Vent gleet....again?! Nasty pictures warning!!

[ChristinaE]

Hi there!

We had a chicken that had a nasty bum so we took her to the vet who had no idea of what was going on with her but gave us some medicine that she thought might help our hen. It did for a few weeks but then she started acting sick again to the point where we had to eventually put her down.

Well about a month later, our other chickens started getting nasty butts again. Our neighbors who has had chickens since forever gave us antibiotics for our chickens and their nasty butts. I have since read that antibiotics are not good for chickens with bent gleet. SMH They got better but three weeks later, the nasty butts have returned. I think it’s vent gleet but not for sure. My husband cleaned out their coop after the first chicken was put down, I’ve been giving the chickens a ACV in their water and yogurt so i’m just not sure why we keep having problems with this!! Any advice welcomed, please!

 

[SurferchickinSB]

View attachment 1801729 View attachment 1801730 Hi there!

We had a chicken that had a nasty bum so we took her to the vet who had no idea of what was going on with her but gave us some medicine that she thought might help our hen. It did for a few weeks but then she started acting sick again to the point where we had to eventually put her down.

Well about a month later, our other chickens started getting nasty butts again. Our neighbors who has had chickens since forever gave us antibiotics for our chickens and their nasty butts. I have since read that antibiotics are not good for chickens with bent gleet. View attachment 1801731 SMH They got better but three weeks later, the nasty butts have returned. I think it’s vent gleet but not for sure. My husband cleaned out their coop after the first chicken was put down, I’ve been giving the chickens a ACV in their water and yogurt so i’m just not sure why we keep having problems with this!! Any advice welcomed, please!

Hope you find a solution! I have been having a similar problem and would like to know how to deal with it also!

 

[Kathy Golla]

Where are you in the world?

 

[Eggcessive]

Are the vents just becoming soiled from droppings, or is there redness, irritation, and white or yellow patches under the vent with very smelly droppings, that may be a fungal infection? The latter is what vent gleet is. What are you feeding? Are you cleaning the waterers daily? I like to give me hens chicken feed mixed with water and a bit of plain yogurt for probiotics every couple of days. The extra water they get tend to make their droppings more runny. Also in warm weather, they drink more, so droppings may be more runny. Consider getting a fecal test with some combined droppings by a vet for worms, coccidiosis, and fungus.

It is important to keep their feathers clean, and you can soak their bottoms in a bucket of warm soapy water to clean them off. Then inspect the skin. Take more pictures if there is redness or feather loss. Think about trimmings excessive feathers to avoid the caking of poo.

If you are dealing with actual vent gleet, they may need an antifungal medication such as Nystatin. You can get it without a prescription here:
https://www.jedds.com/shop/medistatin/

Here is some info on vent gleet:
https://www.tillysnest.com/2012/12/vent-gleet-prevention-and-treatment-html/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/vent-gleet-aka-nasty-chicken-butt.64647/

 

[ChristinaE]

Where are you in the world?

We are in South Carolina.

 

[ChristinaE]

Yes, they do have all of those symptoms that you listed for the fungal infection. One of my white leghorns has it the worst. The latter is what vent gleet is. We are feeding them commercial feed (Purina) with table scraps . I am NOT cleaning the waterer everyday so maybe that’s it! Just clean the waterer s everyday with water and soap? How much ACV do you put in your waterer? (I’ve seen differing recommendations.)I do give them yogurt a couple times a week and they just finished worm medicine. With the Nystatin, I just put it in their feed?

Thank you!! You are a Godsend!

 

[Eggcessive]

The directions would be to add the Medistatin to the feed 5 grams or 1 tsp to 500 grams for 5 days. Do you have a cheap gram scale? You can buy them at Walmart in the kitchen gadget section. You will need to add a few drops of oil or some water and mix the feed to coat the feed with the powder.

If you have a vet, they can prescribe Nystatin liquid suspension, that you may dose to each sick chicken twice a day.

I usually clean out my waterers with a kitchen brush and dish soap and water, and rinse well daily.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I'm curious if your vet did a fecal test on the deceased hen to see if there were parasites or any pathogenic bacteria.

 

[ChristinaE]

Ok I am going to buy that today. Thank you sooo much!

 

[ChristinaE]

I went to a vet that specializes in livestock and she had NO idea what was going on with my chicken. She said she hadn’t treated a chicken in like 20 years. Needless to say, I feel like I have no resources out here so I am grateful for this forum!

I just gave my chickens worm medicine if that helps?

Also, I noticed the chicken who has it the worst is now like having liquid just drip down out of her bum. It came on SO quickly this time!...Or maybe it never really went away.