vent gleet?

[trudyg]

I was watching my 5 older chickens this morning and, when Jewel puffed up to poop, I saw that her backside was bright red. I had seen some butts lately that seemed to maybe be a bit dirty, but when I looked again they were clean, so I just upped the acv in the water and started giving them all yogurt in the evening.

I am already dipping each of them for scaly leg mites early in the morning, but I don't think I'd have time to bathe each one (even a 5 minute soak per bird, then smearing on cream) and still get to work on time. I can dip in near complete dark, but bathing I just don't know.

I will try to catch her tonight when I get home and at least get her bathed, feathers trimmed and creamed (I have women's fungal cream to use). I don't know if I'll have time, we leave for baseball practice 45 minutes after I walk thru the door and then it's 8 before I get home again, but I'll give it my best shot.

Let me tell you, it's been a rough few weeks here. My DH is disabled, I have a house full of company (for another 2 weeks, 14 extra bodies from age 2 - 70), I have 7 week old chicks to monitor and another 7 week old in the garage after a hawk attack, dipping for scaly leg mites daily,working my 8 hours and now need to wash 5 butts......I'm exhausted. I do have some help from 3 grands, but I have to get them to practices every evening once I get home. I've lost 8 pounds in 3 weeks of this

Anyway, is there anything else I should do? Does the rooster really need to be bathed, too? Or can just the extra probiotics take care of him. He does not have a dirty butt and is already peeved at being oiled every morning. Thanks for all the moral support, most folks I know just say to butcher them all and start over.

 

[trudyg]

Forgot to ask. Do I use blu-cote on her red skin after treatment so no one pecks her?

 

[staceyj]

Jeez!
You need a helper!
Heads up,
The bright red butt could be a prolapse which is time consuming and not always easy or successful to treat, so I’d definitely take a closer look at that one ASAP.


On the other hand...
Here’s a time saver for you on the leg mites! :

spray their legs with oil cooking spray from the food store daily until their scales are back to normal. Only takes a few seconds for each bird!

Ps. You should be treating your coop (and especially your roost) as well, or tou won’t be able to get in top of this pest.

 

[trudyg]

Thanks. I spent Saturday cleaning the coop, spraying with sevin and then I spread neem oil on all the spots where any bugs could still hide. My coop is built so everything can come out for a good cleaning, the only thing i didn't do is paint the inside (good job for later this summer).

I mixed the yellow sulfur (kills garden bugs) into a jug of mineral oil and poured it into an ice cream bucket. I lift the bird, set it in the pail for 15 seconds or so, lift her up to let it drip off and put her back on the roost. Goes easy except for the roo. I did him first this morning and he made the most irritating, deafening noise for the rest of my time out there I'm sure he woke up the people in china. But, his legs are the worst and so he'll have to deal with it. Altho I am considering getting castor oil so I only have to apply every so often instead of daily dips.

I had been spraying them with scarlet oil daily for several weeks, but I'm working in the dark and could see places that I missed (as well as having pretty red spots on the coop walls).

Oh, no, I hope it's not prolapse. I'll have to research what you do about that. I manage pretty well for an older person with no help (pats self on back).

 

[coach723]

Dirty butts can be from lots of things, some worrisome, some not. If it's hot where you are, and they are drinking lots of water that can make droppings runny/messy. Changes in feed or getting lots of greens/fruits/veggies can do it. Some hens have lazy cloaca's and the droppings are just not pushed out as far causing messing feathers. If you have a vet that will do a fecal float test for you, that will check for internal parasites which can be a cause of runny droppings. Red could be irritation from droppings, mites/lice, or picking by another bird.
I use castor oil on leg mites, just use a soft toothbrush to rub it all over and under any raised scales, and done. Most vegetable oils work, soaking is really only necessary at the beginning to help remove debris, after that just oiling is enough. If the butts are not caked up, and it's there sometimes and not sometimes, I'd forego the baths because they are likely cleaning it up on there own. If it's constantly there and building up then fly strike is an issue, so then I'd try to clean them up. Vent gleet is usually a lot of really smelly discharge.
https://www.tillysnest.com/2012/12/vent-gleet-prevention-and-treatment-html/
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification/

