Help hen with prolapse and broken egg inside!

[rebrascora]

It may be that after you cleaned it the first time the skin was a bit pink and sore and the other chickens then noticed it and started pecking at it, making it bigger, or it could be that egg yolk leaking from it attracted their attention to it. If she is internally laying, the pressure from the build up of eggs inside might even rupture it from the inside out, especially if there is a broken egg shell in there.

 

[linz44]

That is not as quite as bad as the first photo suggested. I think if you can keep it clean and slathered in antibiotic ointment, she might heal. That said, she is unlikely to lay eggs properly again and if she is laying internally as I strongly suspect, her days are numbered anyway, so it is up to you how you feel about her.
It might be kinder to have someone put her to sleep now before she deteriorates, particularly if you are not emotionally close o her. I would not risk her being out with the flock in case she does get fly strike or the other members of the flock start pecking at her and end up cannibalistic. If she is not at ease with being handled, then being kept in a cage in the house with humans and being cleaned regularly is going to stress her and you, which as you say will put pressure on that wound. Sometimes we get too focussed on trying to fix things, when perhaps it is not always in the best interests of the bird to do so.
It might be useful if someone else weighed in, to offer a second opinion.... I appreciate that it just looks like a wound, but this is a wound that is not just a flesh wound but a hole into the abdominal cavity. It would appear that the bird is laying internally (yolk is seeping out) which in itself is usually a terminal illness without the added complication of the abdominal cavity being breached and intestine exposed.....

I agree totally. I now feel like I'm fighting not one battle, but 3 or 4. It does look much smaller today and not quite as bad but there is definitely yolk coming out, broken shell internally, nasty hole where I can see her internals, and with all of that against treating her plus me not having any experience with this, it's just not looking good. I appreciate everyone's help and info and support and also for not making me feel stupid. I always feel comfortable on here asking questions no matter how uninformed I might make myself look. For instance thinking she's always had two vents. Taking this all into consideration I'm thinking it might be best to put her down, not that I want to but because if I put her through all of this and she dies anyway I'm going to feel rotten having forced her to be cleaned and treated. If it was one of my friendly girls who liked being handled it might make my answer diffrent. I would love to save her but from what everyone has said the laying internally Is going to cause death anyway. It's a really crappy situation but what's right for her is most important.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm so, so sorry

You have done what you thought is best.
I can see why you thought there was supposed to be two holes, so don't feel bad whatsoever! Not everyone goes around studying chicken behinds, like the group we have here.

I don't always recommend putting down a hen without first trying to see if they can be helped, but this particular situation, it is probably the kindest thing to do. I do feel that the abdominal wall has been compromised.

If she is still alert, eating/drinking - take her out, just you girls, spend a little time with each other, give a favorite treat. This will hopefully help you accept whatever decision you need to make.

 

[rebrascora]

I think that is a very responsible attitude. No one wants to end a sick chicken's life. It's about making an informed decision about what is in the best interests of the bird. There have been occasions when I have tried and tried to save one and felt so bad for putting them through all the trauma or treatment when they already felt ill, only to die anyway.
We are all on a learning curve here, so no one should be embarrassed about what they do not know, but just perhaps strive to learn more. I hope you are able to end her life as swiftly as possible. Please be aware, if this is the first bird that you have euthanized, that there may be quite a lot of spasming of the body (wings and legs particularly) for a minute or so afterwards. This does not mean that the bird is suffering but is just electrical impulses causing muscles to contact. It can be quite disturbing if you are not prepared for it.
Sending virtual hugs

Barbara

 

[linz44]

I'm so, so sorry

You have done what you thought is best.
I can see why you thought there was supposed to be two holes, so don't feel bad whatsoever! Not everyone goes around studying chicken behinds, like the group we have here.

I don't always recommend putting down a hen without first trying to see if they can be helped, but this particular situation, it is probably the kindest thing to do. I do feel that the abdominal wall has been compromised.

If she is still alert, eating/drinking - take her out, just you girls, spend a little time with each other, give a favorite treat. This will hopefully help you accept whatever decision you need to make.

Thank you I really appreciate it. It's nice feeling like I have people who agree with me on this so I can feel better about what I have to do. I let her loose and I'm out here letting her do her thing for a while. I wish there was more I could do but I feel like not letting her die of infection or maggots is the only thing I can do. Save her from a painful death in other words. Again I appreciate all of your help!!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you I really appreciate it. It's nice feeling like I have people who agree with me on this so I can feel better about what I have to do. I let her loose and I'm out here letting her do her thing for a while. I wish there was more I could do but I feel like not letting her die of infection or maggots is the only thing I can do. Save her from a painful death in other words. Again I appreciate all of your help!!

