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National Poultry News
·VENT GLEET
We affectionately call our chickens 'fluffy butts' and that's exactly what you want to see in your flock. Vent gleet, which is a fungal yeast infect...ion also referred to as 'thrush' or 'infected cloaca', often shows itself in the form of a dirty, foul-smelling vent due to copious whitish discharge and diarrhea. Missing or pasted feathers around the vent, redness and swelling are also signs that you are dealing with vent gleet.
Vent gleet is not exactly an illness in itself, but instead manifests itself due to increased ph levels and an imbalance of bad bacteria in a chicken's digestive tract. Although not normally fatal if treated quickly, it can spread to the reproductive system quite easily and also result in sour crop and becomes more difficult to treat the longer it goes on. Not contagious, it often shows up in multiple flock members since logically they have all been subjected to the same stressors that caused the vent gleet in one.
Vent gleet should never be treated with antibiotics; antibiotics kill both good and bad bacteria. Instead, concentrating on restoring a healthy bacterial balance in the intestinal tract by boosting the good bacteria with probiotics is the goal of a natural course of treatment. Treatment should continue until you see clear signs of improvement (it should only take a few days if you catch it fast enough and start treatment immediately). Your entire flock can be treated with this natural remedy which reintroduces good bacteria into the digestive tract.
Causes of vent gleet can include ...
•being deprived of clean water
•eating moldy feed or scraps
•excessive heat
•stress
•general poor health
Symptoms of vent gleet can include ...
•diarrhea
•whitish discharge from vent
•smelly droppings
•loss of vent feathers
•pasted feathers
•red or bloody vent
•soft, swollen abdomen
•white sores on the vent and/or in the throat
•sour crop
•weight loss/decreased appetite
•decreased energy
•drop in egg production
Treatment includes ...
•bathing the affected hen to clean the vent area
•offering a molasses flush consisting of 1/2 Cup of molasses per gallon of water - free choice for several hours then replaced with fresh, plain water
•adding 2-4 Tablespoons/gallon of apple cider vinegar with the 'mother' (such as Bragg) to the water
•giving each affected hen 1 Tablespoon of plain unflavored yogurt per day
Prevention includes ...◦providing fresh, clean water and fresh feed, discarding old, wet feed immediately
◦adding 1 Tablespoon/gallon of apple cider vinegar to the water
◦adding probiotic powder to the daily feed
◦offering a small amount of plain unflavored yogurt as an occasional treat
Being vigilant and treating any sign of vent gleet immediately should result in quickly restoring the good bacterial balance in your flock's digestive system, while a few preventives will go far to help keep it from happening again. And remember, fluffy butts are the sign of healthy hens!
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~Health 'fluffy butts' enjoying their breakfast supplemented with probiotic powder in their feed and ACV in the water~
https://www.facebook.com/GlendaHeywoodPoultryNews/posts/1469103809776633
You are more than welcoe,
I spend lots of time with my flock so I think that we caught it early. I did the vinegar in the water, an epsom soak (dawn dish detergent to clean her rear), yogurt (she'll only eat it on bread) and scrambled egg with probiotic capsules. She's still a little down but big improvements since yesterday. She's hanging with the rest of the flock and eating. Thanks for all the help. I am a little too attached to them, I know.
