Please Help! Chick w/weird vent- 2 holes side side??

[Grizzly Mills]

This is our first time with chickens so any information will be greatly appreciated.

We got 4 buff orpington chicks last Saturday (march 25th), and they're all eating and drinking very well. 3 of the 4 are growing like weeds and strutting around with new feathers. The 4th one just isn't growing that much, is now almost half the size of the others and has had issues expelling poop since we got her. Originally she had pasty butt so I cleaned her up really well and followed instructions from a lady at the feed store who's been raising chickens for 30 years- gave them some hard-boiled egg yolk (that they didn't really eat much of), and added electrolytes to their water. That seemed to clear up the diarrhea issue but now the little chick struggles to poop because it appears that her vent may have not fully developed open? The other 3 chicks have healthy looking vents, pink, a softish horizontal slit beneath their tail feathers, but this one's vent looks like 2 holes side by side. I read somewhere that one is the belly button but right after reading that I went in and she was trying to poop and it was coming out both holes? The poor thing pushes so hard and even squeeks a little while doing so. I've been keeping an eye on her since the pasty butt issue and the fact she's so little, but it hasn't really concerned me much because she runs around and plays with the others. I just had to help her pass a huge turd (sorry for lack of better wording here..) I'm assuming it was that big because it'd been blocked up there at her vent for a while. I massaged around her vent with warm olive oil which seemed to sooth her but when I put her back in with the others they won't leave her alone. Is this something I should be worried about? Any suggestions on what to do or expect will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance..

 

[Grizzly Mills]

**update**

I just had to help her pass another huge poo and it's not so much that it's 2 holes, it's like her vent has a thin membrane of skin down the middle connecting the top and bottom?

 

[tinydancer87]

hmmmm... if the "separation" is just on the hole itself, maybe it can be snipped?

It sounds like everything goes normally except when the poop wants to actually come out.

 

[adrian]

I don't have all too much experience with this sort of thing but if you could somehow get a picture, that would probably help everyone to determine what the best course of action should be.

 

[CMV]

If she has visible defects then chances are good she also has some that aren't visible. She is already failing thrive, and she is in all likelihood going to die. I would make sure she has access to resources, but take no special care with her. I don't cull chicks unless they are suffering, but that is an option that would not be out of the question.

Sorry. Good luck.

 

[Grizzly Mills]

I was thinking the same thing myself, it's like the vent just didn't fully develop open before she hatched. Other than struggling to get the poop out when it's kind of hard, she's running around and eating and drinking just like the others. She's doing better today than last night, I think she was exhausted from all the pushing and stress of having me help her. I agree the slit should be snipped if at all possible I'm just concerned about

1) it stressing her so much
2) it bleeding
3) it becoming infected as it's by her poop chute

I will try to take a picture when she's pushing again so it's easier to see the problem. Thanks.

 

[adrian]

I've been wondering how your little chick is doing. I wish I had more experience with which to help you. If a vet experienced with birds is available to you, it might be wise to have them look at the chick. It just seems like such a superficial deformity that if only it could be remedied, the chick could go on to live a healthy life.

 

[Grizzly Mills]

She seems to be doing well. She eats and drinks like the others and runs around like everyone else. I'm thinking (praying) that night was the worst of it because she was so backed up her poo was so big it couldn't get out. Since then I've been keeping an eye on her and she poops just not as much as the others. We've decided to just keep an eye on her until she gets bigger because I think as little as she is it'd be too traumatic on her system for any type of surgery. I'll post pictures weekly of their progress to my photos. Thank you for your concern.

 

[adrian]

I'm glad to hear she's doing better. A lot of the time people do suggest getting little deformities fixed earlier, before they become more severe, but due to the fact that she's so little it may be best to wait. Do whatever you feel is best. I'll check your photos regularly to see how she's doing...

 

[Grizzly Mills]

Just wanted to post an update (several months later, sorry) about our little Rosie. She continues to thrive and thinks she's the boss lady of the group. When the time came for the girls to start laying we became really concerned she wouldn't be able to pass an egg so we took herto a local vet who has a lot of experience with birds. She suggested a quick corrective operation that would open the vent up fully and sutured around the edges to hopefully regain some of her ability to open and close her vent when it healed so we went that route. Everything healed nicely and Rosie's been a happy girl ever since- lays well and seems normal. She's still about half the size of the other girls but it doesn't seem to be a problem.

I just wanted to post in case someone else ran into this issue with one of their hens. We never found any information elsewhere nor had the vet heard or seen cases thus far. I think it was a genetic defect or similar.

If anyone has questions please let me know.


Grizz