hen has vent gleet

[Spero]

Hi, I have a 3yr old mixed bantam hen with vent gleet. I noticed her back side was wet and dirty about 4 days ago. I brought her in yesterday as I noticed a strong 'raw chicken' smell coming from her even though she was not acting odd at all. I cleaned up her behind and noticed her vent was very red and swollen and protruding outwards. She was not bleeding yesturday but was straining to defecate. I administered some penicillin and gave her 1.5 tablespoons of probiotic yogurt and then some plain water. I don't have acv or epsom salt but hopefully tonight I will be able to get some. Anyways, I was checking on her this morning and noticed that her vent is now bleeding. I tried giving her some more yogurt but she was not interested in it although she was gulping it down yesterday. I am very weary about pushing her vent back in, (I don't want to hurt her) and I'm not sure that's the best thing to do. I'm wondering, how should I go about stopping the bleeding from her vent? I believe it is from straining to poop as she complains from the pain of it. She did lay a normal egg yesturday. I don't think she will today though. I will put her in a tub of warm water today and make her as comfortable as possible. I was just wondering if there is anything else I can do for her to help. She seems to be worse today I am going to call the vet tomorrow and see if I can get her in. This year has not been good to me with my chickens

Edit: as I was cleaning her behind I noticed she has dozens of little parasitic worms that were coming out. So I'm thinking it is due to parasites that she has the vent gleet. I dewormed all my chickens last month. Can I give her the dewormer again? Is there anything else I can do to help rid her of them and return back to her normal self? Also, I tried to push her vent back inside her but it just kept falling back out.

 

[iwiw60]

Here's more information for you:

http://www.tillysnest.com/2012/12/v...campaign=Feed:+tillysnest/vxqr+(Tilly's+Nest)


Hope this helps you...keep us updated!!

 

[Spero]

Thanks for the site, iwiw60. Update: My Lea did lay an egg today, the shell did have some blood on it but the egg was normal. She ate a very small amount of mashed layer pellet mixed with water but is still not interested in drinking water or eating the yogurt. (I did get her to eat a small mouthful). She has been picking at her vent some which is why it is bleeding. She has not pooped successfully yet today, I am waiting for the water to warm up so I can do another cleansing of her backside. I am going to try to use some Q-tips to help get her vent cleared up some more. I will update again afterwards.

 

[iwiw60]

I wonder if a warm bath with some epsom salts might help also (?) You'll need to watch closely that she does take in some water. Perhaps adding a bit of sugar will help, too. Keep us updated and best of luck! I applaud you for your untiring efforts to get your hen back to health!

 

[welasharon]

Those worms aren't maggots are they?

 

[Spero]

Welasharon, I'm honestly not sure if they are maggots or not. I was cleaning her up again in the shower and tried using the Q-tip to help break up the mass. I was able to clip some feathers away from the area (as she has been being very fussy). When I got a good look at it I noticed that the side of the protruding vent was actually opened up and part of her colon? was hanging out I took some pics of her behind after cleaning her up and of the worms that were dropping out with the shower wand. I'm afraid it is best to have her euthanized as I don't believe she will recover from this. Unfortunately it is far worse than I had thought and I don't want her to get sepsis. I will keep her as comfortable as possible until I can get her to a vet.

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[Spero]

 

[iwiw60]

Oh....THAT's vent gleet alright. So sorry..please let us know what the vet says.

 

[welasharon]

Oh dear. I'm so very sorry