Swollen Vent - 6 day old chick

[burchbagg]

• • I have been searching and reading for a couple of hours, looking for an answer, have called the two people we know that have chickens, but still haven't found any consistency or answer for the issue we think we have. We're new to chickens so i hope you guys can help! My wife just got 4 chicks last Tuesday and yesterday we noticed one of them, "Oyster," has a swollen vent. It is not what I'm understanding "pasty butt" to be, or at least not completely. She is pooping regularly (minus one stream/squirt of diahrea literally 5 seconds after a healthy poop, which is how/when I noticed the swollen vent), eating and drinking like normal, and has as much or more energy than the others. So yesterday we soaked her rear in warm water for 15 minutes, while my wife massaged her rear. During this Oyster went three times, all normal. Below is a pic of her vent after soaking, and as you can tell right after she pooped. As you can see, it looks very swollen.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    It seemed a little beetter last night before we went to bed, but that could have been because she was all dry. This morning we checked her and her vent was still swollen and looked what I would describe as a little crusty. She had a little, not a lot, of a dried Yellow ish crust at the seam of her vent, and it looked like there was a little blood. So we soaked her again and cleaned her with a warm/wet qtip. When she would pulsate her vent, it looked like red irritation inside. There was no running blood at any time, but it looked like her inside had blood red parts (sorry not really sure how to describe it).
    
    From what we have observed, she is not being pecked by any of the chicks, but she does peck or prune her rear herself, mainly after we cleaned her or after she has pooped.
    
    From what I've read, I don't think this is prolapse since she's a 6day old chick; and I don't think it's pasty butt because she's pooping regularly and does not have blockage on the outside. And she has normal energy which further confuses us. But thats as far as I know. We read about people putting prep H or neosporin on them, feeding them a little veggie oil, or baking soda/water, and weve read a little about giving them Corid, but we don't know what is the right thing to do.
    
    So after soaking her this morning, we sectioned off part of the brooder with cardboard, put screen windows and roof so she could see others but not jump over, replaced with new food/water/pine shavings, then I put a little neosporin on her vent and put her back in the brooder.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    Our brooder is a big plastic bin inside a wire dog crate; heat lamp creates temp between 90-95, we have been feeding them chick starter (un-medicated), and we have been putting "vital pack" (vitamins and electrolytes) in their water since we got them.
    Does anyone here know what the issue is and what we need to do? I know these little guys are fragile so I assume we need to do something sooner than later. ANY help would be much appreciated!!
    
    Thanks for y'all's time!
    

 

[Eggcessive]

It is a prolapsed vent. These are difficult to treat in chicks. The tissue that is sticking out must be pushed back inside by lubricating it first. It will hurt, but needs to be done. Honey, sugar, and Preparation H ointment can be applied to try reducing the swelling. The longer the tissue stays out becoming dried out, it may become dead and may not be able to be pushed back. Also the tissue can keep coming back out over and over until it heals, so it needs to be pushed back in. Frequent cleansing bathes jut to the bottom may be necessary, but keep the chick warm. Here are a couple of threads to read: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/857614/help-prolapsed-vent-chick
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/351494/please-help-with-my-chicks-prolapsed-vent

 

[burchbagg]

Thanks for the reply. Couple questions if you or anyone has a few minutes:

-I thought if it had a prolapsed vent it wouldn't be able to poop? This chicken seems to be pooping fine. Clearly I don't understand prolapsed vents.
-how exactly do we push it back in? we just soaked her for a few minutes, massaged her, and then my wife tried to push it back in, but we don't know how far to push. She pushed flush or a little in, but it came back out. She tried several times, but same result. Is she supposed to push her finger "in"? to push it back in?
-in the meantime we just dried her and put honey on it. Do we just rub it on, or in, or both?
-one of your links referenced Witch Hazel. we just bought some, but it seems it's a drying liquid not a lubricating one. Is that right? Do we do this in addition to honey, after honey, instead of honey, other?

Any other thoughts? It's just that in the one link the lady didn't seem so sure since she didn't have any experience with prolapse on chicks that young. And the other, referencing witch hazel, it sounded like an experiment. Just trying to make sure we do what's needed and do it the right way. (Couldn't find any videos on web).

Thanks for anyone's help/time.

All opinions are appreciated!

 

[burchbagg]

Ok so still trying to figure out best way to treat this. Not knowing what to do we soaked her again last night, then put honey on her vent for a couple of hours, then washed it off and put witch hazel on it before going to bed. This morning, color is better, doesn't look as irritated but still swollen compared to other chicks. Decided to reapply witch hazel.

As far as prolapsed vent, still dont understand because we can't see anything to push back in, meaning there's nothing hanging out of the vent like we've seen in other pictures.

Here's a pic showing yesterday and this morning. Hard to tell how size compares since she hasn't been soaking this morning but you can see color change for the better.

Any thoughts??????

 

[Eggcessive]

There is really not a whole lot of information about prolapse in chicks. Many will cull those chicks, but it is really worth a shot to try and save it. Push the tissue all the way back inside, and hold it there for at least 5 minutes. A rubber glove would come in handy. You could sit and watch a program while you hold it in. The muscles around the vent may get stronger and less swollen. You don't have to use all of the products, just one that you have. The honey is supposed to be good for swelling and natural antibiotic properties. Many use the Preparation H ointment because it stays on, and contains phenylephrine which reduces swelling. Witch Hazel is a product that is in Prep H Wipes as a natural ingredient to help reduce swelling. Stay away from the Extra Strength Prep H since it contains pramoxine (pramocain) which is a pain reliever that may be toxic in poultry.

The problem with prolapsed vents is that they do keep coming out, but with time, some people find they will stay in after swelling goes down. Here are a couple more links to read, although they are geared more to older hens: http://beautyofbirds.com/Prolapse.htm
http://www.littlehenrescue.co.uk/Pages/Medicaladvice.aspx

 

[mollybeelittle]

Hello! I know this post is very old now but I was wondering what ever happened to your chick? I have a 4 day old chick with the exact same issues you described. What did you end up doing? Was it indeed pasty butt or a prolapsed vent? I am worried because exactly like you the chick seems totally fine but has this red swollen vent. She never really had poop stuck to her butt the way they describe pasty butt to be like- and she is pooping like normal too. What did you do to treat? Did she make it? Thanks in advance for any info!!!

Ok so still trying to figure out best way to treat this. Not knowing what to do we soaked her again last night, then put honey on her vent for a couple of hours, then washed it off and put witch hazel on it before going to bed. This morning, color is better, doesn't look as irritated but still swollen compared to other chicks. Decided to reapply witch hazel.

As far as prolapsed vent, still dont understand because we can't see anything to push back in, meaning there's nothing hanging out of the vent like we've seen in other pictures.

Here's a pic showing yesterday and this morning. Hard to tell how size compares since she hasn't been soaking this morning but you can see color change for the better.

Any thoughts??????

H

 

[AC2020]

Hello! I know this post is very old now but I was wondering what ever happened to your chick? I have a 4 day old chick with the exact same issues you described. What did you end up doing? Was it indeed pasty butt or a prolapsed vent? I am worried because exactly like you the chick seems totally fine but has this red swollen vent. She never really had poop stuck to her butt the way they describe pasty butt to be like- and she is pooping like normal too. What did you do to treat? Did she make it? Thanks in advance for any info!!!




H

I too have the same issue. What did you do? Did it help? Thanks in advance!