Hi, does anybody recognize this condition? Hen has diarrhea and a very messy butt, is lethargic and swollen looking. I searched through old posts and found lots of apparent possibilities. What is everyone's guess? Thanks very much!!
What is swollen--the vent or the area below the vent? First I think you should clean up the vent by trimming feathers, cleaning off the poo, so that you can take a pic of the vent. She may just have poop that has been getting stuck on her, or could have vent gleet, or a possible prolapse. Vent gleet is an infection, and there may be bald patches of inflammed red tissue with white patches. If the abdomen below the vent is swollen, it could be ascites (fluid) or a tumor or egg yolk peritonitis in the abdomen. Here is a link: http://www.tillysnest.com/2012/12/vent-gleet-prevention-and-treatment.html
Thanks! Her whole body is swollen up like a pumpkin. But it doesn't look like the vent gleet symptoms. Mostly it looks like messy diarrhea. But she is definitely in some discomfort.