Egg Stuck in Prolapsed Vent

[FaithArthur123999]

Hey, I have a 2 year old ex battery hen who is having some trouble at the moment. Yesterday I noticed a slight prolapse and some blood around her vent (also dripping white urates) this is the same thing that happened to another of my hens a year ago. I cleaned her vent yesterday and applied some sudocrem. She was still running around happy and no problems so just kept an eye on her. This morning I came down to the run and she was stood in the penguine stance position and when I looked, she was prolapsed and the egg was stuck in the prolapse. She was in so much pain and distress. I brought her in and put her in some warm water and 15 mins later I was able to manually express the egg out. The prolapse has gone back in but she is still uncomfortable by the looks of it, she shudders everytime she poos! I have cleaned her vent and gave her some anti-inflammatories to help with the pain and inflammation. Shes eating and drinking well but shes currently indoors drying off, she is sleeping a bit but had a bit of an ordeal this morning. My local vets are not seeing poultry at the moment due to avian flu so I was wondering if there is anything else I can do to help speed up the recovery of her vent? I believe the egg got stuck because her vent is so swollen. I can keep her on anti inflammatories to help but worried about tomorrow morning when another egg comes. Just not sure what to do at the moment x

 

[Quarterhorses1]

Hey, I have a 2 year old ex battery hen who is having some trouble at the moment. Yesterday I noticed a slight prolapse and some blood around her vent (also dripping white urates) this is the same thing that happened to another of my hens a year ago. I cleaned her vent yesterday and applied some sudocrem. She was still running around happy and no problems so just kept an eye on her. This morning I came down to the run and she was stood in the penguine stance position and when I looked, she was prolapsed and the egg was stuck in the prolapse. She was in so much pain and distress. I brought her in and put her in some warm water and 15 mins later I was able to manually express the egg out. The prolapse has gone back in but she is still uncomfortable by the looks of it, she shudders everytime she poos! I have cleaned her vent and gave her some anti-inflammatories to help with the pain and inflammation. Shes eating and drinking well but shes currently indoors drying off, she is sleeping a bit but had a bit of an ordeal this morning. My local vets are not seeing poultry at the moment due to avian flu so I was wondering if there is anything else I can do to help speed up the recovery of her vent? I believe the egg got stuck because her vent is so swollen. I can keep her on anti inflammatories to help but worried about tomorrow morning when another egg comes. Just not sure what to do at the moment x

I’m not sure but I hope someone helps!
@Wyorp Rock @Overo Mare @EmmaRainboe @Eggcessive @casportpony

 

[Eggcessive]

It sounds like her vent was pecked and injured while she was prolapsed and trying to pass the egg. Glad that you were able to help her get it out. Calcium with vitamin D3 can be helpful to get the prolapse back in, and help pass future eggs. You could give her some daily for a few days. Keep the prolapse from drying out with the cream or honey. Do you feed a layer feed and put out crushed oyster shell for the hens to take as needed? Unfortunately she could suffer this again, and each time may further cause damage to her vent. There are hormone implants available to help hens stop laying, but that would not be available without the vet. I would make sure that she is not overweight, and not getting a lot of treats. Make sure that she is eating mostly layer feed. Hopefully, she will get better but there is no guarantee.

 

[FaithArthur123999]

It sounds like her vent was pecked and injured while she was prolapsed and trying to pass the egg. Glad that you were able to help her get it out. Calcium with vitamin D3 can be helpful to get the prolapse back in, and help pass future eggs. You could give her some daily for a few days. Keep the prolapse from drying out with the cream or honey. Do you feed a layer feed and put out crushed oyster shell for the hens to take as needed? Unfortunately she could suffer this again, and each time may further cause damage to her vent. There are hormone implants available to help hens stop laying, but that would not be available without the vet. I would make sure that she is not overweight, and not getting a lot of treats. Make sure that she is eating mostly layer feed. Hopefully, she will get better but there is no guarantee.

Hey, thank you for your response!

Yes I read about the vitamin D and calcium! I will give her some when my partner is home (shes fiesty so she is a 2 person job). Ive started with some preparation H cream (hemmaroid cream) which the vet recommended last time with one of my other hens, its like a lubricant but has cortisone in it, so I have put some on the inside of the vent (only slightly) and around the vent. Then I have put some antiseptic cream around the vent where the scabs are too. Yes she is on layers crumble and has access to pots of oyster shells, yes we started to stop some treats yesterday incase they were the cause. Shes certainly not over weight but would say slightly underweight. Ive had all my ex battery hens for over a year and their weight gain has been poor, a vet has looked into this and has said its most likely down to genetics. One of my other girls had the hormonal implant, lasted 6 months and we said we would review her after the 6 months. It wore off about a month ago and fingers crossed all is well and she has had no problems since. Unfortunately the implants at my vets are £175 which isnt cheap but I will definitely do if need be. I have emailed my vet who deals with my birds to see if she can do anything at the moment, hoping they can make an exception if she does need the implant. For now she is running around quite happy but she will sleep indoors tonight so we can keep an eye on her, we will give some calcium and some anti inflammatories tonight and then we will get up super early to give her more anti inflammatories and to put some lubricant/vasaline around her vent in preparation for the next egg. Thank you for your help and advice, I am hoping she can recover from this but if not then I will need the plead the vet for an implant xx

