HELP!! FAST I think my chicken prolapsed. Final Update

Poor Deniece! If it makes you feel any better, today's weather here was miserable and my husband's back went out in a bad way, hasn't been this bad in years. Rained/sleeted at 35 degrees all day long and of course, since DH is incapacitated, who gets to go do stuff for the chickens even though she herself fell up the front steps yesterday and wrenched her entire right side? Yours truly! Can't do anything about the weather or my DHs back, but here's something for your DH.. and I mean it in the nicest way possible.... He needs to do an attitude self-adjustment, LOL! I know; I've had to perform those on myself from time to time!
Hope your girl heals up okay. Wish I could have been more help.

This is just some information for you

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What causes "blowouts" in hens?

Prolapse "blowout" of the oviduct results when the hen ruptures the muscle in her vent while laying and egg.

Pen mates seeing the blood usually pick the bird to death.

Debeaking or pick guards will reduce picking, but will not remove the underlying cause. (only commercial flocks use this method usually)

Obesity (excess fat) and early sexual maturity contribute to this condition.

Common causes of early sexual maturity are increasing day lengths during the growing period, obesity and switching to the laying ration too early.

To prevent obesity in pullets, monitor their body weight and condition.

Restrict their energy intake if they are putting on too much fat.

Ref. H. Nutrition. "Feeding Chickens," for methods of controlling energy intake.
Frequently Asked Questions About Poultry (Revised December 2002)
R. Scott Beyer, Ph.D. - Extension Specialist, Poultry Sciences
Department of Animal Sciences Kansas State University
Reference: http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/poultry/faq.htm

Prolapse Information and Treatment

When a hen lays an egg the lower part of the oviduct is momentarily everted through the cloaca. Normally the hen can retract the oviduct after laying.

A prolapse occurs when the hen cannot retract it and a part of the oviduct remains outside the body

Causes can be:
1. Being too fat
2. Older hens
3. And in early laying pullets with low bodyweight
4. Eating feed that has too high an energy level
5. Or a fright can cause the hens’ oviduct to prolapse
6. When the hen ruptures the muscle in her vent while laying and egg.
7. Obesity (excess fat)
8. Early sexual maturity contribute to this condition
9. Common causes of early sexual maturity are increasing day lengths during the growing period, obesity and switching to the laying ration too early


A mass of tissue, often bloody and dirty, can be seen protruding through the vent

This is a real blow when it occurs, because it is often the best layers that are affected

Fortunately, it is not very common

Prolapse is difficult to cure because the hen continues to lay, and forces the organs out again after they have been replaced

A prolapse attracts the other birds to cannibalism, pen mates seeing the blood usually pick the bird to death.

Debeaking or pick guards will reduce picking, but will not remove the underlying cause.

To prevent obesity in pullets, monitor their body weight and condition.

Restrict their energy intake if they are putting on too much fat.


First line of defence – Treatment:

Chickens that show signs of prolapse can be helped by preventing them laying. However, if there is any small prolapse gently push it back into the chicken with your fingers.

The chicken should then be put on a maintenance diet of wheat and water and put in a dark cage. Leave the hen there for a week.

In severe prolapse a purse suture and maintenance diet with the chicken kept in the dark, as above, works well. However, it is important to restrict the chickens diet to maintenance only for possibly a couple of months.

This does work!!

Alternative to maintenance diet is feeding the chicken enough to keep it alive, moving and keeping warm plus enough extra feed for it to produce eggs.

You may find that by reducing the feed it brings on a forced molt

By reducing feed intake so that the bird has just enough feed to keep it alive, moving and keeping warm you are feeding for maintenance only. The chicken will not lay eggs and so give it the best chance of recovery.

Treatment:
You can try to push the prolapse organs back in, very carefully

First, remove the hen immediately from the flock to prevent cannibalism

Clean the prolapse organ

Which will have become dirty

Use warm water and a very mild soap

Smear with a lubricating jelly like Vaseline and very gently push the prolapsed organs back into the body cavity

Isolating the bird and reduce the feed to try and stop her laying

She more than likely she has another egg already moving down the oviduct

The next egg laid could cause another prolapse

Helping to prevent further damage when a hen is prolapsed

1. Reducing swelling and allowing the muscles to contract
2. Preventing a yeast infection
3. Preventing them laying
4. If there is any small prolapse gently push it back into the chicken with your fingers
5. Put the hen on a maintenance diet of wheat and water
6. Put in a dark cage to stop the laying cycle (5 days to 2 months (severe case))
7. In severe prolapse a purse suture may be need to the cloaca

Wash area with sterile water and using preparation-H (this is an ointment used for humans who have piles or hemaroids)
Coat the extended portion in and around the vent area.
Preparation -H reduces the swelling tissue and thus allows the tissue to recede.


If the bird is left in this condition, the other birds will peck at her, and she will become infected and fly blown, die from loss of blood or blood poisoning
You should cull the bird immediately if this happens

A prolapse is not a disease and the bird can still be eaten

Even using some oral teething gel and put a dab of that on the vent and prolapse to numb it a little before you push it in. Some of the tissue doesn't have much in the way of nerves, but the vent will and it can be sore.

Check to see if any of the birds intestines are hanging out through the prolapse.. if there is .. you best option is to put the bird down, or seek vetinary help to have it put back in quickly or the bird will die from septic poisoning or obstruction (which is very painful)

If she is still able to pass droppings, then continue to push the prolapse in.

