Need help! 2 week old chick has white stuff coming from her vent

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

This little EE chick is 2 weeks old today and is having a big problem in her vent area. At first, I thought it was pasty butt and treated it as such, but now I don't think that's the problem.

Her vent and the area below seem swollen - she has a constant flow of white stuff that comes out and coats the area below the vent. Her vent itself has blood in it. It has a strong odor. Poops themselves seem normal. She stands like her butt hurts (same stance as a chick with pasty butt does), but doesn't act listless. She will follow us around the house, when out of her box because she doesn't want to be alone.

She has had this problem for 2 days (since Saturday night) and has been separated from the others since yesterday (I did put one other chick in with her, so she wouldn't be alone). All the rest of the 30 chicks (in 3 different brooders) seem very happy and healthy.

Treatment given so far; I've rinsed her bottom in warm water, cleaned it with tissue (which seems to hurt her). I gave her molasses with water the first evening, so that she wouldn't have to strain, but since then, I've seen her poops and don't feel like she has trouble with them.

What does she have and what do I do?

 

[The Chicken People]

My broody hen had white stuff coming out so I am curios to hear some old timers chime in here!

 

[LynneP]

When you say white stuff, do you mean like egg albumin or like infected material? Sometimes a han can have a broken egg or an incompletely formed one leaking but it is usually passed. A broken egg can cause infection, have you seens any bits of shell? Warmth and shallow belly baths are of huge value provided you can keep the hen in a situation where she is dried immediately. I would keep her separately from contact with others, though I see you point about having a companion hen, perhaps in another cage. Do you have any reason to suspect bullying/pecking by a more dominant hen? If you suspect infection you may have to consult a vet or experienced owner here for specific information. I am not generally in favor of using antibiotics, but there are some specific situations in which they are needed to save a hen.

 

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

My little chick is only 2 weeks old, so her problem has nothing to do with eggs. I have no idea what the white stuff is - not sure if it's infected stuff or not. I've never seen it in any of my other chickens and am not experienced with this. Does it sound like an infection?

 

[purpletree23]

Molasses to a chicken is like a laxative. I wouldn't recommend anymore. I would separate her just in case it is something contagious. Give her starter crumbles and water and monitor her poops. Can you attach a picture?

Have you given them any treats?

Are her crumbles medicated?

Keep her on a diet of starter crumbles and have fresh water available.

Make sure the temp is correct for her. Is she still in a brooder. Temps too high can cause diarrhea.

Clean her little butt gently and after patting dry apply some Preperation H to the outside. It will sooth and shrink swollen tissues.

Make her a boiled egg and smash up the yolk and give it to her to eat. Also give a little bit of yogurt twice a day. Not a lot. Just the size of a big pea. Make sure the yogurt doesn't have fake sugar and plain is better than the fruit kind.

Update us please.

 

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

Okay - this is where the sick chick & her buddy are being temporarily housed (she's on the right). Litter is a mixture of pine shavings and TerraAmigo bedding. They weren't on the pine shavings till last night -I changed their bedding again and was running out of the Terra Amigo. That's a rock in the water dish - I didn't have any extra chick waterers for them.

The only food they have been on so far is medicated chick crumbles & water (with the exception of a giving the sick chick a little molasses when I thought she had pasty butt). I won't give her any more.

This photo was taken right before a rinse (has wet, fresh poop at the opeing):

These were taken right after rinsing her and patting her lightly with tissue - I can't get anymore off without making her squeal. I know the pictures aren't very good - it's hard to see, but there is fresh blood inside, at the opening. You can see the vent is protruded a little too.

This is the hiney of her buddy - what her butt should look like too:

 

[purpletree23]

I was going to say that you were possibly giving too many treats but you aren't giving any treats. That's very good. Keep up the washing and soak her hiney in warm water if necessary to get dried crusty poop off. Apply the preperation H to help with the swelling and irritated skin. Poor little gal!

Try the egg yolk and the tiny bit of yogurt. Not too much yogurt because the milk can cause them to have diarrhea. You're darned if you do and darned it you don't.

You did say that she was active and eating correct?

 

[natalie1136]

I'm not sure what causes it but i'm sorry to say i have lost some like that. Your right it stinks really bad.

 

[purpletree23]

You can also make a 'glop' for them to eat. Mix crumbles, yogurt and boiled egg yolk. Add water until it is mushy but not wet and runny.

Keep us posted.

By the way....they are adorable!

 

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

I'm not sure if she is eating or not - they have food, but don't eat while I am watching. She is a little less active than normal, but is not totally listless. Can I give her scrambled eggs & yogurt without grit?

I'm really upset now. I just checked my other babies and found my light brahma hiding behind the water dish. She has been pecked and her bottom is identical to the EE. The vent is protruding and she has white (cottage cheesy) stuff coming out of it. She was also pecked on her wings, so I appled neosporin to all her wounds and have isolated her. This light brahma had a purple spot on her backside - applied by the feed shop as an identifying mark. I don't know if the other chicks singled her out because of that, if they pecked her because of her vent problem, or if the vent problem was caused by their pecking. She had been with the same chicks for about a week now with no problem, but I did just move them into a new location. The EE with the problem didn't have any peck marks anywhere else.

I've been keeping the chicks in the house for the last 2 weeks - both chicks (1 from MPC & 1 from the feedstore) were in different brooders. I just split the 30 chicks up and moved them into 3 brooders (for more space) last night and put the brooders into an extra building we have out back (too much chicken dust in the house). The rest of the chicks still look good. I don't know if there is something contagious going on or if both chicks coincidently got pecked and received the same type of injury? I've had chicks before and have never seen this happen - Any ideas as to what is going on?