 

[shawluvsbirds]

I was watching my 5 older chickens this morning and, when Jewel puffed up to poop, I saw that her backside was bright red. I had seen some butts lately that seemed to maybe be a bit dirty, but when I looked again they were clean, so I just upped the acv in the water and started giving them all yogurt in the evening.

I am already dipping each of them for scaly leg mites early in the morning, but I don't think I'd have time to bathe each one (even a 5 minute soak per bird, then smearing on cream) and still get to work on time. I can dip in near complete dark, but bathing I just don't know.

I will try to catch her tonight when I get home and at least get her bathed, feathers trimmed and creamed (I have women's fungal cream to use). I don't know if I'll have time, we leave for baseball practice 45 minutes after I walk thru the door and then it's 8 before I get home again, but I'll give it my best shot.

Let me tell you, it's been a rough few weeks here. My DH is disabled, I have a house full of company (for another 2 weeks, 14 extra bodies from age 2 - 70), I have 7 week old chicks to monitor and another 7 week old in the garage after a hawk attack, dipping for scaly leg mites daily,working my 8 hours and now need to wash 5 butts......I'm exhausted. I do have some help from 3 grands, but I have to get them to practices every evening once I get home. I've lost 8 pounds in 3 weeks of this

Anyway, is there anything else I should do? Does the rooster really need to be bathed, too? Or can just the extra probiotics take care of him. He does not have a dirty butt and is already peeved at being oiled every morning. Thanks for all the moral support, most folks I know just say to butcher them all and start over.

Sorry to hear your dealing with all that! Might I ask what has happened that brought 14 extra people to your house!

For a prolapse I think preparation h is the usual recommendation. Lube it up and Gently push it back in. . you'll probably have to sit for a few minutes with your finger up the chickens butt unfortunately. .

 

[trudyg]

I have not smelled anything unusual in the coop, which I scoop the board every morning and it stays clean all day. They are out on 1/2 acre free range all day. That red butt really has me concerned.

the extra people are an assortment of relatives here to visit with son's family making a pcs move, I'm the granny.

 

[Aerliss]

Could just be red and swollen from straining. I'm working on one with vent gleet at the moment. All very new to this myself but after a clean up of gunk that cemented inside her (it involved tweezers, poor thing) her cloaca is looking nice and pink and healthy. After the first couple of days I don't bathe her most days, just take a warm damp cloth to her and apply the cream. Takes a few minutes. I do a good bath when I have time.

Yes, blue her up until she's not red and sore anymore. I just used food die. We don't have blu kote in the UK.

 

[Eggcessive]

Red butts can just be from feather picking. I doubt that vent gleet is what you are seeing. Vent gleet is a nasty fungal infection and there would be red burned skin with white or yellow patches. The poop smells very bad, and it kind of drips out continuously.

Some chickens just have poop that collects around feathers, sometimes due to a loose poop, extra feathers, or lice eggs down there. You can pull off dried poop and excess feathers, or do some trimming.

I would follow Coach723’s good advice on using castor oil once a week or as needed. I have also found that Crisco shortening (not the oil) works well for leg mites. Vinegar in the water is not necessary for anything. I used to make my ACV homemade and put it in every gallon of water, just because some people recommended it. I found it probably irritates their digestive systems more, and it does not keep waterers clean. There are probiotics in most of the chicken feeds now anyway.

 

[trudyg]

so, Eggcessive, I should bathe her and see what I find? Then, if it's not a vent issue, maybe trim off some feathers, cream up her bottom and then put on some blucote? I'm assuming the castor oil is for the leg mites. This same hen had sour crop last fall.