johncunningham01 Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 Dear All One of my girls (Matilda) has a really dirty back end. She is using the soil baths in the garden along with the other girls. Her droppings are very liquidy and seem to have a sticky light greeny brown hue to them. In all other respects she appears healthy. She is eating and drinking. I don't think she is being bullied, although she likes to spend more time in the house than the others. Her feathers are messy at the back end primarily due to the faecal matter sticking to them. Any suggestions as to what may be the cause. All of the other girls "knickers" are intact and clean! John PS this is the only one of my four girls which has not started laying as yet. She is now about 41 weeks old! Is this quite late for a chicken to start laying? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chook n Boo Mum Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 Hi John, Have you wormed them recently? Sometimes they get mucky knickers as a sign that they are due a dose............another reason could be too much of a good thing is giving her a runny tum, cut back on treats for a week or so & see of that helps clean her up..you may get a few disgruntled chooks, but better that than a poorly one . If you have any bokashi bran, mix some of that with some live yogurt, which may also help. It can be a bit hit & miss treating chooks as you've probably already found out You may like to give her a bath to remove all the nastiness & get a better view of any changes so to speak, just fill a bowl with warm water & a dash of mild shampoo or ecover washing up liquid, put Matilda in & if the temperature is right she should settle down & enjoy the proceedings (mine do!), dry her with a towel & maybe even venture as far as drying her wet bits with a low temp & powered hairdryer, don't let her back out until she's dry as she'll get cold very quickly otherwise.......be prepared to get wet if she decides she doesn't like it though And 41 weeks is quite late for a layer...what breed is she? Some pure breeds are late starters but hybrids usually start by about 25 weeks, but as with everything they are all different & will lay when they are good & ready thank you very much Good luck Sha x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 wroms would explain the lack of eggs and the mucky back end A good scrub will make her feel a lot better Also dont feed any greens for a few days and cut back on treats for a while Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meezers Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 What breed is she ? My Dorking always has a mucky bum.Worms aren't the problem , it's just her feathers in that area seem much longer than that of my other breeds and I'm sure they sweep up the poo and rain , then she dust baths and ends up with a mud pack . I've given up washing her while the weather is so yuk. She is also almost a year old and not come into lay yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 Sounds as if worming her would be a good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chick wiggle Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 Sounds as if worming her would be a good idea. I saw the title 'mucky bum' and Egluntynes name and absolutely knew what it was gonna say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara@Brentford Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 Hi, Out of interest, how often should you de-worm? I've just had a girl die this week (with two hours notice!) and would appreciate any thoughts in case I can do anything to protect the others... Pepsi was my oldest hen (3 years) and I'm not sure when she last laid, few and far between now. I had seen white droppings sticking to her bottom end for a while and had removed them giving her a quick once over recently. I wasn't massively concerned (though probably should have wormed then). General chicken behaviour seemed fine.... Then I went to collect the eggs on Tuesday early evening and Pepsi was in the nest box, not scuttling away when I disturbed her as usual... I picked her up and she was unusually docile, though quite heavy. I put her back in the nest box as I planned what to do and she got stuck between the nest box and roosting bars - by now her mobility was low. I put her in the pet carrier and brought her into the house. I tried some research and tried to help her. She wasn't strong enough to stand. Her crop was full, so I assumed she'd been eating that day (though it wasn't hard - could this have been sour crop?). Her abdomen was large and hard - could this be a stuck egg? Turning her over, her tummy looked swollen & sore with feathers missing. there was now yellow droppings/mess and she smelt horrible. I tried bathing her in a warm sink. I was now thinking that she had an internal infection.... Her vent looked fine. In case there was anything that needed help coming out (be that an egg or from the bowel) I squirted a bit of sunflower oil into her vent and this released some more yellow diarrohea (with black bits in). I tried massaging her abdomen, she gave a couple of gasps and hung her head, dead. I appreciate that she was my oldest hen, but this wasn't a slow deterioration, and didn't seem like simply old age. Could it have been worms? I would have thought she would have lost weight? Could it have been poisioning (there are daffodil bulbs in the garden, that she may have pecked at)? Could it have been eating something she shouldn't? a bit of debris scratched up? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated, especially if I can prevent the others getting ill. The remaining five seem fine. three are laying and the two older pure breeds are off lay (have been for a few months - waiting for warmer weather!). Help???? Thanks, Sara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 I would suggest worming them routinely every 3-4 months, particularly if they range over the same peice of land, and there are trees in the vicinity, with wild birds, who carry the eggs of some species of worm. I'm guessing you hen might have had peritonitis, and had been ill for longer than you realised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara@Brentford Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 Thanks for this.... Is peritonitis infectious? Could I have spotted it/treated it earlier? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 Thanks for this.... Is peritonitis infectious? It's not infectious. My old girl Ella had "sterile" peritonitis where the egg misses the shell inside the hen and the hen builds up with fluid making them appeared puffed up around the rear end with a bright red bum. Ella lived with it for over 2 years and led a happy chicken life. The other peritonitis (non sterile) can be much more fatal sadly, and can cause death quite quickly. There's nothing you can really do to prevent it - I would just keep a close eye on your girls as I am sure you do and if anything worries you or if they are looking poorly then seek veterinary advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara@Brentford Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 Thanks! Best update my signature..... RIP Pepsi.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
