Question Is a messy bottom sometimes just a messy bottom?

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Penny
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Is a messy bottom sometimes just a messy bottom?

Post by Penny » Thu Mar 08, 2018 4:01 pm

I've noticed 2 of my hens have quite dirty bottoms. Poop stuck all over. The others backsides seem normal. I did notice a sneeze from one of the messy girls this morning. They all seem healthy, eating, and foraging, and laying. The one messy one also had a messy backside last summer, just before she went broody. The just eat layer crumb and a daily handful of scratch.

Could it be from the better weather and foraging more? Should I be worried?
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TomK
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Re: Is a messy bottom sometimes just a messy bottom?

Post by TomK » Thu Mar 08, 2018 6:01 pm

Hi Penny...not the most knowledgable here but i thought to add my :2cents: ...depends on the poop...i just recently had to isolate a hen with vent gleet..runny, light coloured and stuck to her entire hind end...took a week of isolation and ACV in the water and alone time to clear up...it may not be that at all but just sayin'...i dont usually get poopy bums on the hens...the occasional willnot in the downy rump feathers but nothing serious...cheers... :running-chicken:
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kenya
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Re: Is a messy bottom sometimes just a messy bottom?

Post by kenya » Thu Mar 08, 2018 11:15 pm

Sometimes it's caused by where they roost, with their butt up against the wall perhaps getting dirty that way, sometimes a hen that's broody stays on the nest and gets dirty. But as Tomk says it could be vent gleet.
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WLLady
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Re: Is a messy bottom sometimes just a messy bottom?

Post by WLLady » Fri Mar 09, 2018 8:16 am

so sometimes a messy butt is just that. sometimes it's also caused by mites-they lay their eggs on the feather shafts around the vent and then the poop gets stuck (because the eggs are sticky). sometimes it's caused by gleet, or a yeast infection. i've seen extraordinary messes in some hens that love their yogurt a little too much (possible that maybe some hens are yogurt intolerant? LOL). if one roosts in a corner, or insists on sitting crammed up into the corner of the nesting box, and quite often first time broodies aren't quite sure what their bodies are telling them, and they'll poop in the nest....that also can make for "wonderful" messes. it can also be caused by loose poops-if the hen has an infection in her gut, and sometimes even an impacted or broken egg inside her can cause for greasy slimy rear ends (thankfully the egg thing is pretty rare).
if it smells funny you likely have coccidiosis or another infection. if it smells yeasty-it's yeast (get OTC monistat cream, believe it or not). otherwise i'd just (wait for warmer weather first) give her a butt bath in warm water, and trim up any feathers that are impossibly dirty, and go from there.....
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Penny
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Re: Is a messy bottom sometimes just a messy bottom?

Post by Penny » Fri Mar 09, 2018 12:59 pm

Sounds like a very thorough inspection is warranted. Speckles isn't going to like this...lol
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WLLady
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Re: Is a messy bottom sometimes just a messy bottom?

Post by WLLady » Fri Mar 09, 2018 1:26 pm

just let her hide her head under your arm, and she'll likely be A-ok. i find holding them that way lets them "burrow" their head into my coat under my arm, and what they can't see (it's dark) doesn't bother them. then i hold them around the wings (my arm holds the wing down so they can't flap) with my left hand supporting under their tummy and can tip them up just a little bit to inspect the fluffybutt more easily and leaves my right hand free to separate the fluff and do the cleaning. if you find sand running around like crazy on her skin (trust me, that's what it looks like) she's got mites....which to me would be the most suspect given the time of year.....every winter and early spring it's an issue because of mice-mice can carry fowl mites....and they're looking for food in barns/coops more at this time of year. and a few extra BOSS or treats and she'll forgive and forget as soon as you put her back down again!
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