one of my 1 year old girls gets pasty at times near her rear and vent. I noticed this morning that she has lost alot of feathers just below her vent. The area is pink in color and has what looks like a little bruise that is a little smaller than a dime. I trimmed some of the remaining feathers that looked somewhat un-clean this morning. She is currently molting and has been since April. She hasn't laid an egg since then either. Can anyone give me any advise? Please help!
? Molting or something else near vent
- Thread starter racefanz
- Start date
- Oct 18, 2007
- 1,388
- 9
- 171
Check her for mites and also pick her up & feel her abdomen to make sure she isn't laying internally. Does her poo look ok?
- Thread starter
- #3
Well, I have 7 other chickens so it is hard to tell who's poo is who's. I had a really weird dream last night where I was checking her vent and found alot of blue eggs inside her. I started to take them out, but there were so many that I tipped her upside down and shook them out of her, too funny! How would I know if she was laying internally and what would I do about it if that was the problem?
- Thread starter
- #4
Here's a few links that may help. Some chickens are just dirtier around their vent. I have a GLW that is that way. And they can slow down or stop laying while molting. Need to rule out pest though. Good luck.
Imp
http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/0018.html
http://www.chat.allotment.org.uk/index.php?topic=17568.0
http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/library/lvstk2/mf2308.pdf
Imp
http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/0018.html
http://www.chat.allotment.org.uk/index.php?topic=17568.0
http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/library/lvstk2/mf2308.pdf
- Thread starter
- #6
If she's had pasty vent long term, she's just burned her feathers off.
Can you tell us a little more about her so that we can fix the root cause (the pasty vent) and help her get on the road to recovery?
What diet is she eating, exactly (including percentage of protein and the type of food - like layer, grower, etc)
How old is she? Is she with other birds? Is she thin feeling?
Definitely check her for parasites.
I would clean up the area as you have, treat the sore with neosporin. Put something dry on top of it like corn starch or baby powder to keep flies from being attracted to it. You will keep to keep the pasty vent cleaned up and dry as this is like a sore an elderly person gets. Flies will be attracted and then you'll have maggots to deal with, and that's no fun.
I would start by giving her yogurt every day for a week. If possible, also give her 1 tablespoon of organic apple cider vinegar (not regular please - it does't have the same effect) per gallon of water as her sole source of water for a week. The combined effects of the good bacteria in the yogurt (same as those inside of her gut) and the pH and bacteria in the organic apple cider vinegar will help her good bacteria increase, bad bacteria and yeast decrease.
On the first day, give her at least one feeding with some applesauce and cooked oatmeal in it - just a little. This should help cleanse her digestive tract and provide some soothing effects. Do it only ONE feeding. This will help the digestive tract to be a little more cleaned of bad bacteria so that the good bacteria of the yogurt and the pH of the OACV can really work.
Let's start with that, and see what the answers to the questions tell us about fixing the very cause of this.
Can you tell us a little more about her so that we can fix the root cause (the pasty vent) and help her get on the road to recovery?
What diet is she eating, exactly (including percentage of protein and the type of food - like layer, grower, etc)
How old is she? Is she with other birds? Is she thin feeling?
Definitely check her for parasites.
I would clean up the area as you have, treat the sore with neosporin. Put something dry on top of it like corn starch or baby powder to keep flies from being attracted to it. You will keep to keep the pasty vent cleaned up and dry as this is like a sore an elderly person gets. Flies will be attracted and then you'll have maggots to deal with, and that's no fun.
I would start by giving her yogurt every day for a week. If possible, also give her 1 tablespoon of organic apple cider vinegar (not regular please - it does't have the same effect) per gallon of water as her sole source of water for a week. The combined effects of the good bacteria in the yogurt (same as those inside of her gut) and the pH and bacteria in the organic apple cider vinegar will help her good bacteria increase, bad bacteria and yeast decrease.
On the first day, give her at least one feeding with some applesauce and cooked oatmeal in it - just a little. This should help cleanse her digestive tract and provide some soothing effects. Do it only ONE feeding. This will help the digestive tract to be a little more cleaned of bad bacteria so that the good bacteria of the yogurt and the pH of the OACV can really work.
Let's start with that, and see what the answers to the questions tell us about fixing the very cause of this.
- Aug 9, 2009
- 25
- 0
- 22
Quote:
Im not having any of these issues but WOW!! So much information to be gleaned in this one post. Thank you for sharing. Hmmm, maybe I should get a notebook and take notes.
Im not having any of these issues but WOW!! So much information to be gleaned in this one post. Thank you for sharing. Hmmm, maybe I should get a notebook and take notes.
- Thread starter
- #9
It's not her vent that has been pasty, so to speak, it is the feathers below it. Not sure if that is the same thing you are talking about or not. Her vent looks good. I assume all chicken vents don't smell all that good. As would ours where our "stuff" comes out!
She is just over a year old, with 7 other hens, and definately isn't thin!
I checked her out last night, thinking that maybe there were mites or something down by her feather root, but it looked more like they were dirtyish. How do I check for parasites? I am new to owning chickens (since April).
They all eat Purina Mills Layena. The amount of protein is 16%. She also eats scratch grain and other "scraps" that I give them all. Pasta, grass, oatmeal, veggies, fruit.
I will start the yogurt as soon as I can get to the store as well as the ACV. Can I just put the ACV in the water that they all share or will that harm the other girls?
I have uploaded pics of my girls, but I'm not sure if others can see them. There is one of her on there showing her rear.
