Bald bottom, yellow smelly discharge

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Question

Bald bottom, yellow smelly discharge: One of our hens is laying and eating, has a bright red comb but has no feathers round her bottom and has a smelly yellow discharge. Any ideas?

Answer
She is experiencing an intestinal disorder which could be from bacteria, parasites, unusual diet, poor appetite for some reason, and possibly disease.

You should separate her from the flock, incase this is contagious. Many chicken diseases can be passed through infected droppings.

A sick hen may not eat or drink enough and may be harassed by the rest of the flock. Isolating her is for her good and theirs.

With food and water close, and all to herself, you can monitor her eating habits better. Fresh fruits and vegetables may be all she needs for better digestion.

Adding a little raw cider vinegar to her water, 1 tsp/ cup, and soaking a bit of feed in it for her, may help balance digestion. Probiotics are available at most feed stores or you could offer her live culture yogurt mixed with moist feed.

She may be lacking in enough good digestive bacteria, and not processing her feed well. Trying to get a good balanced diet into her would be my first approach.

If good diet doesn’t correct her droppings in a couple of days, you might want to treat with antibiotics.

Getting a sample of her droppings to a good poultry vet could tell you if there is disease or a parasite causing this. Another basic in my Chicken First Aid Kit is a vitamin/electrolyte powder.

Deficiencies in vitamins could cause poor appetite, leading to poor health. It’s good to follow through with her and stay on top of this problem, for her sake, and the sake of the rest of your flock.

Sometimes a problem with one chicken could be a sign that others are at risk, even though you haven’t noticed signs in others yet.