poopy vent in newly rescued chicken

[elizabeth21]

We rescued some hens from our neighbor about a month ago. They were locked in a disgusting shed without light, food or water. Only 3 were still alive, all emaciated and extremely stressed. The leghorn had poop matted all over her belly/chest, under her wings and an extremely poopy vent. She was eggbound, I'm guessing from the compaction of her vent, so I gave her a good soak and got her all cleaned up. She's been laying daily since and all 3 are much healthier now.

But, the leghorns vent area is once again covered in poop! They have access to high quality food, oyster shell, fresh water and they free range all day. So my question is, are certain breeds more susceptible to this or just this chicken? How can I prevent it? I'm happy to clean her up but obviously am more interested in resolving the issue. I feel like we're doing all the right things but are we missing something? Is it possible that since she was neglected so long that she has internal issues that would be causing this?

Any insight would be greatly appreciate!

 

[8MerryHens]

Check for lice. Did you worm them? Just a couple of easy ones to check off your list as you are trying to find a cause.

Good for you for saving these chickens. Have never understood how people can cause suffering in any living thing.

 

[Isaac 0]

The only way to really prevent this is to cut the butt feathers with some scissors.Hens will occasionally get a poopy butt.You might want to put Probotics in there water such as Sav-a-Chick to help the poop go out better a good trimming and a good wash should stop more blockage.