Frozen poop, redness at vent

[colospgs]

My BO has refused to get up on the roosts since October. She always sleeps just squatting on the floor. She would sleep in the nests until I blocked those off at night. It was in the single digits last night, but has warmed up to the mid-30s by now. I noticed rear end was all brown, so I picked her up to get a better look. I saw several pieces of poop stuck to the vent area. I removed two of them, but the third seems frozen. I also saw some red where the normal pink of the vent is. See photos (they aren't great since I had to hold her and take the pictures with only two hands). Is the redness a symptom of the frozen poop being stuck there? Will it resolve itself?

 

[alinas2010]

My BO has refused to get up on the roosts since October. She always sleeps just squatting on the floor. She would sleep in the nests until I blocked those off at night. It was in the single digits last night, but has warmed up to the mid-30s by now. I noticed rear end was all brown, so I picked her up to get a better look. I saw several pieces of poop stuck to the vent area. I removed two of them, but the third seems frozen. I also saw some red where the normal pink of the vent is. See photos (they aren't great since I had to hold her and take the pictures with only two hands). Is the redness a symptom of the frozen poop being stuck there? Will it resolve itself?

Aw poor girl, sorry she’s going through this. Chicken droppings, like all animal droppings, contain bacteria that will irritate and infect the skin if left in contact with it for too long. It’s possible that’s what has happened, although what I think is more possible is that there is a little prolapse going on and the dried crust you’re seeing is dead/dried tissue, I can’t quite tell.

To threat this, you will need to bring her inside for a warm soak to get all of the poop softened and unstuck from her skin IF it’s dried poop you’re dealing with. A little dish soap could help break it down while soaking. Afterwards, be sure she is dried thoroughly before allowing her back outside. Also coat any irritated and red skin in some ointment. You can use neosporin without pain relief or something like A and D ointment. Try to keep it moist with ointment while it’s healing. If it’s not stuck poop though and is dead tissue and scabs, dont remove the tissue, but a soak will certainly help and definitely coat in ointment. You could have a combo of the two going on, I really don’t know.

I’m going to tag some educators to look, though because you could be dealing with a prolapse that has dead tissue, I just am not sure. @Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive @azygous

Do you know why she won’t go up to a roost? Is it because she gets picked on? Could you get her a separate, small roost for herself?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

My BO has refused to get up on the roosts since October. She always sleeps just squatting on the floor. She would sleep in the nests until I blocked those off at night. It was in the single digits last night, but has warmed up to the mid-30s by now. I noticed rear end was all brown, so I picked her up to get a better look. I saw several pieces of poop stuck to the vent area. I removed two of them, but the third seems frozen. I also saw some red where the normal pink of the vent is. See photos (they aren't great since I had to hold her and take the pictures with only two hands). Is the redness a symptom of the frozen poop being stuck there? Will it resolve itself?

I'd give her a good soaking, remove the poop and then see what the tissue looks like.

 

[azygous]

BOs are a heavy breed. As they grow older, they pick up more weight and flying up to a roost may get to be beyond their capabilities. So they sleep on the floor or in a nest. But this doesn't allow for the poop to drop away as they sleep. So it accumulates.

You have two simple solutions. The first is obvious. Provide a low perch for your heavy chickens. My heavy breeds use a perch that is no more than ten inches off the floor. The second is to wash the butts. I do this regularly for my hens that have "middle-age spread" and regularly soil their butts.

 

[colospgs]

I gave her her about a 45 minute soak and removed all the poop that would be removed. I dont think that one clump (and a couple smaller ones) is poo since it didn't come off like the others. Also, I squeezed it and it wouldn't break up. Now I have better pictures below.

 

[colospgs]

Wyorp, you may remember...this is the same hen from before:
Link
Since then she's been doing a lot better, happily free-ranging, eating, drinking, etc. But still no eggs, not since, what, Aug or Sept.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I gave her her about a 45 minute soak and removed all the poop that would be removed. I dont think that one clump (and a couple smaller ones) is poo since it didn't come off like the others. Also, I squeezed it and it wouldn't break up. Now I have better pictures below.

Wyorp, you may remember...this is the same hen from before:
Link
Since then she's been doing a lot better, happily free-ranging, eating, drinking, etc. But still no eggs, not since, what, Aug or Sept.

I'm glad she's been doing better all of that time.

It does look like she may have suffered some vent picking and perhaps she had a prolapse at some point.

I agree, that's not poop now, it looks like scabbing and some buildup around the vent.
I'd coat the scabby areas with an ointment or oil, this will help it slough off as the tissue underneath heals up.
She also has some yellowish material that is just inside the vent. Sometimes you may see this with prolapse or even when a hen has Salpingitis, hard to know.

I'd think about giving her a round of antibiotics. Since she's not in lay then Baytril would be a good choice, but if you have something different on hand, let us know.

Even though she's not laying, I'd give her Calcium Citrate+D3 for 3-5days in case she's trying to expel something.