Yellow around vent.

[FaelynnFarms]

Hello everyone. I have a hen who just went through a minor malt. Her behavior hasn’t changed… she is eating, drinking, and foraging as usual her comb and waddles are a normal red for her. She is just not as chatty as normal and is acting shy. I check all their vents every so often just to make sure everyone is good today when checking her vent I notice it was yellow around the rim, nothing hanging out of the vent. And her poops are normal. Sorry I know I am not using the proper terms here. I am attaching a photo. For reference… any ideas???

 

[nuthatched]

How bizarre.

 

[FaelynnFarms]

How bizarre.

Right! I’m trying not to worry myself but as I am searching I’m not seeing anything along these lines.

 

[Razzlefrazzle]

Have you tried wiping it off with a damp towel? Best guess is it's some kind of fungal infection or maybe she ate something yellow that stained her vent on the way out?

 

[NatJ]

She's not laying right now.
That is why the vent is small and puckered, and that is also why the vent is yellow.
It will go back to normal (larger, not yellow) fairly quickly once she starts laying again.

This happens with any yellow-skinned chicken: her body puts yellow into the skin when she is not laying, and into the egg yolks when she is laying.

I have seen charts of which parts gain or lose the yellow fastest when the hen is laying or not-- vent is one of the first parts affected, while legs take longer, and the beak can even have stripes of color with the tip being oldest and the base newest. Chicken breeders have sometimes used this to select the best layers for breeding.

(Of course that does not apply to any chicken with naturally white skin, but there are so many common chicken breeds who have yellow skin that I'm pretty sure I'm right in this case.)

 

[FaelynnFarms]

She's not laying right now.
That is why the vent is small and puckered, and that is also why the vent is yellow.
It will go back to normal (larger, not yellow) fairly quickly once she starts laying again.

This happens with an yellow-skinned chicken: her body puts yellow into the skin when she is not laying, and into the egg yolks when she is laying.

I have seen charts of which parts gain or lose the yellow fastest when the hen is laying or not-- vent is one of the first parts affected, while legs take longer, and the beak can even have stripes of color with the tip being oldest and the base newest. Chicken breeders have sometimes used this to select the best layers for breeding.

(Of course that does not apply to any chicken with naturally white skin, but there are so many common chicken breeds who have yellow skin that I'm pretty sure I'm right in this case.)

She laid an egg yesterday… but I know she took a break while she was malting. We got double hit it got very cold quick and that was right as she started to malt. And the last two weeks weeks weather have been gloomy and dark mostly rainy coupled with the lack of sun this time of year anyway (we are in the north east). I will keep an eye to see if it changes back while she continues to lay. Thank you for the response.

 

[FaelynnFarms]

Have you tried wiping it off with a damp towel? Best guess is it's some kind of fungal infection or maybe she ate something yellow that stained her vent on the way out?

They have been eating a lot of yellow squash this week. I did wipe and nothing yellow came off. She isn’t scratching or bothering it so I never even thought of an infection.

 

[Razzlefrazzle]

They have been eating a lot of yellow squash this week. I did wipe and nothing yellow came off. She isn’t scratching or bothering it so I never even thought of an infection.

If it's not wiping off at all, NatJ is likely right about the color being in her skin and due to changes in laying, although I have never seen such clear ring like that.... Just out of curiosity, do you know what breed she is?

 

[FaelynnFarms]

If it's not wiping off at all, NatJ is likely right about the color being in her skin and due to changes in laying, although I have never seen such clear ring like that.... Just out of curiosity, do you know what breed she is?

She is a Buff Brahma

 

[mkolasa]

I have a dark brown with the same exact thing happening around her vent, a yellow coloring just like your picture. Did you ever figure this out? Did it go away?