Vent gleet and molting? Not sure

[Fallenoak]

Hi! I have chickens that are just over a year old. Hen in question is a sex link. Forgive me if I’ve gone about this all wrong, I’m a new chicken owner and this is our first health issue. We had a bad bad cold and snow spell back in January and I was really worried about the birds but they did fine. Shortly after that, I cannot remember the exact date, sometime in Feb, one of the gals started losing her feathers. I thought it was just a bad molt. It started at her head/neck area and then moved to the bottom. I can see some pin feathers growing back all over. Her bottom is nearly bare now, and just in the last week or so I noticed a very poopy bottom. I didn’t think much of it, thought it was just due to the bare butt. I have noticed some separation from the flock for awhile, but thought she was just tired from growing new feathers? No bullying or anything. Today she has been acting very sick suddenly. Moving very slow, breathing hard, sitting hunched, falling asleep. I started doing some research and gave her a bath and got her bottom as clean as I could. Her vent looks swollen. Idk what the crop should feel like but it’s not swollen. She is definitely smaller than the rest of the flock. I think she’s been losing weight. I thought it was just the loss of feathers making her look smaller, but now I definitely think she’s smaller. Her poop seems to be diarrhea. She is eating and foraging some, but very very low energy. The rest of the flock is totally fine. What can I do? I cannot take her to the vet.

 

[Fallenoak]

Tonight she was asleep outside the coop . Got her in the garage in a box with some electrolytes. No idea what to do to help her!

 

[Justagalwithchicks]

Tonight she was asleep outside the coop . Got her in the garage in a box with some electrolytes. No idea what to do to help her!

Until someone else chimes in- did you dry her off if its cold there at all? Keep her warm and quiet.
Have you tried worming her? When you say diarrhea, is there yellow in it?
Does she lay? When was the last time? She may need calcium citrate with vitamin D.
Probiotics can be added to her water. Make sure she is eating.
Mine will eat a wet mash of their regular crumbles or scrambled egg.

 

[Fallenoak]

Until someone else chimes in- did you dry her off if its cold there at all? Keep her warm and quiet.
Have you tried worming her? When you say diarrhea, is there yellow in it?
Does she lay? When was the last time? She may need calcium citrate with vitamin D.
Probiotics can be added to her water. Make sure she is eating.
Mine will eat a wet mash of their regular crumbles or scrambled egg.

didn’t dry her because it’s warm here currently, she’s dry now. I’ll keep her in the garage overnight for sure, luckily it’s not supposed to get cold for the next few days. I have not tried worming, can just one have worms out of a whole flock?? The diarrhea does seem to have some yellow, but mostly brown and white. The stuff stuck on her feathers is yellowish.

She does lay, but hasn’t in forever. It got very cold here in January, and all my girls stopped laying for over a month. The others all started up just over a week ago, and I don’t think she has laid since.
Do you know the best way to get them probiotics, vitamin d, and calcium citrate?
If she makes it through the night I’ll give her some scrambled eggs first thing. I did see her eating today.

 

[Fallenoak]

She does lay, but hasn’t in forever. It got very cold here in January, and all my girls stopped laying for over a month. The others all started up just over a week ago, and I don’t think she has laid since.
Do you know the best way to get them probiotics, vitamin d, and calcium citrate?
If she makes it through the night I’ll give her some scrambled eggs first thing. I did see her eating today.

My message sent weird for some reason. Thank you so much for responding! I did get in touch with someone who works at a very clinic, and I think they will be able to help tomorrow!

 

[Justagalwithchicks]

My message sent weird for some reason. Thank you so much for responding! I did get in touch with someone who works at a very clinic, and I think they will be able to help tomorrow!

You can get probiotics at any farm store. They are good to have on hand. Along with Nutridrench.
The calcium citrate with vitamin D is from Walmart in the vitamin aisle. If she is having any laying issues, it will hopefully help.
If you suspect vent gleet, I would look on here and search to determine if could be a cause and how to treat. I hope you get her some help. Best of luck.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi! I have chickens that are just over a year old. Hen in question is a sex link. Forgive me if I’ve gone about this all wrong, I’m a new chicken owner and this is our first health issue. We had a bad bad cold and snow spell back in January and I was really worried about the birds but they did fine. Shortly after that, I cannot remember the exact date, sometime in Feb, one of the gals started losing her feathers. I thought it was just a bad molt. It started at her head/neck area and then moved to the bottom. I can see some pin feathers growing back all over. Her bottom is nearly bare now, and just in the last week or so I noticed a very poopy bottom. I didn’t think much of it, thought it was just due to the bare butt. I have noticed some separation from the flock for awhile, but thought she was just tired from growing new feathers? No bullying or anything. Today she has been acting very sick suddenly. Moving very slow, breathing hard, sitting hunched, falling asleep. I started doing some research and gave her a bath and got her bottom as clean as I could. Her vent looks swollen. Idk what the crop should feel like but it’s not swollen. She is definitely smaller than the rest of the flock. I think she’s been losing weight. I thought it was just the loss of feathers making her look smaller, but now I definitely think she’s smaller. Her poop seems to be diarrhea. She is eating and foraging some, but very very low energy. The rest of the flock is totally fine. What can I do? I cannot take her to the vet.

She does lay, but hasn’t in forever.

Today she has been acting very sick suddenly. Moving very slow, breathing hard, sitting hunched, falling asleep. I started doing some research and gave her a bath and got her bottom as clean as I could. Her vent looks swollen.

Welcome To BYC

It looks like she has a bloated abdomen. Does it feel tight like a drum or squishy.

If it's tight like a drum, then she probably has fluid in the abdomen (symptom called Ascites). This symptom can sometime be due to reproductive issues (EYP, Internal Laying, Salpingitis, Cancer, etc.) and/or organ dysfunction.
Draining may help reduce her symptoms for a period of time, it will not cure the underlying condition that is causing the fluid to build up.

With her abdomen being so bloated and she's swollen, she's just probably leaking poop and urates. Possibly some egg material, hard to know. This does not look like Vent Gleet.

I'd offer her supportive care. See that she's staying hydrated. You can offer her normal feed.
I would not soak her, this can be stressful and sometimes send a sick/lethargic hen over the edge.

Giving the Extra Calcium (300mg Calcium Citrate+D3) once daily for a week may be helpful if she's struggling to expel an egg, membrane or lash material.

Check her for lice/mites. You can keep her bottom cleaned up though, once you've cleaned her apply a little ointment, oil or NuStock cream to the skin below the vent to help keep the urates/poop from stick to the skin and causing further irritation.

Your hen's stance and demeanor in the photo says she's not feeling well.

If you wish to drain, this video is helpful.

 

[Fallenoak]

You can get probiotics at any farm store. They are good to have on hand. Along with Nutridrench.
The calcium citrate with vitamin D is from Walmart in the vitamin aisle. If she is having any laying issues, it will hopefully help.
If you suspect vent gleet, I would look on here and search to determine if could be a cause and how to treat. I hope you get her some help. Best of luck.

Thank you so much for your advice, appreciate you!