Poorly hen

[mimih]

Hi, I'm looking after some chickens while the owners are on vacation but one of them has become sick. She had a dirty butts few weeks ago before the owners went away which I mentioned to them, I'm not sure what try did about it. This hen is approx 4 years old and has become very lethargic over the past few days, when I spoke to the owner yesterday she said it has been going on for a week. The bird has a dirty butt, in fact it was so caked on yesterday I had to wash her. This improved her feathers a lot and although she needed some encouragement she was still eating and drinking. I added stress less / aminos and apple cider vinegar to her water, which she drank. Today she seems more drowsy, can't se to keep her eyes open and has no interest in food or fluid. Her butt was covered in white/very light green-ish slimy goop which smelled sour. It kind if looks like it's just running down her butt onto her feathers. I washed her off again and she did a poop which was almost entirely like slimy water and white in color. I managed to get a few drops of water into her but no more. Does anyone have any ideas of what could be wrong and what else I can try??

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

So sorry about this hen. From your description, she sounds like she has Vent Gleet. It is a yeast/fungal infection in the intestinal tract. You need to get her on probiotics only in her water. This will help to cure it from the inside out. Next, you may want to trim off some of these feathers near her vent so the poop doesn't stick to much and get her cleaned up and dried off. If her butt is red, which usually it is with Vent Gleet, you will want to use vaginal cream on her butt once or twice a day to help clear up the yeast infection.

Try to get her to eat...chopped up hard boiled eggs or even yogurt is good for sick birds. Anything she will eat just to keep her alive. If you know how to syringe food down her throat, Gerber baby food will keep them alive and well. I doubt she will readily eat it, but you can try.

You might also post this in our emergency section for more help as well....

https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/10/emergencies-diseases-injuries-and-cures

How nice of you to pay such attention to anothers flock. I hope you can get her healed and back to good health soon.

 

[mimih]

Thank you so much for your comments, I found it very helpful. I just went back to check her and she is so sleepy she won't eat or drink anything. I found some probiotic capsules, opened it, mixed it with a teaspoon of plain yogurt and water. I just fed her 25mls via a tube and syringe straight into her crop (she is quite a small bird) I hope I did it right, she didn't seem any worse off afterwards so here's hoping. This really isn't how I had planned my weekend to work out, but at least I know I did my best.

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

Yes that is sounding like vent gleet. Never treat this with antibiotics as it will kill both the good and bad bacteria. Probiotics are a safe bet. Put some in her water. Vent gleet is not the best sight. Like Two Crows said, yogurt and egg are great for sick chickens. Garlic and molasses are also wonderful. Some of the best treatments include: washing it and giving her 1 tablespoon of plain yogurt a day.

Hope she heals!

 

[TwoCrows]

Excellent! Since you know how to get food into her, you might get some baby food into her. I use it all the time on sick birds. It is loaded with vitamins and minerals and can keep them a live a long time. Stick with the veggie foods....peas, string beans, carrots, etc.

You can dump an entire capsule of probiotic in a one quart water, discard the capsule and fill with water. Change it daily and make new. Use vaginal cream on her butt, keep her clean, feed her yogurt, eggs and baby food. You should be able to keep her alive as she heals this way.

Keep us posted and I hope you can get her fixed up! At her age however, her immune system may not be all that healthy. And she may be suffering from something else as well.

Have you seen her lay? She could also be egg bound. You might do a quick internal exam. It is very easy. Put on a latex glove with a tiny bit of ky jelly or vaseline on the index finger and gently insert it into her vent. Don't go down, but go directly back and along the back. About 1 1/2 to 2 inches in is the uterus. If you go in that far and don;t feel anything, then she isn't egg bound. Most eggs get stuck in that last inch before the vent. If there is an egg back about 2 inches, than she is not egg bound and it is still in the uterus.

If she has a stuck egg right there, you can soak her lower half in warm water for 10 or 15 mins. 2 crushed up Tums tablets contain enough calcium to help with contractions to expel the egg.

Keep us posted!!

 

[mimih]

Ok, I'll do that tomorrow, it's 8.45pm here now & I'm hoping that she rested this afternoon. I ended up putting her in the nest box so the others wouldn't bother her. How much baby food should I be giving her? If she's still too drowsy to eat I'm assuming I'll have to do the tube feeding again.

 

[TwoCrows]

Just give her a tiny amount...maybe 5 ccs at a time, every few hours. Just make sure the tube on the end of the syringe cannot fall off when removing it. I have heard horror stories of the tube coming off inside the crop. If her crop feels empty, then give her some food. If there is something it in, then wait an hour or so before feeding again.

Keep us posted!!

 

[Michael OShay]

Welcome to BYC! TwoCrows has given you some good advice and a good link. I hope the hen you are caring for will be okay. Good luck.

 

[mimih]

Hi everyone, thank you so much for all of your very helpful comments and advice. Sadly the chicken didn't make it and had passed away during the night. To say I'm upset doesn't quite cover it as she was such a friendly bird. I just hope the others are okay.

 

[sumi]