Vent Gleet?

[ladywolf00]

Two questions:
First: Does photo look like vent gleet? Our chicken has a discharge on her butt, stuck in feathers. I did some research and I think it's vent gleet, but she's never been sick so this is a first for me. I included a before picture. She is molting so there were a lot of feathers stuck in the goo. We washed as much of the goo and feathers off as we could, couldn't get it all as she got away from hubby and that was the end of that for tonight, we'll finish it tomorrow. I'll try to get a picture once she's cleaned up.
I read that stress can cause it & guessing that may be the case here. She is the last of our chickens, we lost our other chicken 6 weeks ago. Not only has she lost her 'sister', but they were close and now she's totally on her own. We were actually debating whether to give her to a friend with chickens or get a couple more and start over when this happened.

Second: This is going to sound crazy, but for the brief moment I was able to see her vent before she escaped it looked like there were feathers stuck in there backwards, with the ends sticking out. Like she'd sucked some of her molted feathers into her vent! I'm guessing that isn't possible, but wonder if that description rings any bells. As I said I'll try to get a picture tomorrow. I know they have vent feathers and am wondering if I was just seeing those all matted up or my husband suggested it could be when feathers came out a bit of the end was left behind.

Thank you for your help.

Jo

 

[Chicken poppy]

Two questions:
First: Does photo look like vent gleet? Our chicken has a discharge on her butt, stuck in feathers. I did some research and I think it's vent gleet, but she's never been sick so this is a first for me. I included a before picture. She is molting so there were a lot of feathers stuck in the goo. We washed as much of the goo and feathers off as we could, couldn't get it all as she got away from hubby and that was the end of that for tonight, we'll finish it tomorrow. I'll try to get a picture once she's cleaned up.
I read that stress can cause it & guessing that may be the case here. She is the last of our chickens, we lost our other chicken 6 weeks ago. Not only has she lost her 'sister', but they were close and now she's totally on her own. We were actually debating whether to give her to a friend with chickens or get a couple more and start over when this happened.

Second: This is going to sound crazy, but for the brief moment I was able to see her vent before she escaped it looked like there were feathers stuck in there backwards, with the ends sticking out. Like she'd sucked some of her molted feathers into her vent! I'm guessing that isn't possible, but wonder if that description rings any bells. As I said I'll try to get a picture tomorrow. I know they have vent feathers and am wondering if I was just seeing those all matted up or my husband suggested it could be when feathers came out a bit of the end was left behind.

Thank you for your help.

Jo

Im not amazing with vent gleet, (mostly pasty butt in young chicks, not older ones) and no, it doesnt sound crazy at all, sometimes their feathers are a bit bent, so it could have looked bent in there when the feather was just a bit messed up. Definitely keep washing her, it could take a while to get her fully back on her feet, sorry this wasnt to much help, and best of luck.

 

[ladywolf00]

We got everything loose off her tonight & I got a picture of her vent area. It looks a little irritated, but not bad, though I'm obviously no expert. I didn't clean that area at all tonight and there didn't appear to be any discharge. Does it look okay to those of you more experienced?

As you can see in the photo she still has some goo in a few attached feathers below the vent area, a soaked towel wasn't enough to loosen the goo, but she's also in heavy molt still so they will probably detach on their own. We'll check and clean again tomorrow night, if we can't get them clean by Sunday then we'll trim them off. We didn't raise her from a chick (she was a stray we took in) and she hates being handled, so our time to do anything is limited.
As suggested we gave her some plain yogurt today also, she loved it, so we'll keep that up until the new feed mix and water supplements get here.

Thank you,
Jo

 

[mtgirl2]

I have been dealing with a similar issue with Harriet, her bestie was taken by a hawk right next to her and I think she is suffering from PTSD :-( I am not an expert by any means but after a lot of research, I have been giving her espom salt soaks for 20 minutes a day (this is day 6), rub Tinactin on her sore vent and surrounding area, plain greek yogurt, ACV in the water and Probiotics in the feed. When she is soaking in the bath I have to hold her because she does not want to stay in and at the end of the soak, I rub her feathers to get any gunk off. She is so much better and her bum is fluffy again. What I read is to do that for 7 days. Seems to be working for Harriet. Hope this helps!

 

[Chicken poppy]

We got everything loose off her tonight & I got a picture of her vent area. It looks a little irritated, but not bad, though I'm obviously no expert. I didn't clean that area at all tonight and there didn't appear to be any discharge. Does it look okay to those of you more experienced?

As you can see in the photo she still has some goo in a few attached feathers below the vent area, a soaked towel wasn't enough to loosen the goo, but she's also in heavy molt still so they will probably detach on their own. We'll check and clean again tomorrow night, if we can't get them clean by Sunday then we'll trim them off. We didn't raise her from a chick (she was a stray we took in) and she hates being handled, so our time to do anything is limited.
As suggested we gave her some plain yogurt today also, she loved it, so we'll keep that up until the new feed mix and water supplements get here.

Thank you,
Jo

Im not to sure, that looks a bit comcerning Though im sure shes perfectly fine,keep giving her electrolytes and lots of water. Sorry i couldnt be of much help.

 

[ladywolf00]

We just got the supplements for her food and water, going to set them up tonight so she'll get them starting tomorrow.