It will probably come out again, especially if it has been injured and has a scab forming on it. The scab will stimulate the hen to push the prolapse back out again.
Removed any scab that is "ready" to be removed (don’t want to cause further bleeding or injury by removing the scab if it isn’t ready to come off… so I only started to try removing it after about 5 days , it may take up to 10 to get it off completely).

Bath it twice a day, pushed it very gently back in after putting a bit of numbing gel on it and a bit of KY jelly.

Hold the prolapse in for a minute or two before sliding your finger out.
The prolapse would usually come out again after a bit, but if you do this twice a day, it seemed to "rebuild" the muscles where the tissue was supposed to be!

Keep the bird in a very clean pen with no shavings or anything to stick to the prolapse.
After this time the scabs should all be off and the tissue should be staying in place

Your vet may be able to give her a purse-string suture around her vent to keep the prolapse in. Don't give up on her

Well, I lost one last week, to the same thing, but they are both starting to lay much later than the others. I went in to check on them and I saw her in a nesting box, so I left her alone. Then I went in later to get the egg, and she was standing under the nesting boxes looking awful. The other hens where paying way too much attention to her, but still I didn't know that they were pecking at her. Then I went back a little while later to check on her, and found a bloody egg in one nesting box, and her hiding out in another. So I picked her up and rushed her into the house. She met my cat George and that caused a great deal more stress in her life than she needed. But she seems to be resting well in the laundry room. I hope she will be ok.

And no Speckledhen, other peoples pain never makes me feel better. I don't even read the paper because I can't stand all the awful things happening to people. I'd make the world good for everybody if I could but then we'd not learn those necessary tough lessons of life. DH and I have only been married for 2.5 years. First marriage for both of us. I'm 44 and he's 40, so you can tell that things would be a little rocky for two independant self sufficient, control freaks. So yes, he needs an attitude adjustment. Stangely, I think he's really upset that his mom couldn't make it. At first he didn't even want my mom to come, but I think he's a little bummed.

I do hope that everybody's Christmas is turning out way better than mine. However, on the bright side, I have to say. The fire did not burn out house down. My EEer is still alive and I think we have a chance. DH will get used to his jeans, and at least his mom is safe at home instead of dead on the side of the road. So all in all, I am truely blessed. My Fibromyalgia is flaring, but I'm not dead either. And most importantly.... I have eggs coming next week!!

Thank you all for your help and support, please keep your fingers crossed for my little girl that she heals and does well.

Just thought we'd commiserate together, but I sure think you got the short end of the stick, dealing with a prolapse! That's something I haven't had yet, knock on wood! My time will come for chicken emergencies, I'm sure.

Well, you guys did marry later on so in some ways, that makes it harder to adjust. I'm sure he'll be fine, but it sure is the pits when holiday plans don't go the way we wanted them to. When it rains, it pours, and it was raining on me and snowing on you! I've been known to throw an "adult tantrum" when things just kept going wrong, so I'm completely guilty of needing this And my older son delights in doing it, too! (he's 30).
Hey, I guarantee those eggs will make you feel much better when they arrive intact and are in your bator!

I had a silkie hen that pro-lapsed once. Of course it was late evening when I discovered it on a Sunday no less. I'm in a rural area so by the time you drive to town everything is closed up. Didn't have prep h at the time...keep it now, haven't had to open the cellophane yet...thankfully..lol.

Took a few times of putting everything back in. I used a lil bag balm and the last time I did I sprinkled liberally with sugar. I read it online , don't know what sugar does or doesn't do but everything stayed in that last time. After a few days I moved her back out to hang with the flock.

Good luck !!! Hope everything else goes well. I remember many years ago I got the hubbie the stuff on his Christmas list and got him a new dress shirt and tie as well. He threw a holy fit complaining about the shirt and tie, hurt my feelings big time. I remember it made me cry and feel like an idiot.

But that was then and this is now and I wouldn't spit on him if her were on fire...lol

Julie

I've had two now. I don't think they are laying too early, they are 24 weeks old. Isn't that about right? I do have a light in there to lengthen out the days. She's not too fat. I switched them to layer at 18 weeks when the first one started to lay. I just think I must be doing something wrong to have so close together.

Commiserating is good. I've just had a really tough week as it sounds like many have had from reading the posts. I'm sure glad there is a place to go to get help. Otherwise, I'd really be pulling my hair out.

Quote:
They are the right age...
They are being fed the right diet
Do you have crushed oyster shell in a separate dish for them to help with the egg shell formation, if not try and get some it is good for them, don't put it into the feed let them choose if they need it

When birds are new to laying sometimes they lay soft shelled eggs

When this happens they push too hard and can cause a prolapse to happen

Also new to laying... being egg production birds, they can lay eggs way too large for them for first eggs and they don't have the the production equipment stretched enough and they have to push too hard.. causing a prolapse..

I just wanted to add to your things to do.......when i had a rooster with intestinal prolapse....we made a sugar/water paste and applied it to the inflamed area. It did a great job getting it under control.

I'm sorry you're having trouble. One of my EE's prolapsed over and over. I couldn't get it to stay back in and she couldn't even poo anymore without her insides coming out too. I tried the remedies I read on here but nothing made it stay in. It's just a bummer not knowing 'why' when these awful things happen. With my hen, the only cause I could figure was possibly an injury from a hawk. Other than that, nothing fit (not overweight, not laying too early, etc). Don't think that it must be something you are doing wrong. I think sometimes their parts just aren't right. Anyway, I'm sorry you had a bad day - I too can relate. I hope your girl does ok.