Vent Prolapse, Poop Stench, Pasty Butt in 21 Day Old Chick

[rzrbkfloyd]

We have a 21 Day old Delaware female chick who we've been treating for Pasty Butt for a week or so. We used the simple olive oil on her backside to clean her off and gently removed the poop with a wet paper towel. We added Apple Cider Vinegar and Electrolyte/Vitamin mix to the water for all 11 chicks that were in the brooder together with her. We had two other chicks that had Pasty Butt that cleared up. Unfortunately hers did not.
She began getting sores on her vent (we think from the other chicks and her picking at the dried poop on her butt). About 3 days ago I noticed that her vent was poking out and red - what I'm guessing is Vent Prolapse. At that point we isolated her from the other chicks.
Her poop has a stench to it that is horrible. It's a good consistency - perhaps just a tad harder than the other chicks.
She strains to get her poop out and actually pecks at it when she's pooping.
We are feeding her Medicated Chick Starter Feed. We are now giving her water with Apple Cider Vinegar, Electrolyte/Vitamin mix, and Save-A-Chick Probiotic.
Today I treated her backside with a soak in a bath with Dr. Bronner's Lavendar Castile Soap. Then carefully used a wet paper towel to gently work poop off her. After that I patted her backside dry and applied Witch Hazel. After the Witch Hazel I used some Preparation H around the area, as well as a little inside (with a q-tip). I pushed the vent in gently when I was finished. It didn't stay in.
She still has a protruding vent, is straining a lot to poop, and still pecks at the poop when she's pooping.
Any ideas? Is there something else we can do? I'm hoping to not cull her. Advice is welcome.
Pictures are attached.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She began getting sores on her vent (we think from the other chicks and her picking at the dried poop on her butt). About 3 days ago I noticed that her vent was poking out and red - what I'm guessing is Vent Prolapse.

Her poop has a stench to it that is horrible.

She strains to get her poop out and actually pecks at it when she's pooping.

We are feeding her Medicated Chick Starter Feed. We are now giving her water with Apple Cider Vinegar, Electrolyte/Vitamin mix, and Save-A-Chick Probiotic.

Poor thing.
Photos of the poop?
The vent does not look good. I would soak her in an epsom salts bath, clean the vent. Don't use witch hazel, it's drying. It looks to be infected a bit, personally I would apply triple antibiotic ointment or veterycin to the outside of the vent.

The straining to poop is concerning, she's constipated it sounds like or she has a blockage. Is her abdomen swollen or bloated?
Does she have grit available? I would give her either coconut oil or mineral oil - 1/2 tsp. Coconut oil is usually easier since you can freeze that and offer it little chunks. Mineral oil you would need to syringe that and it's possible she could choke.
You are adding too many things to her water, is she drinking at all? I would just offer her plain water and she if she drinks better.

 

[rzrbkfloyd]

Poor thing.
Photos of the poop?
The vent does not look good. I would soak her in an epsom salts bath, clean the vent. Don't use witch hazel, it's drying. It looks to be infected a bit, personally I would apply triple antibiotic ointment or veterycin to the outside of the vent.

The straining to poop is concerning, she's constipated it sounds like or she has a blockage. Is her abdomen swollen or bloated?
Does she have grit available? I would give her either coconut oil or mineral oil - 1/2 tsp. Coconut oil is usually easier since you can freeze that and offer it little chunks. Mineral oil you would need to syringe that and it's possible she could choke.
You are adding too many things to her water, is she drinking at all? I would just offer her plain water and she if she drinks better.

I have posted pictures of her poop with this post. They are still on her little butt and I had to help her get them off.

I will soak her in epsom salts tomorrow and stop using witch hazel. I used veterycin spray yesterday as well and forgot to put that in my original post. I cleaned her up this morning with olive oil and used the veterycin this morning.

Her abdomen doesn't appear swollen or bloated.

She doesn't have grit available - I wasn't sure at what age to provide it and how much to give. Do I put it in a separate container next to her food?

I'll get her some coconut oil today and freeze some for her as well.

She seems to be drinking a little. I changed her over to plain water to see how she does just a few minutes ago.

Thank you so much for your help!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I will soak her in epsom salts tomorrow and stop using witch hazel. I used veterycin spray yesterday as well and forgot to put that in my original post. I cleaned her up this morning with olive oil and used the veterycin this morning.

