Egg with intestines? surrounding it, hanging out of hen -- help!

[Faith Hope]

I have a question for you all. I have a LF cochin who has been trying to lay what I believe to be her first egg. She has been in and out of the nest box all day. She has been pushing and grunting even when not in the nest box. I just peeked at her vent and I see a big red blob; I also see just a bit of blood underneath where she has been sitting.

Is this egg-bound? Or what else can it be? She is extremely uncomfortable.

 

[Faith Hope]

We just checked on her again. She has what appears to be an egg covered in something --?intestines maybe -- hanging out of her vent. We are letting her soak in warm water. Please help!

 

[GoldDogsMom]

I'm not an expert but could it be a prolapsed vent? Have you tried to assist getting the egg out, if there's actually an egg?

I am editing this to add a link about prolapse

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=10302

 

[TinyBirds]

It sounds exactly like a "complicated birth" that may end up in prolapse. You're doing the right thing to try and help her with the bath. Once the egg passes, it will just depend on how much damage was done during the process. We lost one hen on the day she finally passed the egg. I'm guessing it can cause internal bleeding since the egg came out all bloody. It's a very sad way for them to die - sorry for your loss if she doesn't make it. You're doing the best you can. It really is quite similar to giving birth (laying an egg). Our Chinese friend asked us "where do your chickens give birth?" since he wanted to see the nest boxes.

 

[Faith Hope]

Thank you both for your advice. I think you are all right; it was prolapse. We tried to help her. I could actually feel the egg but was unable to get the egg out. We put her out of her misery -- with a few tears. She was a beautiful and sweet bird -- mine and my daughter's favorite.

 

[TinyBirds]

I think that was nice of you to put her out of her misery. I wish I'd done that with mine too since I could tell she was suffering.

 

[GoldDogsMom]

so sorry you had to do that but it was the best thing for her...things like that don't seem to resolve and it would have been harder and sadder to wait...

 

[Faith Hope]

Thanks so much for all the advice and encouragement. This is such a great resource for those of us who are new to chickens.

Just to let you know, when we butchered her, we examined the part of her intestines where the egg was. We were unable to find a spot where the egg should have come out. It appeared to us that she might have had a genetic malformation that caused her to be unable to expell the egg. (This would have been her first egg.)

I am glad we did the right thing by her -- she would have suffered even more had we not acted quickly.