Vent Gleet (Cloacitis)

Cloacitis aka Vent Gleet is the inflammation of the cloaca caused by bacterial, viral, mycotic or parasitic infections. It can affect the gastrointestinal, reproductive and/or renal/urologic systems.

Symptoms may include

• Decreased appetite
• Lethargy
• Changes in posture
• Tenesmus (difficulty passing feces)
• Hematochezia (fresh blood in feces)
• Diarrhea
• Flatulence
• Malodorous feces
• Decreased fecal production
• Picking/excess grooming around the vent
• Accumulation of urates (white chalky matter) on feathers below the vent

Causes

• Bacterial
  • E coli
  • Clostridium spp
  • Mycobacterium
• Viral
  • PsHV1
• Mycotic (fungal)
  • Candida albicans
  • Trichosporon begielli
  • Aspergillus spp
• Parasitic
  • Giardia spp
  • Helminths
  • Coccidia
• Foreign body granuloma
• Other cloacal diseases
  • Neoplasia
  • Obstructive disease of the cloaca
  • Cloacal prolapse

Treatment

If it’s a simple fungal cause, you can do the following home treatment and if there is no improvement in 3-4 days, you will need to seek a vet to run tests and prescribe the appropriate treatment.

1. The vent area will need to be cleaned, you can use an oral syringe with saline solution to gently squirt into her vent and massage
2. Then use dilute iodine/betadine/chlorhexidine to clean her bum.
3. Apply monistat cream AND an antibiotic ointment such as Bacitracin inside and outside the vent.
4. Do steps 2 and 3 daily for 3-4 days. You can also add Apple Cider Vinegar to her water.
5. Separate affected chickens as it can be passed from one to the other depending on the cause

Mycobacterium and Mycotic don’t have a specific treatment (testing would need to be done to determine the exact bacteria or toxin).

E.coli can be treated with trimethoprim/sulfadiazine, clavamox or piperacillin.

Clostridium can be treated with penicillin, clavamox or azithromycin.

PsHV1 and Aspergillus are not likely the causes in adult chickens

Candida albicans can be treated with Nystatin.

I couldn’t find any treatment info on Trichosporon begielli.

Prevention

• Proper husbandry
• Routine fecal floats

#CVCVentgleet

Resources

Blackwell’s Five Minute Veterinary Consult – Avian

https://ask.extension.org/questions/398901