something coming out of my henpecked chicken's vent

[Sore Thumb Suburbanite]

My birds are finally beginning to lay and I don't know if this particular hen pecked red star is doing the laying but I noticed she is more henpecked than usual and was standing rather oddly. I checked her out to see if the pecking had led to blood and I saw a really nasty red blob coming out of her vent/rectum. is that normal in beginning layers? is she egg bound? what the heck is going on and will she get better on her own? what do I do-she is my favorite personality and so quiet-don't want to lose her!

 

[Happy Chooks]

Sounds like she's been pecked, or she has prolapsed. If her vent looks "inside out", that is a prolapse. Search for prolapsed vent and you'll get a lot of help on how to put it back in. I've never dealt with it, but I know you need to clean it (soak), lubricate it and push it back in. Then you want to keep her in low light so she doesn't lay another egg for a bit.

 

[Sore Thumb Suburbanite]

I pushed it back in after rinsing it off, but it just fell back out again...what the heck?

 

[Happy Chooks]

I pushed it back in after rinsing it off, but it just fell back out again...what the heck?

I believe people use Preparation H to help it stay in.

Here's a thread that should help:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/851838/need-some-advice-about-a-prolapsed-vent/0_50

 

[Sore Thumb Suburbanite]

ok, I looked it up in the forums and it says you can use Prep H or honey-even sugar. so I used raw honey (as the point for using honey must be that it has natural enzymes in its raw state that are antiseptic or antibacterial) and it literally sucked back in! I washed it with warm water first of course. I have her isolated in a big cat carrying tote thing and she is very quiet and went to bed early (no longer light hours). I put ACV in her water along with a little raw honey and liquamins (trace mineral supplement) I'll be adding some crushed egg shell to her feed tomorrow and give her lots of dandelion and clover. She is being treated like a queen. I hope she heals up ok.

 

[chicksurreal]

ok, I looked it up in the forums and it says you can use Prep H or honey-even sugar. so I used raw honey (as the point for using honey must be that it has natural enzymes in its raw state that are antiseptic or antibacterial) and it literally sucked back in! I washed it with warm water first of course. I have her isolated in a big cat carrying tote thing and she is very quiet and went to bed early (no longer light hours). I put ACV in her water along with a little raw honey and liquamins (trace mineral supplement) I'll be adding some crushed egg shell to her feed tomorrow and give her lots of dandelion and clover. She is being treated like a queen. I hope she heals up ok.

I hope she heals quickly. I had no idea this kind of thing could happen, but I'm so glad this forum has people like you who are willing to share their experiences. Please let us know how she's doing!

 

[Happy Chooks]

I'm glad you got it to go back to normal. I hope she heals well.

 

[Sore Thumb Suburbanite]

ok-I HAD to tell everyone as I think this is highly unusual and amazing! This morning I went to check on the silent invalid and there was the biggest chicken egg I've ever seen in her cage-almost as big as my bigger duck eggs. It was a monster! The prolapse was gone, but it had to be the size of that egg that did it! She hasn't laid any eggs before-this was her first egg-its totally different than all the other chicken's eggs, brown and speckled quite beautifully-not to mention HUGE! is that common for the first egg to be so huge!? She is a red star hybrid.
I compared it to the last dozen of my store bought eggs that are extra large and its bigger-so big it won't fit in the egg carton-the lid bows over it and doesn't stay shut. All the other chickens have started laying in the last week and the eggs are small-like what you'd expect for beginners...anyway-by the afternoon she was acting very plucky-responding to attention-eating ravenously all the greens I'd give her and her prolapse wasn't back so I put her outside the rest of the day to forage and not get stressed out by the other girls and at dark I put her in the coop. I will of course keep an eye on her. I want to keep monster eggs coming! I'm in shock about the egg-called my whole family...

 

[chicksurreal]

ok-I HAD to tell everyone as I think this is highly unusual and amazing! This morning I went to check on the silent invalid and there was the biggest chicken egg I've ever seen in her cage-almost as big as my bigger duck eggs. It was a monster! The prolapse was gone, but it had to be the size of that egg that did it! She hasn't laid any eggs before-this was her first egg-its totally different than all the other chicken's eggs, brown and speckled quite beautifully-not to mention HUGE! is that common for the first egg to be so huge!? She is a red star hybrid.
I compared it to the last dozen of my store bought eggs that are extra large and its bigger-so big it won't fit in the egg carton-the lid bows over it and doesn't stay shut. All the other chickens have started laying in the last week and the eggs are small-like what you'd expect for beginners...anyway-by the afternoon she was acting very plucky-responding to attention-eating ravenously all the greens I'd give her and her prolapse wasn't back so I put her outside the rest of the day to forage and not get stressed out by the other girls and at dark I put her in the coop. I will of course keep an eye on her. I want to keep monster eggs coming! I'm in shock about the egg-called my whole family...

Wow!

So glad to know she's doing well, and congratulations on the super sized egg! She deserves some extra treats.

 

[Happy Chooks]

ok-I HAD to tell everyone as I think this is highly unusual and amazing! This morning I went to check on the silent invalid and there was the biggest chicken egg I've ever seen in her cage-almost as big as my bigger duck eggs. It was a monster! The prolapse was gone, but it had to be the size of that egg that did it! She hasn't laid any eggs before-this was her first egg-its totally different than all the other chicken's eggs, brown and speckled quite beautifully-not to mention HUGE! is that common for the first egg to be so huge!? She is a red star hybrid.
I compared it to the last dozen of my store bought eggs that are extra large and its bigger-so big it won't fit in the egg carton-the lid bows over it and doesn't stay shut. All the other chickens have started laying in the last week and the eggs are small-like what you'd expect for beginners...anyway-by the afternoon she was acting very plucky-responding to attention-eating ravenously all the greens I'd give her and her prolapse wasn't back so I put her outside the rest of the day to forage and not get stressed out by the other girls and at dark I put her in the coop. I will of course keep an eye on her. I want to keep monster eggs coming! I'm in shock about the egg-called my whole family...

It's probably a double yolker. Very common in new layers, but you don't get them for long. Once their bodies adjust to laying, you'll get normal eggs.