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What causes prolapse???

post #1 of 3
2/8/08 at 6:11am
Thread Starter 

Hello,
I have had four chickens laying since October and one has since died from prolapse. Now we are seeing blood again on another egg and there is another chicken prolapsed. I have been reading about how to treat this, but not sure what causes it. Is it something lacking in diet. Am I not giving them enough gravel/grit? What about oyster shell?? Any help would be appreciated.

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post #2 of 3
2/8/08 at 6:16am

The only factors I've ever seen documented as causes are

pullets just coming into lay, esp. if still quite young

fat hens

and possibly breed (high-output production hybrids being *maybe* more prone)

None of these, of course, is a guarantee one way or the other, but it seems that they may create a slightly higher rate of prolapse than (say) in good-weight mature hens who did not start to lay unusually early and are not production types.

Unfortunately this just seems to be one of the things that not infrequently happens to chickens. Sorry to hear you are having trouble with it, but it may not actually be anything you can really fix. (Edited to add: other than keep a sharp eye out each day, and if you see a chicken with blood around the vent or an active prolapse, separate her from the others ASAP so they don't pick at it and treat the prolapse as per suggestions in other threads here, do 'search' on prolapse to find them - if treated, it may recur or it may not)

Best of luck,

Pat, having lost an ISA Brown last fall to a combination of eggbinding/prolapse/internal laying

my Big Ol' Ventilation Page is at http://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-VENTILATION
and Big Ol' Mud Page (fixing muddy runs): http://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-fix-a-muddy-run
and Cold Coop (winter design) page: http://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-winter-coop-temperatures
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my Big Ol' Ventilation Page is at http://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-VENTILATION
and Big Ol' Mud Page (fixing muddy runs): http://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-fix-a-muddy-run
and Cold Coop (winter design) page: http://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-winter-coop-temperatures
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post #3 of 3
2/8/08 at 6:27am

I don't know if this is true of chickens, but with our cows, we've seen that if a cow prolapses, any of her daughters in the herd have a larger chance of prolapsing too.  Also that a heifer that has had to really strain to push her calf out or has had to have it pulled is more likely to prolapse.....so I guess if a pullet lays an egg that is too large for her the same straining would take place.

I'm a Farmer/Rancher  Wife,Mom & Grandma  No Farms, No food. 
If you want house chickens and ducks in diapers then this is the forum for you.
I've got 50+ years of poultry experience, but this 'poultry' forum isn't for me anymore.
If you're going to complain about farmers, don't do it with a full belly or a mouthful.
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I'm a Farmer/Rancher  Wife,Mom & Grandma  No Farms, No food. 
If you want house chickens and ducks in diapers then this is the forum for you.
I've got 50+ years of poultry experience, but this 'poultry' forum isn't for me anymore.
If you're going to complain about farmers, don't do it with a full belly or a mouthful.
Reply
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