I was hoping that you would respond to my cry for help! I have read sooooo many other topics that you have responded to and you seem to be super smart when it comes to chicken health issues. Thanks so much!!
She is just over a year old, with 7 other hens, and definately isn't thin!
I checked her out last night, thinking that maybe there were mites or something down by her feather root, but it looked more like they were dirtyish. How do I check for parasites? I am new to owning chickens (since April).
They all eat Purina Mills Layena. The amount of protein is 16%. She also eats scratch grain and other "scraps" that I give them all. Pasta, grass, oatmeal, veggies, fruit.
I will start the yogurt as soon as I can get to the store as well as the ACV. Can I just put the ACV in the water that they all share or will that harm the other girls?
I have uploaded pics of my girls, but I'm not sure if others can see them. There is one of her on there showing her rear.
I was hoping that you would respond to my cry for help! I have read sooooo many other topics that you have responded to and you seem to be super smart when it comes to chicken health issues. Thanks so much!!
Some people might call that pasty vent, others would just call it "droppings clinging to feathers" which is the approach I think I'll take at the moment as it clarifies the situation.
Good on not thin - that makes adifference. When you say dirtyish, did you find clusters of white stuff? Or just what looked like yard dust? Basically to check for parasites, you look (once at least at night, once during the day) all under their feathers, on their feather shafts, everywhere really. You look for moving anything - dot or longer - on their feathers, clusters of white stuff at the base of their feathers or along the shafts. The reason of checking at night a couple of times at least are that mites stay off the bird until night time when they make their move to go feed. They can stay off of the bird for days at a time, but they leave reddened vents, sometimes droppings cling, etc. They lay their eggs off the birds. The white clusters, should you find them, would be indicative of louse - louse eggs specifically.
For lice there are two kinds - a wheat colored louse, and a sort of grey colored louse that has a dark 'abdomen' when it feeds. The former are irritating but not a matter of that-day urgency. The latter are a matter of that-day urgency as those are 'sucking lice' and can quickly drain a bird.
Good on the food. That's a nice food, a nice protein level. As for feeding, just try to keep the scratch as a treat - though cracked corn and other grains can be fed up to 10% of the diet (if you include treats). WIth poultry, you wan to keep most of their diet fortified unless someone designs a feed for you around a vitamin/mineral package. We'll not "go there" at the moment because it's complicated and frankly the diet you're giving is just perfect.
Both the yogurt and the ACV would be of benefit to all your girls, yes!
If one of the other girls is having an issue, then it'll help correct them. I use it occassionally for healthy hens just to give them a sort of "tune up".
I can't see your pictures, unfortunately. The way I do it is I signed up for www.photobucket.com . It's free and they don't send you junk. I upload my photos there (it's easy - they just say upload photos, you browse for them on your computer and click the button). THey'll put the photos right there in your window. Then you just cursor over them. Doing so gives you a list of options, including IMG. IMG will have a string of text in the box beside it - something like [ IMG ] blah blah [ IMG ]. You just copy that text and paste it in the typing box here at the forums. It'll appear just as text to you, but when you hit Submit and you look at it on the forum you'll see the photos. (I was sure I messed things up the first time I did it as I just saw writing.)
I'm very glad I can help. Thank you for the kind words. We'll try to figure out what's going on with your girl and how to fix it.
I just really love chickens, well all animals birds in particular, and have spent a lot of time learning.
Learning is the fun part!
Good on not thin - that makes adifference. When you say dirtyish, did you find clusters of white stuff? Or just what looked like yard dust? Basically to check for parasites, you look (once at least at night, once during the day) all under their feathers, on their feather shafts, everywhere really. You look for moving anything - dot or longer - on their feathers, clusters of white stuff at the base of their feathers or along the shafts. The reason of checking at night a couple of times at least are that mites stay off the bird until night time when they make their move to go feed. They can stay off of the bird for days at a time, but they leave reddened vents, sometimes droppings cling, etc. They lay their eggs off the birds. The white clusters, should you find them, would be indicative of louse - louse eggs specifically.
For lice there are two kinds - a wheat colored louse, and a sort of grey colored louse that has a dark 'abdomen' when it feeds. The former are irritating but not a matter of that-day urgency. The latter are a matter of that-day urgency as those are 'sucking lice' and can quickly drain a bird.
Good on the food. That's a nice food, a nice protein level. As for feeding, just try to keep the scratch as a treat - though cracked corn and other grains can be fed up to 10% of the diet (if you include treats). WIth poultry, you wan to keep most of their diet fortified unless someone designs a feed for you around a vitamin/mineral package. We'll not "go there" at the moment because it's complicated and frankly the diet you're giving is just perfect.
Both the yogurt and the ACV would be of benefit to all your girls, yes!
I can't see your pictures, unfortunately. The way I do it is I signed up for www.photobucket.com . It's free and they don't send you junk. I upload my photos there (it's easy - they just say upload photos, you browse for them on your computer and click the button). THey'll put the photos right there in your window. Then you just cursor over them. Doing so gives you a list of options, including IMG. IMG will have a string of text in the box beside it - something like [ IMG ] blah blah [ IMG ]. You just copy that text and paste it in the typing box here at the forums. It'll appear just as text to you, but when you hit Submit and you look at it on the forum you'll see the photos. (I was sure I messed things up the first time I did it as I just saw writing.)
I'm very glad I can help. Thank you for the kind words. We'll try to figure out what's going on with your girl and how to fix it.
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