Lost my first little hen!

[autumn123]

Aw! She was the first and most prolific layer of the three, a little peach colored egg every day. One other hen had just finished molting, and she started losing feathers and quit laying, so I thought molting but I was wrong. One morning I saw she wasn't walking or acting normal so I separated her and checked her out, and she had vent gleet. I treated it with every suggestion I could find, but it was really too late. She just wouldn't eat and move around.

Well, darn! At least the other 2 gals are laying a big egg each daily. I hope to add to my little flock this spring.

 

[ellie32526]

Aw! She was the first and most prolific layer of the three, a little peach colored egg every day. One other hen had just finished molting, and she started losing feathers and quit laying, so I thought molting but I was wrong. One morning I saw she wasn't walking or acting normal so I separated her and checked her out, and she had vent gleet. I treated it with every suggestion I could find, but it was really too late. She just wouldn't eat and move around.

Well, darn! At least the other 2 gals are laying a big egg each daily. I hope to add to my little flock this spring.

I'm sorry you lost your hen. What did you do for her?
I ask because my roo has something which I think is vent gleet but I have been unable to cure him. He has had it for about six months. Big red raw butt, had diarrhea but that is gone now. His stools are more like normal. He still eats and drinks and runs around the hens doing his rooster dance, but his butt feathers have fallen out. I have tried various creams and ointments, blukote, athletes foot crème, vaginal itch cream, antiseptic/antibiotic cream - because I know it must be painful. The area feels hot when I apply the cream, like a fever. I tried putting a tsp of Nystatin in the water until the whole bottle was gone, but it didn't make it go away. I feed unflavored yogurt three-four times a week. It is very frustrating because I don't know what to do for hm.

 

[b.hromada]

I'm sorry you lost your little girl.

Sometimes things happen, and there isn't anything we can do.

 

[autumn123]

The first thing I did was to bathe her in a warm epsom salt bath to get the area completely clean. I fed her yogurt, minced garlic, warm mash, AND I have some probiotic pills that I take, so I started putting 1/2 a capsule in her food. She seemed to perk up at first, but she wouldn't roost or move out of her dirty litter, so she wouldn't stay clean.

I started giving the other two girls the probiotic with a treat each day, and no signs of problems with them. I think the main problem with vent gleet is that, in hens, it will affect their egg production and they can get eggbound. Even when they get well, they often don't lay again. Gosh, I don't know if a rooster would put up with a bath, but you could give it a try. If he is acting normal and doesn't stink too bad, maybe it's not really an issue.

So hard with chickens - usually they are simply replaced rather than cured. I'm not too upset, since my hens aren't really pets, but I hated to see her suffer.