4-6 year old hens have have poopy butt for months--should I be worried?

[KatGold]

Greetings!

Apologies for not having photos, I hope my explanation will suffice.

A few years ago, I had a mature but productive maran develop an ugly butt situation. She always had poopy butt. I took her to a smart employee at a feed store, who recommended using Monostat in that area. I did that for a while, it never seemed to do much of anything. Other than an ugly butt, she was happy and productive. She lived like that for at least a year and then died (cannot remember the cause of death). About a year has passed, and I now have two other hens with the same poopy butt. It started with one but now it is two. They are aged about 4-6 years old. One is a Leghorn and the other is a Red Star. The coop has had fresh straw since the passing of the original poopy butted chicken, and the whole coop has been sprayed down with Oxine. I've given the poopsters (and everyone in the henhouse) a bath with ACV in it. I've also fed them probiotics, yogurt, applying topical anti-fungal, applying topical antibiotic cream, and now have separated the two poopy hens from the flock.

Treating their butts with cream was difficult due to the crust on their feathers, so I pulled out enough feathers to give me access to their skin. I thought I was seeing improvement, but yesterday I noticed they are both dirty again.

They have been in a separate and small cage for a month or so. I'm very sad for them, but I don't know what to do. I wish I could try an antibiotic, but they are no longer sold.

Behavior is unchanged except that they have stopped laying. Other than the butts, they do not appear unhealthy, they eat and drink, and poop looks normal.

I have hens and young pullets in the henhouse and want to keep them safe.

Any ideas on what could be going on and how to treat?

Thanks.

 

[casportpony]

Have they been dewormed?

 

[Ajp23]

Have they been dewormed? That’s always a sign for my chickens that they most likely have worms.

 

[KatGold]

No, not dewormed. Wouldn't I see worms in the eggs?

 

[amarsano]

No, not dewormed. Wouldn't I see worms in the eggs?

Only if there is a massive overload of worms. If you can, run a stool sample to see which worms you’re dealing with. There are almost always round worms, though, so if you can’t run a sample, treat them for those.

 

[casportpony]

If I have one with a poopy butt, I start by checking them for lice, mites, and then I deworm them with Safeguard for goats at 0.23 ml per pound for five consecutive days.

 

[Eggcessive]

Do the hens in question have a more prominent or enlarged lower belly below their vents? Sometimes if they do, the droppings won’t clear the bottom, and some will get stuck on feathers, especially if they have had some runny poops. Those ones may need an occasional butt wash, and you can slightly trim off any feathers or fluff that continually gets soiled. If it is hot, they may drink more water, and have more runny poops. Lice eggs can add to poop getting stuck on feathers. Worms or reproductive disorders may cause some diarrhea, and older hens are prone to those. The problem with soiled vents is in summer when fly strike and maggot infestation can occur, so it can be dangerous. I would consider worming your flock with Valbazen or SafeGuard liquid goat wormer. Or ask your vet if they can run a fecal float test in some fresh collected droppings. Many refuse unless they see the chicken as a patient though.