Minor Vent Gleet

[raisingthelma]

Hi all, my hen has had minor vent gleet for a bit now. It doesn't seem to affect her negatively. She eats, drinks, lays 5-6 eggs/week, dust bathes, forages all normally. Her vent is not inflamed or swollen.

I do monthly checks on my 5 hens, and I noticed one of them has some matted feathers under her vent with dried white discharge. It sticks to her skin and her feathers. Sometimes she leaks a liquidy white discharge. Most of her poop is normal, occasionally there is a more watery one.

On Saturday, 6/7 - I gave her a bath over the weekend - a 10 minute epsom salt bath soak. I dried her, and I applied a little anti-fungal cream (athlete's foot cream - 1% clotrimazole, lotrimin brand) around her vent.

On Sunday, 6/8 - She went from being completely fine to UNWELL the next day. She didn't lay an egg (she was supposed to, she lays 5-6 days in a row then takes 1 day off. She took 2 days off from laying though... not normal for her). Her vent became very red and inflamed, and she didn't move around much. She was very lethargic and walked around with her tail down. In the late afternoon, I gave her another epsom salt soak because I feared the clotrimazole was irritating her skin. Before I applied the cream, her vent looked normal other than the dried white discharge. And the only area affected was where I applied the cream. It took some coaxing, but I got her to eat and drink after her bath. She seemed to be okay after that - became a bit more normal, eating, drinking, foraging, etc.

On Monday and through today (Thursday, 6/12), she has been laying eggs again (laid one a day since Monday). Her vent is no longer inflamed, but she still has the white discharge. Her poops have been normal.

I added ACV to their water per recommendations (1 tablespoon per gallon) for a couple days. I have not been giving them any treats. Just their feed, water, grit, and oyster shell.

All of the other hens are fine.

Is there anything else I should do? I am so worried about hurting her again. She reacted really poorly to the cream.

Thank you.

 

[Debbie292d]

Hi,

Treatment for vent gleet is to get a tube of generic Monistat cream, and after bathing, put that all over her vent. You can squeeze a tiny bit out and give it to her orally too. Do this three times a day if you can, and if you can, it should be gone in a couple of days.

I'd put probiotic powder in her water, such as Hydro-Hen or there's dozens of other kinds. I'd give them that weekly after this to keep vent gleet away.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

my hen has had minor vent gleet for a bit now. It doesn't seem to affect her negatively. She eats, drinks, lays 5-6 eggs/week, dust bathes, forages all normally. Her vent is not inflamed or swollen.

I dried her, and I applied a little anti-fungal cream (athlete's foot cream - 1% clotrimazole, lotrimin brand) around her vent.

On Sunday, 6/8 - She went from being completely fine to UNWELL the next day. She didn't lay an egg

She took 2 days off from laying though... not normal for her). Her vent became very red and inflamed, and she didn't move around much. She was very lethargic and walked around with her tail down. In the late afternoon, I gave her another epsom salt soak because I feared the clotrimazole was irritating her skin. Before I applied the cream, her vent looked normal other than the dried white discharge. And the only area affected was where I applied the cream. It took some coaxing, but I got her to eat and drink after her bath. She seemed to be okay after that - became a bit more normal, eating, drinking, foraging, etc.

she has been laying eggs again (laid one a day since Monday). Her vent is no longer inflamed, but she still has the white discharge.

She went from being completely fine to UNWELL the next day. She didn't lay an egg (she was supposed to, she lays 5-6 days in a row then takes 1 day off. She took 2 days off from laying though... not normal for her). Her vent became very red and inflamed, and she didn't move around much. She was very lethargic and walked around with her tail down. In the late afternoon, I gave her another epsom salt soak because I feared the clotrimazole was irritating her skin. Before I applied the cream, her vent looked normal other than the dried white discharge. And the only area affected was where I applied the cream. It took some coaxing, but I got her to eat and drink after her bath. She seemed to be okay after that - became a bit more normal, eating, drinking, foraging, etc.

Please get some photos of your hen and her vent.

She was unwell for a day, had not laid an egg, then went back to normal after laying an egg.

She does have a discharge...

Possible she has Vent Gleet or is having some type of reproductive problem.

I'd get her started on Extra Calcium for a few days. Give one 300mg tablet of Calcium Citrate+D3 once daily for a week.
See that she's drinking well and eating her normal feed. Check to see that her crop is emptying overnight.

Clotrimazole can be used to treat Vent Gleet and/or Sour Crop. I've used it with no issues, but some hens may be sensitive to certain products just like we are.

If you feel the Clotrimazole is an irritant, then stop using it. You can try Miconazole or get some Nystatin.

Often a Vent Gleet needs to be treated orally as well as an anti-fungal/yeast medication being applied externally to the vent.

It would also be a very good idea to take a sample of poop in for testing to see if she would benefit from deworming.

https://www.tillysnest.com/2012/12/vent-gleet-prevention-and-treatment-html/