JTHens1992
Hatching
- Jun 9, 2023
- 2
- 0
- 7
Two months ago I noticed one of my hens looking messy in her rear end. Old crusted poop was starting to become noticeable, attached to her rear feathers. I did my best to trim the messy feathers and pull the dried droppings off. It never did get much better. I am semi new to chickens and I chalked it up to her maybe not standing in the right position when she poops. Other than that no noticeable symptoms.
Fast forward to about a month ago, something is clearly wrong with her. Her stance is much wider. She has a noticeable waddle. Her rear end is still messy. She drops her wings a bit and her tail feathers don't stay raised like the rest. Her comb is also layed over, and slightly darker than it used to be. She looks lethargic and stands around a lot or lays down drifting in and out of sleep. And her feathers stay ruffled looking. She still eats and drinks.
This is when I start digging into forums trying to find out what's wrong. Gleet seems like a good place to start because of her messy rear end. But she doesn't really have white discharge from her vent, and it doesn't smell as bad as what I read it should.
Nevertheless, I start some regular treatments for her. I start soaking her rear in Epsom salt and dawn soap and clean off the old droppings. I trim her rear feathers. I apply anti fungal cream and also small amounts of apple cider vinegar to her water.
It seems to have helped some. There are days where she looks better than others. Her comb stands up a little and looks more vibrant. She finally takes the time to pick out her ruffled feathers and she has a little more energy
But nothing seems to be helping long term. This morning she was looking bloated, had a bad waddle where her feet are actually starting to turn inward, and she looks very tired. Now I'm not really sure how to help her.
I've looked into other possible illnesses, like internal laying, parasites, or some kind of chicken disease, but all my other hens are perfectly healthy.
I'll attach a few pictures I took this morning. Does anyone know what is wrong with her and how I can help her?
Sorry for the long post.
Fast forward to about a month ago, something is clearly wrong with her. Her stance is much wider. She has a noticeable waddle. Her rear end is still messy. She drops her wings a bit and her tail feathers don't stay raised like the rest. Her comb is also layed over, and slightly darker than it used to be. She looks lethargic and stands around a lot or lays down drifting in and out of sleep. And her feathers stay ruffled looking. She still eats and drinks.
This is when I start digging into forums trying to find out what's wrong. Gleet seems like a good place to start because of her messy rear end. But she doesn't really have white discharge from her vent, and it doesn't smell as bad as what I read it should.
Nevertheless, I start some regular treatments for her. I start soaking her rear in Epsom salt and dawn soap and clean off the old droppings. I trim her rear feathers. I apply anti fungal cream and also small amounts of apple cider vinegar to her water.
It seems to have helped some. There are days where she looks better than others. Her comb stands up a little and looks more vibrant. She finally takes the time to pick out her ruffled feathers and she has a little more energy
But nothing seems to be helping long term. This morning she was looking bloated, had a bad waddle where her feet are actually starting to turn inward, and she looks very tired. Now I'm not really sure how to help her.
I've looked into other possible illnesses, like internal laying, parasites, or some kind of chicken disease, but all my other hens are perfectly healthy.
I'll attach a few pictures I took this morning. Does anyone know what is wrong with her and how I can help her?
Sorry for the long post.
