Vent Gleet/Prolapse/or something else?

[brickmom68]

The white slime is a trademark symptom of a stuck egg. Been though enough of them in my flock to recognize it. There are physical dynamics causing it, which encourage dehydration, so offer her plenty of fresh water. You might put a teaspoon of sugar in it to boost her glucose.

The calcium must be at least 600 mg worth. Anything less will not be effective to encourage the contractions necessary to expel the egg. Give one whole calcium tablet directly into the beak. If it's Tums, the darned tablet is so large, break it in half. But the calcium best suited for this job is calcium citrate as it is digested easier than all the other forms and goes to work faster. This is a health emergency, not to be treated any less than that.

Thank you for your response again. Yes. I’m afraid she’s probably suffering from insensible water loss. I saw a trickle of moisture trailing don her backside this morning before her soak. I soaked her, massaged her, gave her monistat and fed her—she ate okay. I mixed Nutri-Drench into a mash that I made her. Then I gave her a Tums because I didn’t have calcium citrate/D3. I did purchase some tho.

I do have questions tho. Should she survive this is she more prone to repeating because there may be scarring inside her? And I did find a paper shelled egg in the coop, a different chicken expelled that one (but I don’t know who) during the night—it was under the roosting bars. So can i prophylactically give them all a Calcium tablet? I don’t understand why they would have thinly shelled eggs when they have oyster shell available at all times….I did get SIX beautiful hard shelled eggs today. And NO ONE else appears Ill or has a poopy butt.

Thanks for imparting your knowledge to me.

 

[azygous]

Normally oyster shell is all a laying hen requires as a calcium supplement. But other factors such as available sunlight, diet, stress, etc can interfere with calcium absorption. Yes, you may line up the girls and pop a calcium tablet into each beak. It won't hurt to do this a couple days in a row to get everyone caught up.

As for a hen with prolapse being more prone in the future to suffer this issue, it's usually the older hens that will repeat this. There's a far better chance this prolapse and stuck egg is a one-off if the hen is young.

It's important to monitor behavior as the hen is working through this crisis. It may resolve and you don't see the obstruction pass. But if her behavior reverts suddenly back to normal, and the prolapse retracts, she's past the crisis. If she continues to be lethargic after the prolapse resolves, it's an indication infection is taking hold, and you need to get her on an antibiotic.

 

[brickmom68]

Just to add, has she been laying normally? Have you checked to see if she is struggling to pass an egg? An Epsom salt bath is a good option when you clean her, also if she is struggling to pass an egg.
I have read you can do an Epsom salt flush for vent gleet, but I have no experience, maybe @azygous could advise you on that.

I have 8 hens, and no camera in their coop. My husband and I try to keep tabs on who is laying. But they all fight over one or two nesting boxes. Sometimes it looks like the line for the ladies room at a concert in there. I think she’s been laying fine. She certainly seemed to be acting fine.
Also read some info about an Epsom salt flush. And all I could think was “ugh, what if that goes down the wrong pipe and I aspirate my girl.”

I’m not equipped for this…

Vent Gleet is a white pasty, yeasty smelling discharge coming from the vent. Have you felt her crop or smell any bad odour coming from her mouth? I would carry on with the Monistat and see how she goes, I would also give her some probiotics.

It is 100% white, pasty, and stinky. Her crop feels fine, she’s not stinky from the beak end, just the vent end.
Now, if she does have a retained egg and it is becoming infected I don’t doubt that would be stinky too. But her belly is soft and I don’t feel any masses at all.

Normally oyster shell is all a laying hen requires as a calcium supplement. But other factors such as available sunlight, diet, stress, etc can interfere with calcium absorption. Yes, you may line up the girls and pop a calcium tablet into each beak. It won't hurt to do this a couple days in a row to get everyone caught up.

As for a hen with prolapse being more prone in the future to suffer this issue, it's usually the older hens that will repeat this. There's a far better chance this prolapse and stuck egg is a one-off if the hen is young.

It's important to monitor behavior as the hen is working through this crisis. It may resolve and you don't see the obstruction pass. But if her behavior reverts suddenly back to normal, and the prolapse retracts, she's past the crisis. If she continues to be lethargic after the prolapse resolves, it's an indication infection is taking hold, and you need to get her on an antibiotic.

Thank you.
I’ll keep working with her.
I’m going to get some things tonite so I can try to flush her out in the morning if she still looks up to it. I am at work tonight and my husband is home working with her tonight.

