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

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

Quote:
What is the percentage of chicks you lost? I know you didn't figure out the diagnosis, but do you think it was something contagious? How old were they?

 

[raylastanford]

Where did you get these chicks? Your own hatch, purchased eggs, purchased chicks?

 

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

These chicks are all from either MPC or the feed store - never been outside yet. The EE is from MPC and the LB is from the feed store.


I just went back to my local feedstore with the chicks to see if they could help me with a diagnosis. They didn't have any idea, but
handed me a packet of antibiotic (duramycin?). Since the antibiotic was supposed to be for respiratory infections, I opted for some sulmet instead (for bacterial infections). Should I give this to the chicks (even though I have no idea what they have)? Should I give it to the entire bunch - even the healthy ones?

BTW - the white discharge smells awful and is constant, but is not diarrhea. Their poops look perfectly normal, not runny.

 

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

Well... I figured out what it is. It is Vent Gleet - a thrush / avian yeast infection. The bad bacteria took over the good bacteria in the chicks' digestive system.

I did not give them the sulmet after all, which is a good thing. It probably would have wiped out all the good bacteria.

Yesterday & this morning, I gave them a little boiled egg with acidophilus added to it (from a capsule). I just found out her diagnosis last night, so after reading about treatments I went shopping. The new plan is: ACV in their water & plain yogurt a few times a day. I'm also adding a tiny bit more of the acidopohilus from the capsules and a couple drops of polyvisol to the mixture.

I feel so bad for them - while the EE is pretty noisy, the little light brahma is naturally quiet until.... she needs to poop. It's obvious that
that it hurts her EVERY time. She's not constipated - the poop is soft -but I think it burns. When washing the EE's butt yesterday, my finger started stinging - I looked down and saw a very tiny cut at the tip of my finger - some of what's in the chick must have gotten into my cut.
Yes, I did disenfect the cut with Peroxide and then later put neosporin on it.

So far, it's only these two chicks that are having the problem - the rest look great.

 

[PunkinPeep]

Awesome!

I am very sorry that you're chicks are going through this. And i felt a little pain for them too, when you described how it hurts them to go.

But i'm so glad you were able to discover the problem and that it should be fixable.

I'm also excited to add a new bit of information to my own belt.

Thanks for sharing with us!

 

[AmyBella]

So glad you figured out what is is! I have never heard of vent gleet before. I'm wishing the babies a speedy recovery!

 

[HidingInTheHenHouse]

Wanted to tell you a bit about my experience with this same thing. I have 2 chickens that have the constant runny white stuff leaking all the time. The skin below the vent is very raw and irritated. I too thought it was vent gleet. I gave probiotics in the water for a week, and cleaned daily. No improvement. Gave Nystatin (like for babies with thrush) 3 cc twice daily for 5 days. No improvement. Finally, I decided to try antibiotics, thinking maybe it wasn't yeast, but an intestinal or kidney infection. Tylan 50 - no improvement. Oxytetracycline - no improvement. Finally, I bought some long acting penicillin for injection (subcutaneous), and some Neomycin. I have been giving one of the chickens a 1/2 cc injection every 3 days with the 3rd injection just yesterday. I have also been giving the Neomycin as 1 teaspoon per gallon of water in her drinking water. She is finally healing. I had plucked all of the feathers on her rear to make cleaning easier and now they are growing back, she doesn't stink anymore, and her droppings now have white caps, instead of just brown. The leaking is almost gone. Her vent is healing and not red and bleeding anymore. I am keeping her separate until her feathers grow back a bit more, but she is definitely on the mend.

I'm not sure which antibiotic of the two is working, or if it is the combination of the two, but something is actually working.

I was ready to cull her and give up, when I thought to try antibiotics that are known to work on intestinal bacteria like E. Coli and Salmonella.

Good luck with treating your little one. Keep us posted.

 

[lexy]

I have 2 week out black sexlinks and i took them outside to get some sun and grass.Well i went to check in on them in about am hour,and one of the chicks was getting her vent pecked horriblely.Blood is a great appetizer for chickens i guess. Anyways i isolated her washed her butt and put wound honey on it,i use it all the time on me and my daughter its very safe.Well a few hours later i noticed she had a glob of white stuff coming out of her vent too. Its the next morning now and its still coming out,am wondering if they pierced something in her vent, because an infection doesnt start that fast.She doesnt look like she is eating or drinking,probably gonna loose her,but what is the white stuff?

 

[TheFirstLadiesChickens]

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?