poopy butt got cleaned, vent area is read & raw, what do now?

[dowdschicks]

Hi chicken lovers!

I notice my RIR hen, about 3 yrs, has grey legs. Her butt is poopy and she has black spots on her comb, but they are small, not bumpy and didnt start out as white, either. She has a sneeze, maybe a cough I dont know the diff. We put fresh hay in their nests, Permethrin .25% on their butts, and in their 1 dust bath area too.

We washed off the poop and trimmed her butt feathers to find that her whole vent area is bare, and very smelly! It sticks out and is squishy. We went ahead and put Duramycin-10 (tetracycline hydrochloride) in their water because I noticed 2 other hens also have small black spots on their combs (maybe I'm paranoid & its really dirt, I dont know) The 3 other hens have soft clean feathers on their rumps....

Do mites cause all those symptoms?

What should we do now?

Should we toss the eggs after they've been treated w/ permethrin? What about Duramycin? Probably ya.

Technically speaking, isnt she passed her egg lying prime? Would she make better soup? I'm not into taking care of a dying bird if you know what I mean, but I don't want to eat something tainted, either.

1 other Q? & maybe related?

We dusted one other hen's butt and it looks fine, but her legs are very scaley. Mites? How do we get her legs smooth?

And, she's always had gangly nails. Is that an issue, should they be trimmed? And if so, how?

Ok, 1 more Q?

Should we put the Duramycin into our pullets' water too? They are seperated but still kinda in the same area. We did dust their butts for extra measure, but they all seem fine.


Thanks for all your info!!!

 

[MoodyChicken]

That's not a parasite problem you're dealing with, definitley a disease. I wouldn't have treated with antibiotics just yet by the way, but it's too late now. Treating without knowing what you're dealing with could potentially makes things worse and build antibiotic resistance. Any other symptoms? How are their droppings?

Rereading it, it COULD be a paratise, but it would be a big nasty one that's causing anemia. Plus the respiratory distress doesn't fit. I'm still looking.

 

[dowdschicks]

Uh oh. The other three hens have regular turds, the '"infected" one has runny poo. She has less energy than usual, but the other hens run around just fine. We could switch out their water, it's only been a couple hours.... Also she is not eating as well today. Her breathing was labored, but we had to chase her a little, and it seemed to slow down after a while. Then again, we had to chase another hen, and she didnt pant at all.

 

[MoodyChicken]

Are they losing weight? Are their droppings high in white, slimey urates? If so, it could be visceral gout, which is either genetic or nutritional.

 

[MoodyChicken]

Quote:
Don't change the water unless you're sure they haven't drank a lot. If they've drank some, you should finish the treatment.

 

[MoodyChicken]

Ugh, this is a hard one! You've got symptoms that don't match. So, slight respiratory distress, dark dots on face (possibly scabs from fighting?), bare belly, diarrhea, and depression. Hmmm...

 

[dowdschicks]

Ok! thanks so much! I havent noticed any poo out of the ordinary. I'll go do some more poo research though. No weight loss as far as I can tell, she's is kinda waddelling more than usual though. and one of our other hens is pretty pudgy

 

[MoodyChicken]

If she wasn't breathing funny and if her abdomen is swollen I'd say she's an internal layer in the final stages. Maybe Fatty Liver Syndrome too... is her comb swollen?

 

[dowdschicks]

Ok. Well, her comb is actually kinda droopy now. So, Is her abdomen closer to her chest or her butt? Her chest seemed fine, but her rump area definately seemd to be squishy and more rounded outwards than the others.

 

[countrybum]

If she had the stuff caked on her rump and it has been there for a couple days, it is probably just swollen and raw from that, which if she was backed up and unable to relieve her self due to the caking, it would cause the runny stool, etc.