Hen with encrusted vent, underweight and not laying

[ctrl-alt-doll]

She didn't say if the worms were a contributing factor. I'll contact her next week and ask.

All my girls are wormed now. I'm to repeat the treatment on the weekend.

I love the chicks. The d'uccle and silkie are very tame. The Pekin not so much.

They are a bit hen pecked at the moment. I thought the silkie I have would have adopted them but she didn't.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

They are all adorable!
Just about anytime there are new birds introduced there's going to be some pecking. Hopefully it will settle down soon.

 

[ctrl-alt-doll]

I just heard from the breeder and the hen is cured and good to go home. I'll pick her up tomorrow. I'll let you know what the breeder says about it and what caused it. So happy.

Edit: the chicks are still henpecked but they are venturing out of the coop now. I love them to bits.

 

[User395221]

Woohoo, that's good news. I'd be really interested in how she fixed it. (I bet your hubby will be pleased)

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Glad to hear this!
Yes, I'm definitely interested in how she fixed it, what treatment(s) she applied, etc.
Pictures too! Of her and those adorable chicks!

 

[ctrl-alt-doll]

I'll definitely take photos, can't wait to see a normal chicken bum. I never thought I'd say that LOL

My husband is working overseas, I think I'll wait until he comes home and surprise him.

 

[ctrl-alt-doll]

This is the text I got from the breeder. I'll post more as tomorrow after I talk to her.

-----

Well she's looking pretty darn good to me.
I've wormed her, sprayed her vent four/five times with the pink antiseptic spray and given her probiotics.
She had maggots in her vent so that's why I sprayed her knowing they would back out in a screaming hurry, and they did!
She's a tough little bugger.

-----

We picked maggots off her too. I thought they were all gone.

 

[ctrl-alt-doll]

Raising this thread again.

The chicken is still alive. She now has a prolapsed vent. It's not badly prolapsed, just looks swollen and sticking out a little bit. She keeps getting the hard stuff stuck on her vent. I still don't know what it is but I just keep soaking her and picking it off. I think the new feed has helped. I'm feeding pellets now instead of layers seeds and pellets.

I've reading up on prolapsed vents and I think I know what to do.

How far do I push it in?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Did you get her back from the breeder?
You want to of course clean the prolapse well, then use some Hemorrhoid cream and gently push it back in. You may need to hold it for a couple of minutes to make sure it stays in, if not repeat. Hopefully the cream will help with the inflammation. I've read that calcium is supposed to help the "muscle" contract so if you have liquid calcium or a tums you can give here that as well.
I don't remember what you were feeding, but sometimes re-evaluating your feed can make a difference, so it sounds like you have made a good choice. If you don't already, I would offer oyster shell free choice for all of your girls, they will eat what they need. I also rinse and bake my egg shells, crush them up and feed them to my girls, they gobble them up (maybe egg shell taste better than OS).
Do you think the "hard stuff" is dead tissue? Does the debriding seem to help at all?
Here's an article that talks about treatment and using the calcium as well.
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/04/prolapse-vent-causes-treatment-graphic.html

 

[ctrl-alt-doll]

Did you get her back from the breeder?

Yes, I got her back a month ago. I've been struggling with her problem since. It's easier, but it's not going away.

You want to of course clean the prolapse well, then use some Hemorrhoid cream and gently push it back in. You may need to hold it for a couple of minutes to make sure it stays in, if not repeat. Hopefully the cream will help with the inflammation. I've read that calcium is supposed to help the "muscle" contract so if you have liquid calcium or a tums you can give here that as well.

I got some hemmoroid cream today and we cleaned her up and pushed it in. I'll check again tomorrow.

For any Aussies that might be reading this, we don't have Preparation H, we have Proctosedyl Ointment.

Do you think the "hard stuff" is dead tissue? Does the debriding seem to help at all?

I think the hard stuff is dried and hardened poo on the prolapsed tissue. The 15 minute bath with Epsom salts really helps to soften it now. It's not as difficult since I changed her feed.

Once I removed it and it was clean, I dried her, I sprayed her with the pink antibacterial (I have a punk chicken with pink tail feathers ) then, I applied the hemmoroid cream and held her bottom in. She was pushing out but eventually relaxed and held it in. That's when I put her back in the grass.

Here's an article that talks about treatment and using the calcium

Thank you. Excellent web site.