My rabbit is digging through the run wires

[Clur]

I've not long finished cleaning out the eglu and always give the girls a once over at the same time. Florrie (she of the raggedy undercarriage) feels like she's lost weight and her vent was going 19 to the dozen.

 

On close inspection I thought she had some soft shell stuck and when I went to remove it, realised it's actually part of her vent. It looks a creamy yellow colour but it's definitely part of the vent at the bottom - it's almost like when a human's skin is peeling after sunburn. There also appears to be a very small tear to the top of the vent, though no sign of blood at all and it looks pink and ok. She also looks as though she has some clear discharge being expelled.

 

She's eating and drinking well and her and her friend Dilys have been merrily free-ranging in the garden. She seems happy but she's definitely lost weight and now the vent thing. Does anyone have any suggestions? I need to find a poultry sympathetic vet near Bracknell but wondered if I should be doing something else. They are both wormed regularly too with flubenvet.

 

Worried about her as we lost Milly five months ago, and that was bad enough

Edited September 2, 2009 by Guest

[Egluntyne]

Their vents do 'pulsate'. It is usually nothing to worry about.

 

Re the weight loss - Is she eating too many treats?

[Clur]

Thanks Egluntine. I'm not worried about the vent pulsating as such, more the fact it doesn't look good - the peeling skin look. The part affected is thicker than normal peeling skin but I guess that's the best way to describe it, as the part that is attached the vent is pink and healthy looking, but the rest is creamy yellow and doesn't look that good. Also the clear discharge in conjunction was concerning me.

 

They do get a lot of time to free-range and when they're in the run they get treats to keep them amused (and quiet). Am I best off restricted this for a while to see if it makes a difference?

 

She doesn't seem bothered by any of this, but it's not normal and in comparison to Dilys, she doesn't look as healthy.

 

Thanks.

[Clur]

I've added some photos and still really anxious about it. As you can see from the before and after photos, something's not right.

 

http://club.omlet.co.uk/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=213109

 

Florrie keeps going to the nest box to try and lay an egg with no success. There is still a clear mucus (egg-white?) dripping from her vent, and she's had another bath today (which she loves).

 

Found a vet about 10 miles from me on the vet listings, and going to call them tomorrow, but if anyone can give me an idea as to what this may be, I'd be grateful. Again, she's fine in herself, not hunched or off food but is very thin in comparison to her companion. They are wormed with Flubenvet regularly, free-range for several hours a day and I've now stopped treats for a bit.

 

Hope someone can offer advice or an opinion as to what's causing this

[Romany]

Hi Clur,

Can't help on the vent front - the pics only showed up as thumbnails for me and when I enlarged them they were quite blurry but it seemed reasonably normal in the 'after bath' shot. The pre-bath shot looked pretty gunky but was the most blurry so I couldn't tell what the problem might be.

 

Someone recommended a fantastic avian vet in Reading called Bruce Maclean. I haven't used him yet but he sounds excellent:

http://www.herpvet.co.uk

 

Good luck!

[Clur]

Thanks Romany. My DH has a tremor, so wasn't the best at taking piccies!

 

I called my vets on the off-chance they have a poultry specialist and they do, only he's on hols til Thurs. They're referred me to another branch in Wokingham and Florrie's got an apppointment there tomorrow late afternoon.

 

She's still fine in herself, but her bottom is really gunky and still dripping, so it's worth getting her checked out.

 

I'll let you know how it goes, and this is the vets I am taking her to:

http://www.kynochvets.co.uk/Wokingham.html

 

This is my usual vets:

http://www.kynochvets.co.uk/Harmanswater.html

 

Good to know they both 'do' chickens

[chunkychick]

Hi,Ive just posted in clinic (constantly dripping vent) to ask for help for what sounds like the same problem.My thoughts were VENT GLEET.

Gill

[Clur]

I've just done a Google search, and think this could be it Gill. I'll get the vet to confirm, especially as there seems to be a lot of different options for treatment - anything from Canesten thrush cream to being put to sleep - here's hoping there will be a simple cure whatever the problem is.

 

Going to take both hens to the vets anyway, Dilys get distressed if they're separated, and it might be worthwhile to give them both the once-over.

 

I'll let you know how it goes.

[Clur]

Well that was the best money I've ever spent! Just got back from the vet's where they gave Florrie a thorough examination.

 

The vet doesn't think it's vent gleen, but symptomatic of a different infection. During the time Florrie was there she had her temperature taken, was weighed and thoroughly checked out to rule out mites, blockages or internal masses - all clear thankfully.

 

The vet thinks it's caused by naturally occurring bacteria, that has come to the fore as Florrie's immune system was lowered. This could be caused by a variety of minor snuffles, or could have happened after stress - such as when we lost Milly and the pecking order changed.

 

We were given two options - one to collect her droppings over the next 5 days, get it tested to see what the specific infection is, and then treat; or to start treatment for a broad range of infections now and monitor the situation, taking her back for the above if there's no improvement by the end of next week. We've taken the latter option as we know how quickly hens can go downhill and didn't want to take any chances.

 

She can still free-range, still seems happy and alert (though she must be feeling it?!). Got to keep her off any 'watery' treats such cucumber or marrow, but she can have corn, sweetcorn or mealworms in an afternoon. DH is popping out to get organic cat food and I'll let her have some of that to try and help build her back up.

 

I feel much happier getting Florrie checked over and the lovely vet also weighed Dilys and gave her a quick once over to check her too. Gave me huge reassurance we're doing all we can for our beautiful girls!

 

Here's hoping the Septrin Syrup does the trick (believe it or not, the suspension syrup is banana flavoured and Florrie loved it!), and wish me luck for tomorrow when we have to tackle getting the medicine into her via a syringe!

 

Thank goodness we've found a good poultry vet!

[Ain't Nobody Here]

That's good news .

 

(If you would be happy to recommend your vet, I could add them to the Omlet list - just PM me the details .)

[Romany]

Hi Clur,

Delighted to hear your trip to the vets was encouraging and worthwhile. I'll be book-marking them as Wokingham is very convenient for me too.

Do you mind me asking how much they charged?

 

Hope Florrie improves soon with the syrup

 

Take care,

[Clur]

Hi ANH, you should have a PM with all the vets' details waiting for you

 

Romany, I thought they were really good. The lady I saw took everything seriously, was at pains to make sure we were clear with what she was checking for, and the next steps. I rated her. They charged us 27.50 for the consultation and medication. I was expected it to be a bit stiffer than that, so was relieved it was ok. I'm not sure what the costs will be if we have to go to plan B.

[Romany]

Sounds pretty reasonable to me for this area - a good find, thanks!

[Clur]

Florrie seems much brighter. She's still not laying, and still isn't 100% but she's much better and we're keeping an eye on her. I'm working on building up her weight a little now, so tinned tuna or weetabix mixed with poultry spice for treats for a week or two

[Space Chick]

I am so pleased she is getting better