VENT GLEET? Treatment ideas? Please help.

[Chickiebaby8]

Originally I thought it was "pasty bum" but it has gotten worse and is more along the lines of vent gleet as described on several internet sites, including BYC.
I have washed her several times only for it to get worse. She is a mess back there. It doesn't seem to bother her but it looks absolutely painful.

1) What type of bird , age and weight. Barred Rock, Female, just started to lay. Good weight. Looks full grown.
2) What is the behavior, exactly. Vent Gleet suspected. White yucky discharge and very red vent area. AND she has a little "cough" sound she makes. No mucus, bright eyes, spunky.
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms? On and off for a few weeks but it is the worst right now.
4) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma. No, just REALLY red.
5) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation. She might have reacted to having a new home. It was really wet here when we got her and perhaps her feed got wet?
6) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all. Eating and drinking fine. Laying almost every day.
7) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc. Poop kind of runny but not outside the norm.
8) What has been the treatment you have administered so far? ACV in water, isolation, plain yogurt and apple sauce. She seems to really like it.
9 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet? I might call an avian vet but am trying to avoid it.
10) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
11) Describe the housing/bedding in use They have pine shavings on the floor of a big chicken house, plenty of roost poles and a huge fenced in pen with lots of grass.

 

[Imp]

The only information I have is to keep the area clean either by washing or trimming feathers. And use of topical antibiotics may help.

Good luck

Imp

 

[welovechickens]

I think my 1-year-old SLW hen has this same thing! Is it a yeast infection? We trimmed her "fluff" a few days ago because it was just gross how messy it got.

I'm feeding her yogurt every day now to see if it helps! She seems totally fine other than the icky backside feathers.

 

[MotherJean]

This is caused by fungus in much the same way that women sometimes acquire vaginal yeast infections after taking strong antibiotics. It means that your bird is lacking the beneficial bacteria in her gut to prevent this fungus from taking over. You need to treat it in much the same way as a human vaginal yeast infection. First, feed this girl plain yogurt - 1/2 small carton per day. Mix it in with some other feed if she won't eat it alone. You can also add Probiotics to her water supply. Nystatin is a prescription antifungal often prescribed for fungal infections in the mouth (thrush). If you have an friendly vet, he may supply you with this drug without demanding an office visit. Otherwise, you can use Miconozole applied directly into and around the vent area. Miconozole is an over the counter vaginal yeast infection cream that can be found even at major grocery stores. It comes with a plastic syringe (of sorts) that you fill with the cream and then insert into the vent of the chicken. You won't need a lot, maybe the equivalent of 1/2 tsp. This cream can also be applied on the red, raw skin surrounding the vent. You should be able to fix this, but it must be a two-pronged attack. You must boost the good bacteria in the gut AND treat the fungus currently infecting her vent.

 

[Chickiebaby8]

Thank you! The yogurt really helped. I will try the topical stuff. Thank you so much, again.