Awwww

 

[linz44]

I think that is a very responsible attitude. No one wants to end a sick chicken's life. It's about making an informed decision about what is in the best interests of the bird. There have been occasions when I have tried and tried to save one and felt so bad for putting them through all the trauma or treatment when they already felt ill, only to die anyway.
We are all on a learning curve here, so no one should be embarrassed about what they do not know, but just perhaps strive to learn more. I hope you are able to end her life as swiftly as possible. Please be aware, if this is the first bird that you have euthanized, that there may be quite a lot of spasming of the body (wings and legs particularly) for a minute or so afterwards. This does not mean that the bird is suffering but is just electrical impulses causing muscles to contact. It can be quite disturbing if you are not prepared for it.
Sending virtual hugs

Barbara

Thank you for all the help and info, it's very much appreciated I can't thank you enough. I have had helping them go both ways and its sad when you can't save them. I was able to save wet chicks once and it was awesome to have 100% success with that when they appeared dead when I found them all wet and was able to save every chick. But I also had a Rhode island red who had sour crop once and after doing what I could to help, she died anyway. So I have had experience with success and failure. After the sour crop thing I wondered if I made things worse on her by trying to help and that is what I'm thinking of now. I'm going to have the husband put her down shortly. Just going to let her wander a while and eat some bugs! That will make her happy for sure. I love to research so I do that a lot but there is so much info out there and things I know about and things I'm clueless on So I just read things here and there and try to learn what I can. With so many things to learn it's an ongoing process but I'm trying so that I can better handle these situations. Its always nice to have this site to be able to ask things. I've learned a ton of valuable info from you guys and it's always much appreciated!!

 

[linz44]

 

[linz44]

Gemma is super happy to be let loose again!

 

[Diannastarr]

every one is right about their advice & we need a larger picture & more pictures of her vent area,but i cant recommend Preparation H, thats just not a good idea and can be harmful at this point.! honey is always better, but if there is a fly strike wound i would try blue kote if thats needed, i use that on every animal and my self HA , plus it helps with bumble foot to , i had a young NHR that prolapsed 2 times in a row months apart after it took weeks to heal her the first time, but i finally stopped it for good with an expensive calcium supplement that worked like a charm, but right now you are dealing with an emergancy beyond a regular prolapse, since the egg you feel is broken inside & infection is the danger , i would start with a dropper to a dropper & 1/2 full of colloidal silver, it cant hurt the hen and will help fight off any infection, i would give a good quality liquid multy vitman & 400mg of vit E & C that can help keep the vent tissues in good condition since its the tissue that needs rebuilding when a prolapse accrues , the elasticy of the of the vent tissues is being lost and leads to a prolapse, also watch for dehydration that can also cause a prolapse along with a real need for calcium. if you can start with these things & then when another egg might help push out any parts of the broken egg, but i would not introduce any further things into her body fingers or other products, flushing or what ever & keep the area sanitary at all costs to avoid introducing an infection , i would hold off and wait to see what happens, and short of going to a vet , i would give her the colloidal silver and a human calcium supplement & human liquid multy vitamins since tums wont be enough & pray her body can fight off any possible infection , i would feed cooked egg that will help her immune system and if she seems dehydreated feed her the water from canned tuna, i just drain off the water & put that tuna in the freezer for future use, if this is working then next is to keep her from laying any more eggs after this next egg that will surely come , then you can keep her in a very dark room & restrict her food ( i fed my hen some scratch & that way nature will take over and help to stop any more eggs, its all got to do with the light & food that encourages egg laying , i was able to completely stop my hen from laying eggs in 3 or 4 days time & stopped her laying eggs for a a month , so after the eggs stopped i fed her normally,with a lot of vitamins & supplements ..! and she has been fine for a year & 1/2 since & laying giant eggs every day so by doing all of that it gave me the time to heal her from the inside out & it worked..! but also i read there is a shot the vet can give to stop her laying eggs , but the dark room & restricting food for a few days works , dont stop feeding her just feed her a lot less, so if it were me my goal would be stopping any possible infection thats no #1..!!!!!!! and then stopping the eggs.! after this next egg that will surely be laid , and that might help to remedy the situation by helping to push out those pieces of egg shell that are inside.! but its not a sure thing, so short of going to the vet im hoping that will help, please post a larger pic or a few more larger pics. and i will be back later on to see if there is any further info you can add, so no worries just take control..! you can do it...! i will be back with the name of that calcium supplement, so for now good luck..!! im praying for you both..!