Vent problems - bleeding yesterday, sore looking and pulsating today

[Tandia]

I've been keeping chickens since April and this is the first time I've been seriously concerned about any of their health.

One of my girls, Georgia, had a protruding, bloody vent yesterday afternoon. Apologies for the rather gruesome picture. (She is under my desk as I work in an office off the garden and they are allowed in!)


A short while later it looked less bloody, but not particularly healthy:


On the advice of the place I bought her from I separated her from the other girls. She seems to have been drinking, but eating very little (although I did manage to tempt her with some greek yoghurt!)

Today the area still looks very sore and she has been pooing green, very liquid poo. The vent is also pulsating quite a bit and seems to be leaking a clear liquid. I have cleaned it as best I can with salt water and wiped with an antiseptic wipe.

She is still not really eating but is drinking. She is still separate from the others.

Is there anything else I should be doing? Should I be taking her to the vet? I have no idea what the issue is! I'm new here and would really appreciate any advice anyone can give.

Thank you

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Quote:

I've been keeping chickens since April and this is the first time I've been seriously concerned about any of their health.

One of my girls, Georgia, had a protruding, bloody vent yesterday afternoon. Apologies for the rather gruesome picture. (She is under my desk as I work in an office off the garden and they are allowed in!)


A short while later it looked less bloody, but not particularly healthy:


On the advice of the place I bought her from I separated her from the other girls. She seems to have been drinking, but eating very little (although I did manage to tempt her with some greek yoghurt!)

Today the area still looks very sore and she has been pooing green, very liquid poo. The vent is also pulsating quite a bit and seems to be leaking a clear liquid. I have cleaned it as best I can with salt water and wiped with an antiseptic wipe.

She is still not really eating but is drinking. She is still separate from the others.

Is there anything else I should be doing? Should I be taking her to the vet? I have no idea what the issue is! I'm new here and would really appreciate any advice anyone can give.

Thank you

It sounds like she had a prolapse. If it was bleeding some of the girls may have picked at it to cause it to bleed.
Give her a soak in warm epsom salts bath, then gently with a lubricated finger feel inside her vent about an inch to see if she has an egg or any shell still inside. Since she is leaking clear liquid, it may be egg white, if you feel shell don't try to pull it out - it can cut her, see if she will pass it first - give her extra calcium (crush a couple of Tums). If you feel no shell, that's good. Apply some hemorrhoid cream or honey to the vent to help with inflammation.

Keep her separate so you can monitor her food/water -- hydration is the most important.

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/04/prolapse-vent-causes-treatment-graphic.html

 

[Tandia]

Thank you so much for your advice. She is still pooing very green poo - is that a sign of any other issues? I think you are right about the other girls pecking at her - there seems a distinct lack of feathers in the area. I will bathe her this evening and try to check her vent for egg/shell.

That link was so reassuring though, as Anna recovered so well. My husband has a shopping list of items to pick up on the way home!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you so much for your advice. She is still pooing very green poo - is that a sign of any other issues? I think you are right about the other girls pecking at her - there seems a distinct lack of feathers in the area. I will bathe her this evening and try to check her vent for egg/shell.

That link was so reassuring though, as Anna recovered so well. My husband has a shopping list of items to pick up on the way home!

Green poo can be a number of things, most of the time it's lack of nutrition (she's not absorbing her nutrients). You can provide some poultry vitamins in her water and give her more protein either by feeding a higher commercial feed like all flock/flock raiser or give scrambled/hardboiled egg, tuna, mackerel or meat.

Green can also be infection, so if she doesn't start to improve soon, you may want to take a fecal sample to your vet, they can perform a fecal float test to see if she has a bacterial infection.

 

[Tandia]

Thank you again. I have bathed her (she liked that and nearly fell asleep) and done my best to clean her again. I then tried to check inside the vent. I was scared to check too far in in case I hurt her, but I couldn't feel anything. Immediately after I checked she leaked out more clear liquid, and I'd say it could be egg white. Does that mean it is possibly a soft shelled egg which has broken, or could there still be broken shell in there?

The whole area looks so red and inflammed and the vent is constantly pulsating, plus she hasn't really eaten all day so I'm going to get a vets appointment in the morning.

I've put a haemeroid cream on the area and we're going to give her a calcium supplement in the water.

I really appreciate the support.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you again. I have bathed her (she liked that and nearly fell asleep) and done my best to clean her again. I then tried to check inside the vent. I was scared to check too far in in case I hurt her, but I couldn't feel anything. Immediately after I checked she leaked out more clear liquid, and I'd say it could be egg white. Does that mean it is possibly a soft shelled egg which has broken, or could there still be broken shell in there?

The whole area looks so red and inflammed and the vent is constantly pulsating, plus she hasn't really eaten all day so I'm going to get a vets appointment in the morning.

I've put a haemeroid cream on the area and we're going to give her a calcium supplement in the water.

I really appreciate the support.

She may have broken an egg inside or part of it (the yolk) traveled back up and dropped into the abdominal cavity. It could cause infection in the oviduct.
The vent pulsing is pretty normal, go take a look at your other girls you should see about the same thing (even my rooster does this).

Let us know what the vet determines.

 

[Tandia]

I will update tomorrow. I didn't know the vent pulsing was normal. I did try to compare earlier today with one of the other girls and looked at the one who is most comfortable being handled, Isabelle. I could hardly see her vent in amongst the lovely clean fluffy feathers, which was such a stark contrast to Georgia (the poorly bird). I didn't notice any pulsing with Isabelle at all. With Georgia the best way to describe it is that it looks like a mouth on a little alien/monster from a sci fi movie, and the mouth is constantly talking!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I will update tomorrow. I didn't know the vent pulsing was normal. I did try to compare earlier today with one of the other girls and looked at the one who is most comfortable being handled, Isabelle. I could hardly see her vent in amongst the lovely clean fluffy feathers, which was such a stark contrast to Georgia (the poorly bird). I didn't notice any pulsing with Isabelle at all. With Georgia the best way to describe it is that it looks like a mouth on a little alien/monster from a sci fi movie, and the mouth is constantly talking!

Good description

The vent pulsing I'm thinking of and what you are seeing may be two different things.
When I check my flock weekly, I always notice vent movement or what I would describe pulsing (even in my rooster).
But Georgia may have even more action going on especially if she is trying to expel part of an egg, etc.

I hope you are able to find a solution at the vet, please keep us posted.

 

[Tandia]

She seems so much better today! The whole area looks so much less raw and is sticking out less. I've got a vets app at 5, so I can monitor her today and decide if I need to go. The lovely receptionist at the vets used to keep chickens and was so sweet!

The other girls are clearly missing her - Georgia slept in the conservatory last night to keep her safe but separate. The other girls had been let out first thing this morning, and when I came out this is how I found them!



Will let you know again later how she is. Thanks for your support!

 

[Tandia]

She seems a lot better in herself this afternoon but I went to the vet anyway. He said a prolapse can be a sign there is a problem internally and didn't seem very optimistic but said we could give her antibiotics and see how she goes. She has just had some corn, which I see as a good sign! I have to keep her separate from the others until she is better, which I really hope she will be!