 

[azygous]

One thing at a time. As long as she's prolapsed, concentrate on that. The other issues can wait. If there's an obstruction, a flush isn't a good idea until it clears. I still believe her white slimy discharge is from the oviduct obstruction. This can produce the most acrid smelling discharge, you want to hold your breath. This resolves when the obstruction clears.

An Epsom salt flush is intense, and it must be administered by tubing directly into the crop. The most difficult part is obtaining the tubing and syringe. You can get a kit for a small animal from most vets. The tube is inserted into the right side of the beak, going slightly under the tongue and then down into the crop. The rest is quite easy and safe even if you've never done it. It's not going to risk aspirating the hen as long as the tube is securely inserted into the crop.

The flush is done twice a day for three straight days, very intense, but it will flush all the mold out of her system. Each dose is one half cup warmed water with one teaspoon Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate). This may not be necessary if the prolapse resolves and the discharge also resolves with it.

 

[Mrs J]

I have 8 hens, and no camera in their coop. My husband and I try to keep tabs on who is laying. But they all fight over one or two nesting boxes. Sometimes it looks like the line for the ladies room at a concert in there. I think she’s been laying fine. She certainly seemed to be acting fine.
Also read some info about an Epsom salt flush. And all I could think was “ugh, what if that goes down the wrong pipe and I aspirate my girl.”

I’m not equipped for this…

It is 100% white, pasty, and stinky. Her crop feels fine, she’s not stinky from the beak end, just the vent end.
Now, if she does have a retained egg and it is becoming infected I don’t doubt that would be stinky too. But her belly is soft and I don’t feel any masses at all.

Thank you.
I’ll keep working with her.
I’m going to get some things tonite so I can try to flush her out in the morning if she still looks up to it. I am at work tonight and my husband is home working with her tonight.

She is sooo pretty you are in the best hands with Azygous and Eggcsessive so I have no doubt that she will be as right as rain as soon as these issues are sorted out. Your doing a great job btw

 

[brickmom68]

Be sure to keep this hen separated inside a dog crate or other way, so that she doesn’t get her vent pecked and damaged while the prolapse is out. It looks like others have been pecking out her feathers under the vent already. They will peck at anything red.

Thank you.
I do have her in a dog crate in my heated garage.
I checked on her this morning. She was bright and active, I put fresh feed, grit, oyster shell down and she ate like a ravenous animal. Her eyes are bright, her comb is standing up and nice and red. When I opened the crate door she charged me like a bull and ran around the garage until I enticed her back in with food! We gave her a Monistat and a Calcium tablet.
My husband and I soaked her and I worked around her belly with wet hands. She actually fell asleep in the warm water. Her belly is protuberant, but I don’t feel a ‘mass’. I was able to get a finger in her and still didn’t feel a mass. I massaged a bit and reduced her prolapse. I watched her for a while and she hopped all over the crate. It is cold and very windy here. When she is good and dry my husband and I may take her for a walk in the yard to see if that helps her get things moving and expel whatever is inside.

 

[brickmom68]

One thing at a time. As long as she's prolapsed, concentrate on that. The other issues can wait. If there's an obstruction, a flush isn't a good idea until it clears. I still believe her white slimy discharge is from the oviduct obstruction. This can produce the most acrid smelling discharge, you want to hold your breath. This resolves when the obstruction clears.

An Epsom salt flush is intense, and it must be administered by tubing directly into the crop. The most difficult part is obtaining the tubing and syringe. You can get a kit for a small animal from most vets. The tube is inserted into the right side of the beak, going slightly under the tongue and then down into the crop. The rest is quite easy and safe even if you've never done it. It's not going to risk aspirating the hen as long as the tube is securely inserted into the crop.

The flush is done twice a day for three straight days, very intense, but it will flush all the mold out of her system. Each dose is one half cup warmed water with one teaspoon Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate). This may not be necessary if the prolapse resolves and the discharge also resolves with it.

I was able to reduce her prolapse this morning after a nice warm soak/massage/digital exam. I did not feel an egg or any remnants inside her—but it IS my first chicken GYN exam. She looks good—active, ravenously hungry, red upstanding comb. I gave her a calcium AND a Monistat, freshened up the crate and changed her food & water. It’s terribly cold and windy here, but she was hopping all over the crate like she wants out real bad so once she’s good and dry my husband and I were considering taking her for a walk in the yard—thought it might ‘get things moving’.