Possible Vent Gleet

[casportpony]

I felt her abdomen, and inside her vent last night, but couldn't feel anything. She had been laying soft eggs for a while, so I may not have noticed it inside. Can't reach my vet, but found a new one who handles chickens, livestock, and exotics. I'm there now. Doc checked inside her vent, and dug out a large amount of poop, but not all of it. Having a couple of X-rays taken, to see exactly what's stuck in there. If it's poop, he's considering flushing her out; if an egg, he'll try to remove it

Have him show you how to do subcutaneous fluids and how to crop feed. Dehydration can cause obstructions.

-Kathy

 

[dsbailey70]

I've already left there

 

[casportpony]

I've already left there. UPDATE: X-rays didn't show any hard eggs; unknown whether any soft ones tho. She's lost some more weight since Monday. Doc thinks either, God forbid, renal failure (bc of the heavy urate deposits), or possibly egg peritonitis. Giving her a shot of calcium gluconate, a shot of deximethisone, and some azithromycin to take home. He says if she's not better by Monday, he'd advise euthanizing her.

Did he not give her fluids? If not, call back and ask why.

-Kathy

 

[dsbailey70]

She's drank very well this morning, and ate almost a soup spoonful of pearsauce

 

[casportpony]

She's drank very well this morning, and ate almost a soup spoonful of pearsauce

When I took my egg bound hen to the vet they gave her fluids even though she was drinking and sent me home with instructions to do the same. Fluids are key, and I would definitely want to know that the bird was properly hydrated before I made a decision to euthanize.

• Colder weather means they they aren't as likely to drink as much.
• Takes lots of fluids to produce eggs.
• Soft eggs are harder to pass.
• Dry poop is hard to pass.

Call them back and ask about fluids.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

FWIW, I noticed one of mine had a very small, very dry poop, so I will tube some fluids to her and another that I saw straining yesterday. Both are not laying, so I know it's not egg related. Fluids tubed at 15 ml per pound, then again in 60-90 minutes will usually produce a nice runny poop in 2-3 hours.

-Kathy

 

[dsbailey70]

I talked to them again. The Dr. said I didn't need to tube water her; the deximethisone is supposed to stimulate her appetite and thirst. That along with a few prayers will hopefully help.

 

[dsbailey70]

LATEST UPDATE: I found another Vet in Beaumont who handles chickens, and really seems to be knowledgeable about them. He handles livestock, birds, and exotics too. Anyway, the X-rays did not show any hard eggs inside her. Unknown whether there were any soft ones tho. He dug a good amount of poop out of her too. She's lost some more weight since Monday. Doc thinks that it's either, God forbid, renal failure (bc of the heavy urate deposits), or possibly egg peritonitis. He gave her a shot of calcium gluconate, and a shot of deximethisone, and then some azithromycin for me to take home. He says if she's not better by Monday, he'd advise euthanizing her. She's eating and drinking, and spent the rest of the day foraging with the others. Weather's supposed to be bad tonight/tomorrow, so I'm going to bring her inside tonight, along with her sister, so she's not stressed too much. Crossing fingers and praying too

 

[SarahTsu]

LATEST UPDATE: I found another Vet in Beaumont who handles chickens, and really seems to be knowledgeable about them. He handles livestock, birds, and exotics too. Anyway, the X-rays did not show any hard eggs inside her. Unknown whether there were any soft ones tho. He dug a good amount of poop out of her too. She's lost some more weight since Monday. Doc thinks that it's either, God forbid, renal failure (bc of the heavy urate deposits), or possibly egg peritonitis. He gave her a shot of calcium gluconate, and a shot of deximethisone, and then some azithromycin for me to take home. He says if she's not better by Monday, he'd advise euthanizing her. She's eating and drinking, and spent the rest of the day foraging with the others. Weather's supposed to be bad tonight/tomorrow, so I'm going to bring her inside tonight, along with her sister, so she's not stressed too much. Crossing fingers and praying too

It's lucky how you're able to find good vets to handle the situation. How is she doing now? Were you able to find out what was wrong or did she recoup on her own after that?

 

[SarahTsu]

Not all vent gleet is from yeast, sometimes it's a bacterial infection.
http://birdhealth.com.au/flockbirds/poultry/diseases/vent_gleet.html

-Kathy

Thank you for including all the helpful links - makes info gathering and understanding the situation that much easier for an anxious keeper in need of help.