Silkie with too much poo on her vent

[ryanhodapp]

My Silkie had a big thing of poo on her butt. I thought it would fall off, no it didnt.
It looks like a dog's mangled hair.
So I cut out as much as I could and soaked her in warm water. I was able to get more off. But the vent area looks a little raw so I was afraid to keep picking.
Any other ideas?

thansk,

 

[peepblessed]

Is this an adult silkie?

 

[ryanhodapp]

she is a pullet, born early April

 

[peepblessed]

Quote:
It is possible she has an egg problem. That was the first symptom I had. I kept washing it off when the problem was in side. I'm going to include a massage check you can do to make sure she is okay...

Here is some good advice from "eggchel" about how to help an eggbound hen,
I hope this helps your girl out!

Separate her.
Plan on keeping her separated from the other hens for a couple days so that
you will know if she passes an egg, what condition the egg is in (although a
broken egg will often be eaten right away) and so that the other hens do not
peck at her vent if she has egg yolk or blood in the area.
Examine her externally.
Examine her by gently feeling her belly from the outside. Can you feel a hard
egg? If so, you
can give her a warm bath (see instructions below) and massage her belly
towards her vent to help move the egg out.
Examine her internally.
Now, I can understand that you might not feel that you know your hen well
enough to check inside her vent for an egg or shell pieces, but it really
might be necessary. You could put on a pair of surgical gloves if that makes
you feel better and put some
vasoline or mineral oil on your finger and then just gently feel around inside
her vent to see if you can feel a hard egg or sharp shell pieces.
This will not only give you an idea of what might be going on, but it will
also apply some lubricant where it might do some good if there is an egg stuck
in there. If you feel any broken pieces of shell, see if you can carefully
slip them out without cutting her.
Unfortunately, they sometimes get twisted inside and it becomes impossible for
the egg to come out without surgery, or it causes the reproductive tract to
prolapse (invert itself outside of the vent). If that happens then you need to
gently push the prolapsed part back inside and hope it stays, but often that be
comes chronic and requires culling.

Giving a chicken a massage bath:
You can use rubbermaid tote, a baby bath, a 5 gallon bucket or an old dishpan
for the bath. I use the sink on my back porch or the laundry sink. (Some folks
use their kitchen sink but I dont suggest that for sanitary reasons... )
Check the water temperature the same as you would for the baby, good and
warm but not hot.
Lower her gently in the water. It should come up to her back. Keep your hand
over her back to prevent sudden escape attempts and to keep her from losing her
footing and panicking. Either one will result in her flapping her wings and
you will get soaked.
Massage her belly gently moving in the direction of her vent. She should
relax in the warm water. Some birds even fall asleep.
Getting her dry.
After the bath, wrap her in an old towel and put her under a warm lamp or
inside the house to keep her warm. Keep her wrapped in the towel for at least
15 minutes, or longer, to absorb as much of the water from her feathers as
possible. Then move her to a rubbermaid tote or a dog/cat carrier with a lot
of shavings to help dry her. Again, keep her inside until she is dry, it
will take overnight, and she needs to be in a warm place. It takes a long
time for them to get dry all the way to the skin unless you want to speed the
process with a hair drier. Amazingly, after the first minute or two, they

dont seem to mind the hair drier. Just be sure to frequently use your other
hand, between the hair drier and the bird, to be sure that it isnt too hot.

 

[NovaAman]

great advice.

 

[ryanhodapp]

she layed her first egg on Thursday, so do you think it could be egg bound? egg was in tact.
I will go feel her belly, I didnt really feel anything when I was working on her before

i will be right back
i appreciate the help

 

[ryanhodapp]

i dont feel anythin hard in her belly or around her vent.
I did bring her back in to see if there is any other advise.

 

[peepblessed]

It might not feel hard as it could be a broken egg inside. My girl felt squishy and distended.

 

[ryanhodapp]

I dont know what you mean by distended?
I did put some antibiodic cream over her vent to try and loosen anything up.
I dont know how to get into her vent as she is so small.
she is sleeping on my kitchen table wrapped in a crib sheet.

 

[peepblessed]

Quote:
If felt very full but soft. If you have another hen you can feel her bottom and see if it feels any different.