Red Vent

[jprice2ndlt]

Dad's got a chicken with a red vent, and the feathers are missing around the vent. She is still eating, drinking and laying, and none of the other hens seem to be messing with her. He's wondering if the chicken has mites or parasites that are causing the redness. Does anyone have any clues or suggestions on what to do?

 

[LadyShred]

Is it swollen or enflamed? Is there poop stuck around her vent or her rear feathers? Are the other chickens pecking it? Does she seem to be having any problems with it of that sort?

If it seems to be too out of hand (like if her vent is actually injured or if you answer yes to any of the above questions), you may want to separate her so she can recover. External parasites like mites will cause a chicken to lose feathers all over her body, not just the vent. And mites will spread from one chicken to another fairly quickly. Chances are, if it's mites, your hen wouldn't be the only one carrying them. There's over the counter mite spray that you can buy at your local feed store specially for chickens (I actually used some for inside birds from Wal-mart and it worked fine).

Hope this helps!

~Stevie