Help! Gummed up/prolapsed vent. Graphic

[anythingbutsandy]

Found my hen looking like this this afternoon and good Lord it stinks. She's 4 months old and has been eating fine. I think she's been laying, too, but I have 7 others her age and I can't tell who's laying and who's not. I've been getting about 5 eggs a day for the last week. Can't figure out how to post additional pics w/ this one so will add in separate posts. Help. I'm a 1st time chicken owner and haven't a clue what's going on.

 

[shchinchillas]

Just got done dealing with a prolapse myself. Your prolapse doesn't look too bad yet. As for the smell...that is normal. My fiance who is an RN said it smells exactly like a Human GI bleed...

The best advice I was able to find, and used previously with other animals:

Soak the area in warm water to cleanse and relax her muscles. I then used honey AND sugar-water and placed it on the prolapse, then gently placed the prolapse back into place the best I could. What seemed to do the trick as hemmorroid cream (I used the off-brand Prep. H). I then held the prolapse in place for roughly 1 minute until all muscles relaxed and stopped pushing.


Keep her in a cat carrier, or small box where she can't move around too much. Keep it dark so she doesn't lay an egg... When my prolapse got to the point where yours is at now, I stopped pushing it back in and it went in on it's own. She's was kept quite and in the dark for 7 days until the prolapse finally stuck. I'm waiting to put her back outside now until the rain stops and we get a nice day.

Good luck! The only thing that concerns me at this point is if you mess with it too much, it make come out more... Leaving it alone and restricting movement/keeping her dark may help her to bring it back in on her own...

 

[Miss Lydia]

Might be a good idea to soak her in some warm water, don't let her get chilled. that should help to get the mess off her bum as for the prolapse Someone else will have to help you with it or perhaps google search prolapse probably some very good threads on it here

 

[anythingbutsandy]

THANK YOU. I'm going to go soak her bum now.

 

[anythingbutsandy]

I've soaked her bum and it got most of the gummy stuff and the stink off. I've applied Preperation H and gently pushed the bulge back up in there, but I don't think it did much good. She's now resting (I hope) in a dog cage/kennel for the night.

She's 1 of 8 red sex-link hens -- should I start worrying about the other 7 now? Is this common?

 

[shchinchillas]

Keep a blanket over the dog crate as well, you want to try and prevent her from laying another egg.

As for the other hens- I doubt it's something they'll get. My silkie who prolapsed was the only one out of the flock that did.

If the prolapse is no better tomorrow, soak it again and push it back in. Give her access to water, and some feed. I ended up needing to cut the feathers on her bottom, as I just couldn't keep the area clean any other way. The gunk, poop, and blood just stuck to the feathers like glue. Cutting them away gave me a nice area to work with, and it was easier to keep everything clean.

I honestly was ready to put my hen down several times but kept pushing as she was still alert/eating and drinking. I'm now thankful I kept trying and didn't put her down as it took me almost 5 days, but the prolapse ended up sticking and not coming back out.


Edited to add: The only thing I don't agree with in the other thread is the use of hydrogen peroxide. Coming from a medical standpoint while it does cleanse an area, it eats away the "infection" and dead cells, but also damages the living tissue. I wouldn't use something like that on a prolapse where you are dealing with an organ. I don't like using peroxide on simple wounds either- if I have to use it, I mix it 50/50 with water.

 

[anythingbutsandy]

Thank you, everyone, who responded.

@ Shchinchillas -- I've got the dog crate covered w/ a sheet. I left some breathing room for her on the gate of the crate because of my fear of being too closed in. Is that enuff to discourage her from laying an egg?

 

[anythingbutsandy]

It's a day later and the prolapsed vent continues. I've been totally creeped out by having to push the prolapse back in, but I'm doing what needs to be done. Yuck. Double Yuck. Since the hen is wrapped up in a towel when I'm working on her she doesn't seem to be in any pain and doesn't protest. Every time I get her situated in the small dog kennel she starts clucking and pushes out what I've pushed in. I feel like I'm going 1 step forward and 5 steps back. Helpful ideas will be MUCH appreciated!@!!!!!

 

[shchinchillas]

The only thing you can do is keep trying. Keep using the prep h, use the honey as well and push it back in... It took us atleast 4 days of pushing the prolapse in for it to finally stick and not come back out...

 

[MakNugget]

Try this.

Remove top of kennel
Grab chicken
Turn off all lights
Calm chicken down
Gently place chicken in kennel
Replace top of kennel
Cover with towel
Exit room

It also may help to loosely wrap her in a towel before putting in kennel.