Bloody Vent...Four Days Later...What Else Can I do?

[boskelli1571]

A little update this morning. She is up on her feet and eating and drinking. I did notice she was very interested in her rear end.
I did not clean it yesterday or anything as I felt the stress would not help.
Im going to clean her up and leave her in this cage till I see whats going on.

When you have cleaned her up, check the vent carefully. If it's popped out, it needs to be re-inserted. Preparation H will help to diminish the swelling. Keep her quiet, in a darkened area, plenty of water but reduce food intake - you don't want her to lay for a while!

 

[bald Rooster]

Her vent is partly on the outside or extremely swollen .It looks to me like it may be inside out.
There is a lot of blood on her rear. I am going to wait for now and not do anything that might make her bleed or cause more stress.
At this point I am concerned for this pullets future.

 

[micstrachan]

A little update this morning. She is up on her feet and eating and drinking. I did notice she was very interested in her rear end. 
I did not clean it yesterday or anything as I felt the stress would not help.
Im going to clean her up and leave her in this cage till I see whats going on.

m

Wonderful news!

 

[boskelli1571]

Her vent is partly on the outside or extremely swollen .It looks to me like it may be inside out.
There is a lot of blood on her rear. I am going to wait for now and not do anything that might make her bleed or cause more stress.
At this point I am concerned for this pullets future.

If you do not insert soon, it likely will not go back in at all.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Her vent is partly on the outside or extremely swollen .It looks to me like it may be inside out.
There is a lot of blood on her rear. I am going to wait for now and not do anything that might make her bleed or cause more stress.
At this point I am concerned for this pullets future.

Hi @bald Rooster can you post some photos?

It's hard to envision what's going on without seeing it, but from your description it sounds like your pullet has a prolapse. @boskelli1571 is correct, if you don't treat her soon, then prolapsed tissue can die or become necrotic.

Bring her in and wash off the blood so you can see what's going on. If she has a prolapse, then soak her in a warm tub of epsom salts water. Gently cleanse the prolapse, apply some hemorrhoid cream or honey to help reduce swelling. Gently push on the tissue to see if it will go back in. If not, then give her a rest - resoak and reapply your ointment then try again. If the tissue is really swollen and doesn't go back in - keep it moist with ointment so it doesn't dry out and die.

Make sure she is properly hydrated - dehydration can make it harder for the prolapse to go back in. Offer her plenty of water - add vitamins if you have them. Give her calcium this will sometimes help contract the prolapse. (you can give crushed TUMS or give her a little water with the TUMS dissolved in it). Liquid calcium works well too.

Let us know how she is doing.

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/04/prolapse-vent-causes-treatment-graphic.html

 

[bald Rooster]

It is prolapsed and I tried to put it back but it won't stay.she is able to pop the hole thing in and out with her muscle moments there.

I will keep her in a cage for a few days and see how she does.
I did try to get a decent picture but I don't see how the ones we took will be helpful all you really see is a lot of red feathers and a white spot

 

[boskelli1571]

It is prolapsed and I tried to put it back but it won't stay.she is able to pop the hole thing in and out with her muscle moments there.

I will keep her in a cage for a few days and see how she does.
I did try to get a decent picture but I don't see how the ones we took will be helpful all you really see is a lot of red feathers and a white spot

You said she is able to pop it in and out? Is she is able to retract it by herself

 

[bald Rooster]

Yes when she relaxes it starts going in on its own. but when she moves it looks like every thing comes out.I have hope I guess.

 

[boskelli1571]

Yes when she relaxes it starts going in on its own. but when she moves it looks like every thing comes out.I have hope I guess.

Ok - if it retracts by itself - do not give calcium, you don't want contractions. Keep her in a quiet, darkened place, plenty of water with reduced feed ration. You want her to stop laying for a few days and see if she will heal. She may lay an egg tomorrow and Friday, but ideally not. If she does lay, keep an eye on the vent to make sure it retracts again,.

 

[SeaSea47]

Hi everyone! Sorry for the delayed response, but on top of the sick chicken, I've been dealing with a busted hot water heat, some kind of stomach bug myself, and a few other crazy things. But I do have an update, and thanks for the welcomes and concern and advice!

I took her to the vet yesterday, and he says she was likely egg bound, and the tissue around her vent was ruptured at some point. He couldn't be 100% about exactly what was going on internally because of the inflammation, so we're trying to get that under control first. Anyway, he examined her and said her color is great and she's very healthy, so he thinks her prognosis for the tissue healing is good, but he couldn't promise me she'd be 100%. He also said she could require surgery, but right now he's leaning toward not needing it. He gave her a bath, trimmed her feathers in that area, and gave her an injection of antibiotics + anti-inflammatory meds, plus sent some home to keep her on for a couple of weeks. He also suggested keeping her mostly in the dark for a while, while she healed, and to bring her in out of the cold (we've been having nights in the 20s and freezing rain and snow flurries) because it can suppress her immune system.

So, she's living in a little 3-foot cage in the basement for now. I've got a space heater going down there, and she tends to sleep closest to it. I hated to separate her - she was actually kind of the head hen, and I'm so afraid they will not let her back into the gang. She's always been aggressive, even since they were babies, and yesterday when I had her cornered to put her in the carrier to go to the vet, she puffed herself up like she was going to fight me! Ha! I don't really handle them much either. I'm sure I'll have questions about re-introducing her. I'm definitely going to have to get some of the blue stuff, because she's got a little bald butt now!

Some other things he suggested included giving her a warm sitz bath occasionally while she's healing, using towels instead of straw for bedding until she heals, upping her protein intake (he told me to buy her some starter crumbles to eat while she heals), and giving her some kind of oil in her food. I read today that coconut oil is good for chickens? I told him I give her yogurt and electrolytes, and he said that would help the medication work. Oh, and to keep the area clean with the anti-microbial spray. So, I'm just going to keep an eye on her for now and keep trying to get the medication into her (that's fun!) If she's fine after she finishes her meds, she can go back outside, and if she starts bleeding again, swells up, or acts sickly, I'll take her back to the doctor, and we'll go from there.

She was exhausted when I got her home yesterday, and she didn't eat or move much, so I gave her a little corn, which I knew she would eat. Today, she's a little livelier and has been eating the feed and got up on her little roost. I am going to try to sit with her a few times throughout each day so she can get a little light for eating/drinking, plus she seems to enjoy the company.

I do wonder if there's anything I could do to keep her from being bored. Even when she was in the tiny cage outside I'd catch her eating bugs and weeds growing under it or watching the birds and squirrels or the other chickens. I don't want her to get too depressed. Plus, she's used to dust bathing and having free time and digging for worms and all that good stuff.