Treating possible vent gleet in freezing temperatures

[MommaHen2Many]

I have a hen who I am going to treat for what appears to be vent gleet. It is 25 degrees outside right now, and a toasty 68 in the house. I have trimmed the vent feathers, and the smell was foul, and pooh was crusted, and the vent looked red & sore. I only put some vaseline on tonight in the coop, as I didnt want to get her wet. I want to bring her in and give her a soak, blow dry her, treat her and then either put her in a pen in the garage or here in the house (if I can convince hubby) The garage is almost as cold as outside--but I could supplement with some heat there. I don't heat my coop and am concerned about when she goes back to the coop---with the change in temp being a possible 30 degree difference. So if I do bring her in to "stay" for easier treatment....how do I transition her back outside to those cold temps? I just don't want her to get conditioned to the much warmer temperatures...but I'm guessing she will need a few "soaks" until she is better, and I think this would be less 'shocking' to her system if she is not going back to 30 degree temps......has anyone had to do this? Temps for the next 10 days are below freezing at night, and between 35-45 degrees daytime. Thanks for any advice!

 

[Eggcessive]

Could you post a couple of pictures of her vent area cleaned up? I would be reluctant to give her repeated soaks during cold weather. Perhaps one soak to clean her up, blow dry her, and return her to the coop when dry, so that reintroduction would not be a problem. Then use probiotics (buttermilk with a little cooked rice,) Probios or other products, and treating her with either Nystatin or Fluconazole orally for vent gleet. Some may overdiagnose vent gleet, mistaking it for a poopy butt, but with the foul odor and redness, that could be what you are dealing with. Here is where to get Fluconazole or Nystatin without a prescription:
https://www.allivet.com/p-7911-fish...7PsubsgARx-Cas9M-b_NBSnMeVsLSBSBoCxn4QAvD_BwE

https://allbirdproducts.com/products/medistatin

 

[MommaHen2Many]

That is what I came up with overnight too. At least the part about trying to keep her in the coop. The really foul smell is what makes me think vent gleet. I am thinking about putting her in a separate part of the coop, so I can monitor her pooh and eating. Last night she didnt have anything in her crop, which has me concerned, I want to make sure she is eating, and nothing else is going on. I will try to get a picture after clean up. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't pretty either. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Eggcessive]

That is unusual that she has nothing in her crop. I would give her some electrolytes with vitamins—something like Poultry NutriDrench or Save AChick, and offer some wet chicken feed, a little chopped scrambled egg, tuna, or something she likes. Water is most important. Buttermilk and plain unsweetend yogurt can be mixed with a little cooked rice or feed, and the probiotics can help her digestive tract. Dog crates are great for separating a sick hen that needs to be watched, while keeping them with the flock for company. Puppy pads or an old towel can be used for bedding or placed over pine shavings.

 

[MommaHen2Many]

Eggcessive...thanks, I did give elect. w/ vit. first things this morning. I also watched her eat the feed I put down for the hens. So she is eating, and drinking. When I brought her in to give her a soak (I waited till the warmest part of the day) her crop was empty but she pooped on one of the towels, and I put it aside to check it. It was a good amount of poop. somewhat watery, but when the water soaked away it didn't appear alarming and it showed she had been eating. I didn't notice anything unusual in it..but it really stinks! I did wonder if the runny / unformed pooh might be from feeding higher protein due to everyone molting so bad. We just finished a bag. So her vent looks sore, I was able to clean & take pictures. I did put some prep H on my finger, and felt up into her vent...I didnt go high, but what I could feel felt normal up inside, but with the sores around the vent/outlet area. I did separate her, but in the coop. I have a small pen where I raise up broodies w/ babies, and it works well as a "time out" spot. She is there with treated water, food & very clean fresh bedding. I picked up the buttermilk, as well as greek yogurt at the store tonight, and will give that & the rice in the morning. Let me see if I can get the picts uploaded.

 

[MommaHen2Many]

I am also going to check her crop in the morning, as she has free access to food, and no 'competition' from the other 16 chickens....it should be full if she is eating well. If not something more might be going on. I am also going to try the rice/buttermilk, and I will see how the crop goes. She is I think around 2.5 or 3 yrs of age. I have no idea about 'laying' as she is one of 15 hens, and I cant tell her eggs from about 5 other hens. With our quick drop in temps, the hens went into an abrupt molt about a month ago, and they are just now getting fully feathered, and the eggs are down to about 1 per day.

 

[Eggcessive]

Glad that she is eating. There can be growths or papillomas inside the vent opening, and they can look like groups of raspberries, and may come out and go back iside the vent. Some also have reported white chaulky clumps of uric acid particles inside and around the vent opening. If she has vent gleet, it is usually a fungal infection, and the fluconazole (mentioned in post 2) ordered online, would be very good to use. It is a common drug used for human yeast infections. I can find dosage is needed.

 

[MommaHen2Many]

Boy did she like the rice & buttermilk! I put it in a plastic dish...but it wasn't the normal food bin, so she ignored it. Then I put some on my fingers and she at it, then munched down about 1/4 of a cup! I also made up some for my other 16 birds, and they loved it too. She had about 3 large poohs that I could see in the bedding. So for sure she is eating. She is a bit worked up over being in the pen, and not outside with her buddies. I'm going to get some Fluconazole, this is the dose I found at poultrydvm.com 2-5 mg/kg, given orally, once a day for 7 days. but then it later says, you may have to do for 30 days....does that sound right? So I need to weigh her, and then give 2-5 mg/kg of weight, right? I need a helper to take a look at her vent, so that will have to wait till later. I will take stuff to clean her up if needed, and them some antibiotic ointment for the sores...if it still needs it. I think being penned up will help with the roosters not mounting her either while things get straightened out.