 

[Eggcessive]

Some people also will get their hen spayed to stop laying, but since anesthesia and surgery are very risky, not to mention expensive, very few do it. Let us know how she gets along.

 

[Quarterhorses1]

Some people also will get their hen spayed to stop laying, but since anesthesia and surgery are very risky, not to mention expensive, very few do it. Let us know how she gets along.

I had no clue this was possible. How much does that cost?

 

[FaithArthur123999]

Some people also will get their hen spayed to stop laying, but since anesthesia and surgery are very risky, not to mention expensive, very few do it. Let us know how she gets along.

Hello! Yes the vet did speak about that with my other hen but said its unlikely they would survive the operation and recovery so I wouldnt want to put them through it.

I kept Daphne in last night and this morning me and my partner got up very early to give her some more calcium, anti inflammatories, and to clean her vent and apply some hemorrhoid cream and a thick layer of vaseline to help the egg 'slide' out. We left her too it and thankfully just checked on her and rhe egg is out! Her vent has a bit of blood on it but the scabs on her vent keep re opening when the egg passes so we are trying to keep her clean and the vent lubricated. Shes pood well and is acting well in her self to I am praying this was a one off event. No sign of any prolapse but of course I know this could of happened without us knowing, however my other hen last year was so bad that she needed her prolapse put in everytime she pood or layed an egg. Im going to let her outside for today as I have no reason to keep her in (will keep Seperate from other hens) but she will continue to stay indoors overnight until her vent has improved and aslong as shes able to lay eggs okay. Thank you for your help! Will update in a few days x

 

[Eggcessive]

I would give her a daily supervised visit with her flock to keep her from losing her place in the pecking order. If she is gone too long, they may pick on her.

 

[FaithArthur123999]

I would give her a daily supervised visit with her flock to keep her from losing her place in the pecking order. If she is gone too long, they may pick on her.

Hello!

Thanks for your help, In the end the Vet was able to see her and we decided to give her the hormonal implant to stop laying. The vet checked her vent and said it looked okay! No need for antibiotics or anything so was happy with that. Shes been inside at night so I can keep an eye on her but we have 2 sections for the chickens area so they are separated by chicken wire but unable to get to each other. I have let them around together but due to being full term pregnant, I cant sit down there for long. She layed an egg yesterday without needing help but starting to worry about her today. I think she is pretty damn miserable being inside with us but I keep her inside until 11am i case she needs help with laying an egg, Ive just taken her out but she seems very lethargic and her wings are drooping too. Her vent actually looks okay! Oozing clear liquid but that happened to my other hen, vet said its due to damage of the vent. The vet did say she may be off for a few days whilst the implant takes course but dont remember my other hen like this. She is still eating and drinking but just not doing much. She is also straining to poo still! Not much poo is comming out but there is plenty of poo in the cage everymorning, the vet checked her poo whilet she was under anaesthesia and said it looked fine!

I have noticed yesterday in the flock that I believe they may have an outbreak of either mites or lice... a few of them keep shaking their head out of irritation, and some of them have bald patches, dry skin and everything pointing towards mites/lice, think this injured hen has it too. Ive given all a dose of Ivermectin and powdered them, changing their bedding tomorrow but think the poor girl is battling a prolapse, mites/lice and a hormonal implant. Just hoping its nothing else serious, just worried as I go into hospital in 4 days to have my baby and will be in for a few days and I wont be able to look after her then, my partner can when he is at home but we dont have anyone else, just hoping she gets better x

 

[Eggcessive]

She could be having some symptoms from her anesthesia, so hopefully, when that all gets out of her system, she will feel more energetic. Check her crop to see that it is emptying by morning. If you can grab her off the roost, and look at her skin closely, I would look for any evidence of lice or mites, especially around her vent. The vet surely would have noticed that. Offer some vitamins and electrolytes, or Poultry NutriDrench for a couple of days. Chilled coconut oil cut into tiny pieces to peck, or a little olive or mineral oil mixed into her feed, can help with her constipation. Congratulations and good wishes for your baby.