Vent Gleet??

[Chickchick121]

I read about vent gleet but one of our chickens has poop caked right below its vent. I soaked the chicken in warm water and tried to get some of it off but it was still caked on. What is the best thing to get rid of this?

 

[Razzlefrazzle]

Just keep soaking and working at it. If you have epsom salt you can add it to the bath and it will help if your hen does have gleet, though it just looks like a messy bottom to me. Diarrhea plus dirt from dust bathing equals icky cement butt in my experience. Look for reasons she might have diarrhea. My last case of chronic cement butt was resolved after I dewormed everybody. Once the vent area is completely cleaned you can keep an eye out for signs of a yeast infection (smell, white crust around vent, etc).

 

[Chickchick121]

Just keep soaking and working at it. If you have epsom salt you can add it to the bath and it will help if your hen does have gleet, though it just looks like a messy bottom to me. Diarrhea plus dirt from dust bathing equals icky cement butt in my experience. Look for reasons she might have diarrhea. My last case of chronic cement butt was resolved after I dewormed everybody. Once the vent area is completely cleaned you can keep an eye out for signs of a yeast infection (smell, white crust around vent, etc).

Thank you!!! What do you use as a dewormer?

 

[Razzlefrazzle]

Thank you!!! What do you use as a dewormer?

Valbazen or safeguard. Safeguard shouldn't be used if anybody is molting, but otherwise is easy to find and convenient. Valbazen is great but it can be harder to get and only comes in massive bottles of way more than most backyard chicken owners need.

 

[Tonyroo]

Yearly worming will get that bottle used up. Depending on the size of your flock also.

 

[MROO]

What a wonderful (icky!) coincidence. I JUST finished removing a mass of "concrete" from the back end of my New Hampshire Red hen. She's In-your-face friendly, so I rarely get to see her hind end unless I deliberately pick her up and flip her around. This was hidden in her floofy winter underfluff. It was the size of my thumb, rock hard and would have taken hours (and scissors) to remove with soaking. I tried gently pinching the bigger lumps with a pair of pliers and it worked like a charm! They crumbled into dust, leaving just a few tattered crmbs that came off easily in water. The littel bugger nearly fell asleep during the blowdrying process. She had a full crop, a warm breeze and a warmer lap. She was one happy lady. I could swear she purred!

 

[Chickchick121]

What a wonderful (icky!) coincidence. I JUST finished removing a mass of "concrete" from the back end of my New Hampshire Red hen. She's In-your-face friendly, so I rarely get to see her hind end unless I deliberately pick her up and flip her around. This was hidden in her floofy winter underfluff. It was the size of my thumb, rock hard and would have taken hours (and scissors) to remove with soaking. I tried gently pinching the bigger lumps with a pair of pliers and it worked like a charm! They crumbled into dust, leaving just a few tattered crmbs that came off easily in water. The littel bugger nearly fell asleep during the blowdrying process. She had a full crop, a warm breeze and a warmer lap. She was one happy lady. I could swear she purred!

That is so helpful! Thank you!