Urates Bum

[Orit]

My 3 year-old barred rock is spending time in chicken jail (for having suddenly become an intense bully). Today she started dripping urates (I think) from her vent. I'm attaching pictures (a little graphic - sorry!). Any idea what this might be, and how should I treat it? Thank you.

 

[Tookie]

Looks like vent gleet to me.

 

[Orit]

Looks like vent gleet to me.

Treatment?

 

[Tookie]

Treatment?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/vent-gleet-aka-nasty-chicken-butt.64647/

 

[Orit]

Update:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/vent-gleet-aka-nasty-chicken-butt.64647/

This article was SUPER helpful. Thank you! I've been giving her yogurt and ACV in her water but she's taken a turn for the worse. She's usually a very vocal chicken and she is silent right now. She is also a very active chicken, even in the cage, and she has just been standing there or perching today. I gave her a epsom salt bath a few hours ago. Now instead of white urates (I think that's what it is), she is leaking this dark green liquidy stuff (gross!). Any thoughts?

 

[Eggcessive]

Is her vent constantly dripping urates, or is she just getting rates stuck to her vent? Do they have a different bad odor? A lot of urates can be from dehydration, so make sure that she is drinking plenty of water. Usually with vent gleet, in addition to constant drippage, there is a bad odor, and the skin around the vent is red and bare. Make sure that she has some probiotics in her feed. If it is gleet, a fungal infection, Medisatin powder (available onine) or Nystatin from a vet are good for treatment, 1 gram given in a little water. Here is a link for Medistatin:
https://allbirdproducts.com/products/medistatin

 

[Tookie]

Update:

This article was SUPER helpful. Thank you! I've been giving her yogurt and ACV in her water but she's taken a turn for the worse. She's usually a very vocal chicken and she is silent right now. She is also a very active chicken, even in the cage, and she has just been standing there or perching today. I gave her a epsom salt bath a few hours ago. Now instead of white urates (I think that's what it is), she is leaking this dark green liquidy stuff (gross!). Any thoughts?

Sorry to hear she's not doing well. Hopefully she gets better!

 

[Eggcessive]

Here is another article on vent gleet:
https://www.tillysnest.com/2012/12/vent-gleet-prevention-and-treatment-html/

Get her bottom cleaned up with a warm soapy bath just to her bottom, and look for any redness or missing feathers.

 

[Orit]

Is her vent constantly dripping urates, or is she just getting rates stuck to her vent? Do they have a different bad odor? A lot of urates can be from dehydration, so make sure that she is drinking plenty of water. Usually with vent gleet, in addition to constant drippage, there is a bad odor, and the skin around the vent is red and bare. Make sure that she has some probiotics in her feed. If it is gleet, a fungal infection, Medisatin powder (available onine) or Nystatin from a vet are good for treatment, 1 gram given in a little water. Here is a link for Medistatin:
https://allbirdproducts.com/products/medistatin

It definitely isn't dripping as much, but it's no longer just white. I'm not smelling anything, but I don't have the best sense of smell either. She gobbled up the yogurt on the first day, but now she won't touch it. I made her the yogurt, wheat germ and feed concoction that the article suggested and she also wouldn't go near it. I did put some dried worms in it to see if that would make a difference, and she did pick those out, but that was it. Should I forget the yogurt and just sprinkle probiotics in her feed? I did see her drinking the water with ACV quite a bit yesterday. I'm going to give her another Epsom salt bath today, but here are photos from yesterday (sorry - a little gross). I'm going to soak her longer and really try to work the gunk out of her feathers. These photos were taken after the Epsom salt bath yesterday.

 

[Eggcessive]

I mix a little plain yogurt into a small bowl of chicken feed and add water. Most chickens will peck at it.