Guess What? Chicken…

Warning! This post is informational, but kind of icky. If you are grossed out by chicken butt problems, beware!

Something strange is going on with the hen’s butts.

Sure, they’ve molted and are now pecking at each other.

Sure, their butts are bound to be dirty with the constant pooping.

Sure, they’ve been dust bathing with their poop crusted bare bottoms in a dirt and diatomaceous earth (DE) mix.

So what the heck is it?

Now, I’m not a big fan of this breed. They are mean and horrible to each other and they have tried to peck my hands too many times to count.

That, however, does not mean I want them to suffer. Afterall, they do provide us with fresh, delicious eggs, entertainment and learning experiences for the boys (and us).

I went to my favorite chicken blog, Backyard Chickens to try and figure out what is going on.

Their symptoms, and the appearance of the disgusting, white/yellow foamish coating on their rear, is consistent with vent gleet aka “Nasty Chicken Butt”.

Blech.

Vent gleet or “Sticky Vent” is basically a yeast infection affecting female birds and, less commonly, males.

There are TONS of chicken websites out there describing this type of infection, so I’m just going to detail my plan of attack.

Treatment

First, I’m going to bathe the affected bottoms in a mix of water and dish soap.

Then, I’m going to put a molasses/water mix (1/2 C. molasses per gallon) out along with their plain water so they have their choice of beverage for at least a few hours.

Next, I’ll add 2-4 TB of vinegar/gallon of water and keep doing this for several days to, hopefully, kick out the nasty and prevent re-growth.

Finally, and this one is iffy given the temperament of these hens, I’ll feed them each 1TB of plain yogurt per day, also until symptoms are gone. Yogurt has probiotics and live cultures…good bacteria.

There is no way they will let me do this. It’s going to be difficult enough to get them in a bath, let alone get them to calmly take their tablespoon of yogurt.

I will likely just set out a dish of it and see what they do.

Prevention

In order to prevent another onslaught, I will make sure they always have fresh, clean water and dry feed.

I’ll continue to add apple cider vinegar to their water, backing off from 2-4TB to 1TB/gallon. I may also get some probiotic powder to add to their feed.

Yogurt, if the feeding plan works out, will be an occasional treat. 

Did I mention how gross this is? Just in case…

Ew! Gross chicken butts
White, yellow and foamy pus
Ick! There goes breakfast!