Continue to treat or cull?

[trudyg]

Bertha is almost past the egg laying stage due to age, she's over 5, and now is prolapsed. I would cull her except that she's the only hen I have who will actually hatch and raise chicks. I right away put her to soak, cleaned her off real well and tried to push it back in, unsuccessfully. So, I slathered it with veterycin (my sprayer stopped working, so I pour it in my hand) and put her in the coop on a pile of soft, clean bedding, and left for the night. When I went out this morning, she was up on the roost. The fact that she had not come down told me she was still in a bad way, so I carried her over to the porch and gave her fresh water with electrolytes and all-flock mash with added calcium. I left her to eat for a bit, then went for another soaking, still couldn't push it in but it seemed less swollen than yesterday, again slathered with vet spray and now she's on the porch just chilling. It's too hot for me to put her in a cage in the garage (quiet and dark), and I cannot bring her in the house. Is there anything else I can do? I plan to soak every hour or so but will see if it's more stressful or not (she really seems to like it, tho) and continue as I have been. My main question, however, is how long can I realistically expect her to live? If it won't go back in, how long does she have? If it does go in, the odds are it will happen again--since she's not a really good layer anymore, how much effort do I put into keeping her alive? I have no problem culling other than that she is a good broody and she's got a chick that's at 8 weeks right now. (This chick is younger than the other new chicks. She's just starting to get pink tinge where the others are very pink, the cockerels are already crowing and sparring, trying to get the older hens to squat. So, she's a target for the older ones.) I only have 3 other adults, one with bumble foot that I've been treating, too. It's the weekend, so I have time, but I won't have much time once Monday comes and, then, I'm having surgery in 2 weeks and then definitely won't be able to doctor them. Any suggestions? Should I cull her or not? The bumble foot one, too, is getting old and she's difficult to manage for treatment, so cull her? Like I said, I know I won't be able to do much for the next 2 weeks and then several weeks where I'll need someone else to do just about all of it for me, which is even more difficult since they'll start school next week.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would keep the prolapsed tissue moist with vaseline, honey, or hydrocortisone cream at all times so it doesn’t dry out. The Vetericyn to keep it clean is fine. You may find that soaking her bottom in warm Epsom salts or soapy water once a day can help heal her and help the prolapse to go back in. Sometimes it can take days for the prolapse to go in or stay in. Pictures of it may help us to see what you see.

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

I am so sorry, everything is coming at once and you might be feeling overwhelmed.

If the bumblefoot is not infected it isn't always an emergency to treat it. Often the self-resolve. You could just slather Vaseline on it and it might go a long way to get her on the mend. The full soaking/surgery route may not be required if you are dealing with other things. When I adopted my flock they ALL had bumbles and I was new. I treated the worst one first and by the time I worked my way through them as several had healed on their own.

All the best to you and your girls

 

[coach723]

If you can get the prolapse in, then sometimes you can fashion a sling to help hold it in. This thread has some pictures of that:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/successful-vent-prolapse-treatment-with-photos.1101406/
Most important is to keep it moist, honey will keep it moist and also may help swelling go down.

 

[trudyg]

Does honey not attract flies, ants, etc? I'm afraid, with her laying down all the time, she'll get flies and make things worse.

 

[coach723]

It might attract ants, if I'm treating I usually crate them and put them in my spare bathroom, it 's just easier to monitor them and keep them clean. I put clean bath towels in the bottom of the crate, keeps things cleaner and they can be swapped out as needed.

 

[trudyg]

I had a chicken in the house once after a hawk attack, the dust and dander is so oily and coats everything, I'm not bringing another into the house. And it's too hot to leave her in the garage, so the porch is it. She's not in a cage/crate, just on the porch. I have baby gates that stop her going off, although the other chickens fly right over it and visit.

 

[trudyg]

Well, I just soaked her again for 15 minutes or so. Still looks slimy, but no hard spots and most of the poop has been rinsed away by now. I then poured the vetRX all over (since my sprayer broke). It's cooler and raining now, so I moved the barricade and will see if she gets herself to the coop tonight. If not, I'll put her on the roost since that's where she wants to be, then bring her back to the porch tomorrow. I am concerned because this big red ball is still on the outsidem even though it's not gotten any hard spots. I put pressure on in while she was soaking and it felt like it started going in, then she bore down and out it came again. Did this several times, then stopped. She's been pretty chill all day, on the porch in the shade with fresh water, mash with calcium added, and her chick beside her. Sweet looking pair. Fingers crossed we have a good night and, if so, I'll do it all again tomorrow.

 

[NatJ]

I have no problem culling other than that she is a good broody and she's got a chick that's at 8 weeks right now. (This chick is younger than the other new chicks. She's just starting to get pink tinge where the others are very pink, the cockerels are already crowing and sparring, trying to get the older hens to squat. So, she's a target for the older ones.)

If the hen is separated for treatment, she isn't caring for the chick anyway. So I would make a decision about the hen herself, without considering how it will affect that particular chick.

I only have 3 other adults, one with bumble foot that I've been treating, too. It's the weekend, so I have time, but I won't have much time once Monday comes and, then, I'm having surgery in 2 weeks and then definitely won't be able to doctor them. Any suggestions? Should I cull her or not? The bumble foot one, too, is getting old and she's difficult to manage for treatment, so cull her? Like I said, I know I won't be able to do much for the next 2 weeks and then several weeks where I'll need someone else to do just about all of it for me, which is even more difficult since they'll start school next week.

I would probably think hard about the bumblefoot one, and keep trying until tomorrow on the prolapse one. But Sunday evening, if the prolapse is not much improved, I would cull her. And I might cull the bumblefoot one at the same time, depending on whether she actually needs treatment or whether she can be left untreated while life is busy.

Removing two adult hens (prolapse and bumblefoot) will definitely change the flock dynamics, and I don't know if it will make things better or worse. If the cockerels are pestering the hens, and since you know you'll be very busy or unavailable for a while, I might cull some or all of them too.

The more chickens you cull now, the more space the others have to spread out and get away from each other, which will hopefully avoid problems while you are unable to deal with them.

(This is just my personal opinion. Whether it's right for you, I don't know.)

 

[trudyg]

This youngest chick is doing okay on her own, if mama wasn't there she'd be fine. She's big enough to run from the older ones and only hangs out with mama because mama still lets her. Thanks for the culling advice, I guess tomorrow will be the deciding day.