Vent gleet, my experience with it.

Desiderio

In the Brooder
Jun 1, 2023
3
19
26
Good morning, new member here, I have been around for a while but just officially joined today.
I am not sure if this is the right place to post this but I wanted to share my recent experience with vent gleet.
It affected one of our younger lady, and it took me over a month to resolve, so don't feel like this is something that will be a quick fix (note to myself :)).
I have trried the monistat, acidifying the water, probiotic, cleaning locally etc. but for the first 2-3 weeks, I didn't see any real result, also her vent was prolapsed, I am assuming due to the inflamation that was going on inside. (my note is that most of the vent gleet posts and suggestions, hardly mentioned about vent prolapse, and maybe was just my lack of experience with it, so I felt overwhelmed in the beginning).
With the help of this forum, I was able to purchse the Nystatin (sp) powder online https://birdpalproducts.com/products/fungistat-powder?_pos=1&_sid=d22f1a885&_ss=r (because it is a prescription only and I don' t really have a vet for my hens, and is not always easy to find one),
and started the treatment right away. I want to specify that she never lost her appetite or thirst, which was helpful in treating her. Because I don't have a lot of experience with treating chickens other than simple things, I have found the best way to administer the nystatin solution, was to soak small amount of food and give that to her. In the morning was a small piece of home made bread, and in the evening, when I washed her and applied topic treatment, I would make her a scrambled egg (because she also felt thin to me), let the egg cool down and then soak it with the solution. I would put her in the shower and use warm (not hot!!) water with the shower head on a gentle setting, and just slowly wash her bottom making sure to break down that cement that forms under the feathers ( if you do this every evening it will eventually stay cleaner and cleaner). Then I applyed, in the beginning, vetericyn, and bacitracin ointment https://www.walmart.com/ip/Equate-Bacitracin-Zinc-USP-Ointment-First-Aid-Antibiotic-1-oz/301318046.
After further researches, I read that raw honey was suggested to help with the vent prolapse part of the issue, so I started using that directly at the vent location.
I have kep her inside for few nights only to keep her clean, as we didn't have any issue with peacking, and I find that unless I really need to, separating does more harm because they stress more (we had a dog attack and one of my old lady was hurt, so in that case I kept her in until the wound was closed, about 5 days or so, she did just great 😍)
I also wanted to share this product I found and I think it was a great discovery Absorbine Silver Honey spray might not be a new thing for many, but I think it was a game changer. I used that after washing and drying, and for good measure also used a bit or raw honey at the vent.
I am happy to say that her vent is all back in place, no more leaking, and I think her feathers are growing back.
The nystatin was given in solution form (followed the directions on the bag, I assumed she was about 5 lb, even though I felt she was little lighter) 20gr of distilled water/1.5 grms of powder, I split that solution in two and gave her 1/2 in the morning and the other 1/2 in the evening.
My next step was to purchase the metrodinazole and try that, since vent gleet could mean different issues, not necessarily a fungal infection.
Keep my fingers crossed.
I hope this can be of any help for anyone going through a similar issue, it looks like it might be a common illiness, which i have nver experienced since now.
Best of luck and thank to the wonderful people in this comunity, for the help and the compassion!


Vanessa
 
I am not sure if this is the right place to post this but I wanted to share my recent experience with vent gleet.

I didn't see any real result, also her vent was prolapsed, I am assuming due to the inflamation that was going on inside. (my note is that most of the vent gleet posts and suggestions, hardly mentioned about vent prolapse, and maybe was just my lack of experience with it, so I felt overwhelmed in the beginning).

I am happy to say that her vent is all back in place, no more leaking, and I think her feathers are growing back.
Welcome To BYC

Thank you for posting and for all the tips. I'm glad your hen has recovered.

Vent Gleet (Cloacitis) is inflammation of the Cloaca. Yeast/fungal or bacterial infections can be a cause as well as parasites. This inflammation usually causes a yeasty foul smelling discharge and the vent can become inflamed and swollen.


When a hen has a prolapsed vent, you may also notice a white discharge and/or crustiness, this is usually from leaking urates, hard to describe the odor for this, it's distinct as well, but I would say it's not a yeasty odor. It can be a challenge to remove the discharge from the exposed tissue and can take days to weeks to resolve. Once the prolapsed tissue is in place and being retained, the discharge/leakage generally is resolved on its own without any further treatment.

I see your note that you rarely see Vent Gleet posts mentioned along with prolapse. Likely for good reason. A Prolapsed vent is exposed tissue with part of the oviduct hanging out and an emergency, while vent gleet is *usually* a fungal/yeast infection with inflammation and discharge.
 
Welcome To BYC

Thank you for posting and for all the tips. I'm glad your hen has recovered.

Vent Gleet (Cloacitis) is inflammation of the Cloaca. Yeast/fungal or bacterial infections can be a cause as well as parasites. This inflammation usually causes a yeasty foul smelling discharge and the vent can become inflamed and swollen.


When a hen has a prolapsed vent, you may also notice a white discharge and/or crustiness, this is usually from leaking urates, hard to describe the odor for this, it's distinct as well, but I would say it's not a yeasty odor. It can be a challenge to remove the discharge from the exposed tissue and can take days to weeks to resolve. Once the prolapsed tissue is in place and being retained, the discharge/leakage generally is resolved on its own without any further treatment.

I see your note that you rarely see Vent Gleet posts mentioned along with prolapse. Likely for good reason. A Prolapsed vent is exposed tissue with part of the oviduct hanging out and an emergency, while vent gleet is *usually* a fungal/yeast infection with inflammation and discharge.
Thank you, I indeed felt overwhelmed and confused, even with all the information out there, or maybe because there are too many variables. I was very close to approach an emergency clinic, because like you mentioned, the vent prolaple was worrysome, but also maybe, due my lack of experience, that wasn't a full prolapse, but just an inflamation? I would say about 1 inch or so of the vent was out. I guess it is hard to tell in the beginning (but I am not hoping for more practice!!) and just requires more experience in these matters.
Thank you so much!!
 
Thank you, I indeed felt overwhelmed and confused, even with all the information out there, or maybe because there are too many variables. I was very close to approach an emergency clinic, because like you mentioned, the vent prolaple was worrysome, but also maybe, due my lack of experience, that wasn't a full prolapse, but just an inflamation? I would say about 1 inch or so of the vent was out. I guess it is hard to tell in the beginning (but I am not hoping for more practice!!) and just requires more experience in these matters.
Thank you so much!!
The poor girl!

About an inch sticking out, I would call definitely call that the beginning of a prolapse. Sounds like she was swollen and inflamed. Reading over everything you did to care for her, you did an excellent job!

Sometimes we can have too much info and it can become very confusing and overwhelming. Trying to find the right solution(s) while tending to an urgent matter can absolutely be a challenge. But you made it through and now have that experience and knowledge that you can share with others.
 

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