Her abdomen doesn't appear swollen or bloated.

She doesn't have grit available - I wasn't sure at what age to provide it and how much to give. Do I put it in a separate container next to her food?

I'll get her some coconut oil today and freeze some for her as well.

She seems to be drinking a little. I will change her over to plain water to see how she does.

Thank you so much for your help!

Sounds like you are doing what you can, hopefully she will start to heal.
Yes, just put a little chick grit in her cage, she will take what she needs. Personally I provide chick grit first thing for chicks (when they go in the brooder after hatch or when they arrive in the mail), everyone does it differently.
It's possible that she may have an internal development problem with her intestines you never know.

 

[rzrbkfloyd]

Sounds like you are doing what you can, hopefully she will start to heal.
Yes, just put a little chick grit in her cage, she will take what she needs. Personally I provide chick grit first thing for chicks (when they go in the brooder after hatch or when they arrive in the mail), everyone does it differently.
It's possible that she may have an internal development problem with her intestines you never know.

Thank you for your help.
I edited my earlier reply to include pictures of her poop.
I'll get some grit today and get her started. I'd hate it if she's suffering. How long would you let her go like this before putting her down?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you for your help.
I edited my earlier reply to include pictures of her poop.
I'll get some grit today and get her started. I'd hate it if she's suffering. How long would you let her go like this before putting her down?

Yes, I see the updated photos now, I didn't get an alert.

The vent looks much worse than in the first post.

Normally, I try to fix things, but if she were mine and this has been going on for a week and it is just getting worse, then I would put her down. I'm very sorry.
If you don't want to do that just yet, then I will help you the best I can.

 

[AmyJane725]

Use the coconut oil the lubricate her vent, rather than olive oil.

Grit can be left out in a dish (unlimited supply). Chicks know how much to eat.

Does she eat anything in addition to the medicated chick starter feed?

Sorry she's doing poorly

 

[rzrbkfloyd]

Use the coconut oil the lubricate her vent, rather than olive oil.

Grit can be left out in a dish (unlimited supply). Chicks know how much to eat.

Does she eat anything in addition to the medicated chick starter feed?

Sorry she's doing poorly

Thank you for your advice!
Yes - we hate that she's doing poorly too. She's our 3 1/2 year old granddaughter's favorite chick. She doesn't eat anything in addition to the medicated chick starter feed.
I'll use the coconut oil for lubrication and get the grit to her.
If she's not well by Thursday we may have to put her down. That will be two weeks for the pasty butt, and a week for the prolapsed vent.
I hate for her to suffer too much longer.
These hard decisions are all a part of having chickens I suppose.

 

[rzrbkfloyd]

Yes, I see the updated photos now, I didn't get an alert.

The vent looks much worse than in the first post.

Normally, I try to fix things, but if she were mine and this has been going on for a week and it is just getting worse, then I would put her down. I'm very sorry.
If you don't want to do that just yet, then I will help you the best I can.

Thank you so much for all your help. We're sorry to see her sick too. She's our 3 1/2 year old daughter's favorite chick. We'll continue the treatment that you described, and if she's not better by Thursday will most likely put her down. I hate for her to suffer too long. Unfortunately these tough decisions are hard to make but all a part of owning chickens I guess.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you for your advice!
Yes - we hate that she's doing poorly too. She's our 3 1/2 year old granddaughter's favorite chick. She doesn't eat anything in addition to the medicated chick starter feed.
I'll use the coconut oil for lubrication and get the grit to her.
If she's not well by Thursday we may have to put her down. That will be two weeks for the pasty butt, and a week for the prolapsed vent.
I hate for her to suffer too much longer.
These hard decisions are all a part of having chickens I suppose.

O.K. In the meantime, I would give her a soak in the epsom salts at least 2 times a day. This may help relieve some of the swelling. Keep that exposed tissue moist, you can use the coconut oil or triple antibiotic ointment, whatever you wish, the goal there is to keep the tissue from drying out. If there is poop stuck inside the vent, see if you can help that out (the things we do!)
I would continue with the chick starter, but see if she will eat it wet, sort of soupy if she will take it that way. Mine love wet feed.

Of course, she's a favorite! It seems that's the way it works unfortunately. I really hope it starts to go down. I don't blame you to keep trying, sometimes a prolapse can take a while to resolve, so just keep going and see what happens