[egbert]

Hi

Can you help work out what is wrong with this chicken - she is our only ex-bat remaining and we have had her over a year. She has a dirty bum, and is all fluffed up and unhappy but we cant feel an egg anywhere, although it could be soft shelled.

We are off now to give her a bath, but her back end looks raw and nasty - I have added a photo, but please note we have lubed her up a bit so it does look a bit more slimy than it is. Any ideas what this could be?

[It-needed-a-home]

Sounds like mites !! Dust her down and she should pick up in a few days

[egbert]

None of theothers have mites though? We have her in a bath and her vent is pulsating madly.

[Dizzycow]

Has she been laying ok up until now? We had a prolapsed chicken who had a tiny, shell less egg stuck en route. I'm sure somebody will know what it is, but this looks as though she is possibly egg bound. This link is useful;

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-treat-egg-binding-in-chickens.html

[egbert]

Thats handy, thanks. We have given her a warm bath for a good 20 minutes, keeping the water warm. Nothing passed, so will have to look at the heat treatment next.

[egbert]

Well 3 hours in a dark box on her own, and she appears to have passed a soft egg (which she was eating by the time we got in there) and seems perkier. 

Hopefully she will be better tomorrow.

[Dizzycow]

That's brilliant! We kept ours in isolation for a couple of days, just to be on the safe side. She was fairly pee'd off about it, though! Glad all's well.