Hen prolapse/vent gleet? *pictures*

[Justachickenmom]

Hi all! I’m a novice chicken owner and have had my girls for just about a year now. My husband and I adopted them as a part of our home purchase (the previous owners had them and were going to kill them). Few days ago before letting the birds out to roam we noticed one of our girls laying down. My husband went to go look at her and she stood up and ran off fine, but had what looked like a bloody butt. Upon separating her we noticed she has a prolapsed vent with an egg stuck. We gave her a warm bath, gave her some vitamin and electrolyte water, and some extra calcium with a scrambled egg. Next day did the same thing, and her egg came out. We washed her up again but noticed that she now had a white crust around the prolapse that was bleeding underneath. We cut away her feathers and cleaned her up and followed the same watering and feed routine. Due to the ongoing pandemic and me being pregnant my husband and I have not left the house and unfortunately do not have a lot on hand but the few things our chickens need, feed, ACV, and rooster booster.
Today I was able to get some epsom salt in the mail. Yesterday was a witch hazel and ACV bath, same feed routine. Today was epsom salt and ACV bath. This white crust is not coming off without taking her skin off. Along with a darker crust which I think may be necrosis? We aren’t sure. We can’t get it off or else it’s literally pulling and ripping at her skin. She is also leaking a yellow discharge and has very watery poop. She has some solid pieces here and there but the liquid and yellow is what I assume to be vent gleet.
I will attach some pictures of her after the bath today.
She does not seem as if she is in pain, is very active, continues to eat and drink. None of the other hens in the flock seem to have this that I’ve noticed.
For now we have her in a old chick pin in the garage with cardboard, with a spot for her to lay with a towel, and a old clothes rack rod setup I have lowered because she loves to roost. The garage is heated and dark for a majority of the day.
I am waiting on some prep h and Vetericyn to be delivered next week, but understand we may need to go to the store sooner. Given her activity level we want to try and treat as naturally bad we can and just came her looking for some advice, or if anyone has seen a vent with crust like this before. As mentioned above we did try and de ride it but it’s literally taking her skin off with it. We soaked her in a very long around 30-40 minute epsom salt bath today and it’s still just as stuck.
We are open to anything and if we need to reach to further measures we will, any advice is appreciated in regard to cleaning up and treating her vent/prolapse and what to feed her during this time. Today we gave her a little cracked corn, some crushed eggshells, and a scrambled egg. ACV and rooster booster is in her water and she is eating and drinking both just fine.

 

[Hidrainja4]

It can easily take a week or more to losen that crust up and to come off. Categories:All All > Chicken Care All > Chicken Health Problems Q: What is vent gleet and how can I treat my chickens that have it? A: In baby chicks, pasty butt (a.k.a. pasted vent) occurs when poo dries in the chick's vent (her pooper) and the blockage prevents her from defecating. This is a critical situation for a baby chick and should be addressed immediately because it can be fatal. By the time your bird is an adult layer, her muscles are pretty well developed for expulsion, and the vent can expand significantly (large enough to pass an egg, right?). So, adult hens seldom (perhaps never!) suffer from pasty butt. That said, they can certainly get vent feathers messy with loose poo, and that can occasionally be a concern. A little poo in the vent feathers isn't that big a deal; it happens from time to time, and generally speaking, your hen will clean it herself. But if your bird has a genuine case of vent gleet, it is a sign that something is not going well in her digestive tract and she may need your help. What is vent gleet? Vent gleet (a.k.a. cloacitis) occurs when a chicken's cloaca becomes inflamed. The most obvious symptom you'll see is a yellowish-white discharge from the vent area which sticks to the feathers on the rear end (gross - we know!). Your bird may also have a bloated abdomen and gassiness, feathers that appear less shiny than usual, and if a female, a decrease in her usual egg laying frequency. The vent area may also appear red and inflamed--and smelly. In cases of late-stage or advanced vent gleet, your bird’s abdomen may be firm to the touch, their vent may be very swollen, and their droppings could even contain blood. How can I prevent vent gleet in my flock? Thankfully, there are some measures you can take to help keep your flock from getting vent gleet in the first place: Hold off on the treats. Most of your flock’s diet should come from a complete feed that provides all the nutrition your birds need. These types of feed can be purchased online or at a local farm store. Treats are usually higher in carbohydrates and lacking the complete nutrition that chickens need for total health. Make sure your feed is correct for the bird's age. Depending on the maturity of the bird, they may need starter, developer, or layer feed. Most feed manufacturers will have a feeding schedule posted on the bag. It is usually recommended that you offer starter feed up until 10-12 weeks of age, then move on to developer feed until around 20 weeks, followed by layer feed for your laying-age hens and older. Provide grit to help your birds digest their feed. Chicks that are eating anything in addition to finely-milled chick starter feed will need chick grit. Older birds will need poultry grit, which has a little larger grit size. Supplement water with anti-fungal, anti-bacterial products. Great products like RopaPoultry Oregano Supplement, or Seabuck 7 Additive Supplement can help keep your flock's digestive system healthy. Give your flock probiotics every few weeks. What causes vent gleet? PH imbalance. The cloaca is the last few inches of your chicken's digestive and reproductive tract. If your chicken's body is too acidic or alkaline, it can make them more susceptible to vent gleet. Fungal infection, including yeast. Bacterial infection. Gleet caused by bacterial infections may persist for weeks or months and be resistant to the usual treatments. Stress or hormones. Like humans, external stress and hormonal cycles impact the entire body and affect the digestive system. In chickens, those factors can lead to vent gleet. Protozoa or other parasites. Internal parasites can irritate the cloaca and cause vent gleet. How can I treat chickens that have vent gleet? Vent gleet is a symptom, not a disease, so it may take some time to determine the exact cause of the issue. To get an authoritative diagnosis and treatment plan, we recommend that you consult with a vet. In the case of advanced, more serious vent gleet, you will want to take your bird to a vet immediately. Here are some recommendations for treating less advanced, milder cases: Quarantine the affected bird(s) from the rest of the flock during treatment. This will protect the bird from curious, pecking flockmates and will protect the flock from any potentially contagious causes of the gleet. Offer fresh water daily, using a supplement and/or probiotic as mentioned earlier, during the entire treatment period. Make sure to administer any supplements according to the manufacturer's instructions. Provide both sizes of grit at all times in cage cups or mixed in with their feed. Clean the vent area daily with warm water and a mild detergent like Dawn dish soap. Keep the bird warm while you dry them off. You don't want to add the stress of being cold to an already-stressed bird! Keep cleaning the vent for as many days as it takes for the vent gleet to subside. In some cases, it may take up to a week or more. Use an over-the-counter anti-fungal cream on the vent area after washing the bird each day. Trim vent feathers carefully, making sure you don't trim too close to the skin, injuring the bird. It is usually safest for two people to do this: one to hold her still and the other to do the trimming around the vent.