

the others may have issues you aren't seeing yet. She is the one who showed you the problem, just mother her a little and hope she is the only one who gets sick.

won't hurt to put some vitamins in the water bowl. There are some pro-biotics you might want to look into for the flock. If you have an avian vet who will take calls, let them know what happened and ask if there is anything preventive they recommend for the flock.

 

[LaFleche]

Good to know! It sounds like the chick feed is definitely the problem then. I will be sure to toss it tonight and let them know it had gone bad and was likely causing GI distress.

I wonder why only this one hen is having issues with it though. No one else has had digestive issues that I've noticed. Maybe she's just eating more of it than the others?

Maybe she is the only one eating it or her digestive system might be already compromised by worms or else.