cmonkey
In the Brooder
- Apr 13, 2015
- 34
- 3
- 24
A little background -
One of our hens has had some trouble laying eggs in the past. She developed a prolapsed vent last year that we treated successfully, but she has continued to have a runny vent ever since. Yogurt is fed regularly and does help some, but it's never gone away completely. When she developed the prolapsed vent last year, I do remember feeling what I thought was an egg right inside her vent, maybe 1/2 inch in. It wasn't far at all. I didn't think much of it at the time. She did recover nicely last year.
Yesterday I found her not able to get up on the roost, indicating she was either weak, or in pain. I picked her up and she had a small crop, so hadn't been eating. Her vent was extremely dirty and is very runny. I cleaned her up, trimmed all her feathers and investigated more. I can feel what I THINK is an egg, but it is RIGHT inside her vent - like 1/4-1/2 inch. But I cannot SEE anything that looks like an egg, its just a hard red mass in her vent.
Looking up chicken anatomy (the vent is primarily an egg duct, the rectum is a side path), this doesn't seem right. I should be able to see a white shell if it's that close to the end right? I mean, I can't even get my finger in past my finger nail!
Is something else going on? Does she have a tumor or something?
One of our hens has had some trouble laying eggs in the past. She developed a prolapsed vent last year that we treated successfully, but she has continued to have a runny vent ever since. Yogurt is fed regularly and does help some, but it's never gone away completely. When she developed the prolapsed vent last year, I do remember feeling what I thought was an egg right inside her vent, maybe 1/2 inch in. It wasn't far at all. I didn't think much of it at the time. She did recover nicely last year.
Yesterday I found her not able to get up on the roost, indicating she was either weak, or in pain. I picked her up and she had a small crop, so hadn't been eating. Her vent was extremely dirty and is very runny. I cleaned her up, trimmed all her feathers and investigated more. I can feel what I THINK is an egg, but it is RIGHT inside her vent - like 1/4-1/2 inch. But I cannot SEE anything that looks like an egg, its just a hard red mass in her vent.
Looking up chicken anatomy (the vent is primarily an egg duct, the rectum is a side path), this doesn't seem right. I should be able to see a white shell if it's that close to the end right? I mean, I can't even get my finger in past my finger nail!
Is something else going on? Does she have a tumor or something?
