Bleeding from the back end...

[sparkleeyes]

This is not going to sound good... warning.... but one of our "older" chickens has been bleeding from the other end. Husband first noticed the bleed, but she herself has not been able to clean the situation and the blood had dried (along with some feces). Now I don't think it is abnormal to see a bit of blood on an egg, or after the hen having an egg. But this was different, more of a continual bleed, and hunsband was concerned of her feathers being wet and sticky with blood, and being cold at night. So we went under a cleaning operation with some luke warm water, dish gloves, and a hair dryer (set on low). We're in the winter months, and we we trying to avoid her getting cold, so we wanted to make sure she was dry.

During our cleaning operation, we were able to get a closer inspection of the area. I am not a vet, I don't know what it was under there, but to describe it was like a pertrusion of some sort. We felt horrible for her, and the bleeding... was still bleeding.

What do you think??? Have you seen this before?

 

[aghiowa]

I've heard that they can partially expel their reproductive tract. I know the "cure" involves preparation H. There has been some discussion on that in the last few days on this board...

Angela

 

[Lisa202]

This sounds like vent prolapse. My hen just had the same thing happen, but without bleeding. I've seen pics of really bad vent prolapse, but mine is like what you describe. Try bathing her in warm water for about 15 minutes. It'll help her to relax and possibly push anything out that may be stuck. Then put some Prep H on it and gently push it back in and hold it there for a couple minutes. I did this, but she pushed it back out each time. You should separate her from the others so they don't peck at her. Also, keep her in the dark for most of the day so that she doesn't lay an egg right now. I have mine in a dog crate in the house with a blanket over her crate...I didn't want to put her back outside after her bath all wet, so she's still in the house for now. Her little protrusion turned crusty in 2 days and I'm kind of waiting for it to fall off. Each day, I bath her so that I can clean off the poo and one day it did start bleeding, so I let it alone. I just posted a question here a few hours ago, so I'm waiting for any info I can get. I did read that the bleeding can be dangerous. They can bleed to death with a vent prolapse.

 

[sparkleeyes]

Not good. But I'd say that's what it is. Sounds about right. I thought it looked like something coming out of her. What a sin, I feel so bad for her. We have a few that have been laying some awefully big eggs. That's a good idea about keeping her in the dark.

Could you post a link to your thread?

Thanks a million.

 

[wantbantams]

I had a hen with the prolapsed vent too. I soaked her using a warm rag and then I put honey on it. I know it sounds crazy, but I then pushed it back in. I did this over and over again, say every 3 hours for 1.5 days and she is like new now! She will get better if you clean it and push it back in. I cannot remember why the honey works, but I like anything more than medicine Good luck!

 

[Cknldy]

Honey is antibacterial. Guess in this case it's also a lube.