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

[KaseySnow]

Thank you for the input, eggcessive! I'm glad to hear you don't think it's early stages of vent gleet. At the time of posting I wasn't sure if poop having close contact to skin could cause vent gleet down the road.

After cleaning her off yesterday and seeing that her skin looks fine, maybe a little red, but nothing that looks like an open wound or infection, I'm feeling better about it not being gleet. Now just trying to figure out why she is having runny poop.

Here is a picture of her this morning.

Doesn't look like she preened her feathers yesterday after I washed her off. Not as much poop as before, but definitely runny. I'm making the carrot soup for her now and probably gonna feed her some vitamins and high probiotic yogurt later.

She was moving kind of sluggishly this morning and was keeping her head tucked most of the time. Hopefully she'll perk up in a few days after the extra nutrients.

 

[KaseySnow]

You could look at the date of manufacture and smell the chick feed, it might already be off. Other than that, the difference might be higher protein levels.

We don't have the bags anymore as it was all dumped into a feeding bin that we scoop out of, but I know we bought it for young pullets that were introduced in the spring of 2019, so it's two year old feed at this point. It's been kept in a cool, dry, dark environment the whole time, not sure if that helps. I'm sure the museum is just trying to save money by using it up first, but there's only maybe 5 pounds of it left, maybe we should just throw it out to be safe. What would it smell like if it were off? I haven't noticed a smell.

It is being mixed with a complete layer feed, Purina, I think, so they are getting a mixture of the chick feed, layer feed, and some scratch.

I have noticed them pecking at 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. So much I don't know!

 

[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.

 

[KaseySnow]

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?

 

[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.

 

[KaseySnow]

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.

No worries, Mother Hen, it doesn't sound unkind. I know their budget isn't huge, but they do set aside a certain amount of their funding each year for chicken-related expenses. I want to say it's around one thousand dollars to cover food, health/vet, and any coop upgrades. Their coop is a historic building, so sometimes upgrades to the setup can be tricky or expensive, so I know a lot of that budget has gone to that in the past, but I think most of the bigger upgrades like pouring concrete in the coop to help keep rodents out is behind us.

I may also be making assumptions about their reasoning for still using the chick feed. Frankly, we volunteers are more involved with the hens' day to day care than the museum staff, and most of us are new to chicken keeping. So it could just be a case of no one knowing that this was bad for them. I sure didn't.

As an anecdote to how new at this most of the staff and volunteers can be about chicken stuff, when I first started volunteering there in 2018 our polish went broody and one of the volunteers told the staff that they thought she was sick. The staff person went and looked at her, then sent an e-mail talking about euthanizing her if she didn't get better. Well intentioned, but I definitely spoke up quickly to explain about broody behavior, haha.

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

in 2018 our polish went broody and one of the volunteers told the staff that they thought she was sick. The staff person went and looked at her, then sent an e-mail talking about euthanizing her if she didn't get better. Well intentioned, but I definitely spoke up quickly to explain about broody behavior, haha.

OH! poor dear... motherhood is dangerous in your coop! Poor dear... she just wants to keep the babies warm, how wonderful is that? nothing nicer any creature ever does than to forgo some good worm hunting hours for warming up the eggs. Go give her a treat, lovely momma.

I give wet mash in the morning in the run and if there is a hen in the coop laying or brooding, I give her a little bowl so she doesn't get left out of the breakfast loop. I don't know why the wet mash is SO much better than the regular food, but it an easy treat that makes them happy, so I think the broody girls deserve a share.

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

No worries, Mother Hen, it doesn't sound unkind.

thank you for reassuring me, text isn't clear on tone, so much is how we read it