[Kier]

Hi guys, I need some advice with my light sussex hen. For the last 4/5 days she has been having a little problem at the back end, but she remains active and I have made sure she is eating and drinking daily. I clean the coop out at weekends and noticed no blood in there which I thought there may be from her,When i checked her over the lump seems to be hard and "attached" but im scared to try to separate it too much in case i do more harm than good. I tried to bathe her last night,which for those of you that have tried will know it bloody impossible,but im going to try again and see if that helps. Do you guys have any advice or idea of what is wrong with her? she doesnt seem bothered by it and if I throw some corn in there she is always one of the first ones getting to it.
Many thanks in advance
Kier

[pin]

One of my buff orpingtons gets a dirty bum. She's 4 now and we've always had to wash and trim her.

She sits in a warm bowl of water quite well and usually just dries off herself after a quick towel down. The dried poops usually soak off but I keep her feathers trimmed to almost Brazilian!

Nothing wrong with her at all, good layer and generally as fit as a fiddle. I just don't think she has mastered her aim!

[in the hills]

Sorry, cant tell from photo ..... is there a lump/ something protruding or just a mucky back end?
 
Wash gently in cooled, boiled water to start with so that you can get a good look at what is going on. It could be a prolapse if there is a protruding flesh like lump.
 
If it is a prolapse they can be pushed back in. See the recent post on here by Bionic.

[chrismahon]

Ah the joys of chickens with fluffy bottoms. Still Orpingtons are much worse!
 
Hi Kier. That is quite simply a major accumulation of poo. Needs to be removed as it attracts pests and flies which can lay maggots in the skin and she'll be eaten alive. Highest risk time is NOW.
 
Definately a two person process if she isn't happy being handled. Large bowl of lukewarm water. One holds her around her wings and stands her in the bowl. The other (worst job is usually mine) splashes water over the poo area to soften it and break it up with their fingers. Be careful not to pull out feathers or infection may result. Grasp each feather by the base and use nails of other hand to scrape poo off and away. You can use baby shampoo if you want as that helps with the smell. Change the water then give a final rinse.
 
If she is prone to it give her some Natural Yoghurt with probiotic. That usually recovers the gut action. The ideal is to give them is Beryls Tonic, a probiotic with 200 different cultures, as opposed to between 1 and 4 in probiotic Yoghurt.

[Kier]

Thanks very much for your replies guys, I was certain there was something wrong with her as the other birds are fine and dont have this problem. I shall try again to clean her tonight, will update you in the morning lol thanks again

[Kier]

Many thanks guys,Last night I bathed her down with my mum and squeezed off what bits I could (Pretty disgusting as you can imagine). Alot of the feathers though were making her quite sore due to the poo so I cut away at the feathers but left the clean bits to stay so that they will regrow. She is sooo much happier today and you can see a real difference. Am going to continue bathing as and when to keep those pesky flies at bay  . Cheers

[Mammyshaz]

Well done.     the joys of animal keeping