HELP!! PLEASE. Something stuck in hen; quite possibly an egg? WHAT TO DO

[R_V]

I have a hen who recently (and by recently, I mean since Thursday) has had something stuck in her vent. I discovered her standing around Thursday afternoon when I went to give the flock a run of treats. There were maggots lining the inside of her vent and another rounder hole a little off to the side and below her vent. I doused the wound and her vent with undiluted hydrogen peroxide after washing it out with warm water. I followed up with a thin layer of vaseline to suffocate any remaining maggots. The following morning, I placed her in a tub of warm water loaded with Epsom salt. I proceeded to wash her vent and the wound with warm water before removing the dead maggots with a tweezer. Since I have no prior experience with chickens, I think that the yellow object is an underdeveloped egg. I tried pulling at it with the tweezers but the object would not budge. I ended up puncturing it a bit and a thin, runny, yellow liquid did come out of it, though (so maybe this is an egg?). I gave her another epsom salt bath hours after her initial treatment that Friday morning. Throughout the day, I checked in on her to see if she would eat the oatmeal I laid out for her, but that remained untouched. She rejected the yogurt later that night as well. Before tucking her in for the night (note, she is separated from the flock), I fed her a sliver of antibiotic. Today (Saturday morning) I gave her another epsom salt bath. The thing in her vent is no longer as yellow but it does not seem to be improving. (If it were an egg, would she not have pushed it out by now?) Thankfully, no additional maggots have reemerged. She no longer pecks back there anymore, as well. Today, she has drank water more often by herself and has eaten a small handful of yogurt interlaced with calcium and magnesium. She doesn't want to move around much BUT she is still quite high energy as she tried jumping out of the epsom salt bath TWO times.

The first two pictures are from Friday morning and the last few pictures are from today. Included is a picture of how her poo has been looking recently.
PLEASE. I would really love some guidance right now. I don't want to lose her but I don't know what else I can do. I also really don't want to keep her alive if I know she's suffering but at the same time, I want to do everything that is in my power to help her out. She's a tough girl. Can anyone tell me what's wrong and what I can do!?

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about your hen. Hard to know if the yellow material was a lash egg or a shell-less stuck egg, but the red vent looks a little prolasped to me. I would continue the soaks twice a day to keep the vent clean. Is she able to poop? Vetericyn or dilute chlorhexidene (Hibiclens plus water) are good to spray on the wound and vent. Keep the prolapsed vent moist with plain Neosporin or Triple Antibiotic Ointment, or coconut or other oil. The red vent tissue should be pushed back inside when it will go in, and stay. If it dries out, damage to the vent can occur. Leave the wound clean with the wound spray. By tomorrow if she has had no more maggots hatching out, then just soak her once a day. Soapy dish water is fine or the Epsom salts water is good.

 

[R_V]

Sorry about your hen. Hard to know if the yellow material was a lash egg or a shell-less stuck egg, but the red vent looks a little prolasped to me. I would continue the soaks twice a day to keep the vent clean. Is she able to poop? Vetericyn or dilute chlorhexidene (Hibiclens plus water) are good to spray on the wound and vent. Keep the prolapsed vent moist with plain Neosporin or Triple Antibiotic Ointment, or coconut or other oil. The red vent tissue should be pushed back inside when it will go in, and stay. If it dries out, damage to the vent can occur. Leave the wound clean with the wound spray. By tomorrow if she has had no more maggots hatching out, then just soak her once a day. Soapy dish water is fine or the Epsom salts water is good.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! She is able to poop BUT the poop is not the same hardened texture from before. It's dark green and soft (read: mushy). I am attributing this to her lack of eating since, as of now, she only refrains from pecking at the yogurt I provide her. I make an effort to check in on her every two hours with the yogurt and water. How often should I reapply the Triple Antibiotic Ointment? Would avocado oil work as well? Really. Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. This has been stressing me out non-stop so I can't even begin to imagine how she feels.

 

[Eggcessive]

You can dilute any chlorhexidene to 2% with water. Hibiclens is 4%, so mix it with half as much water. They normally sell chlorhexidene or Hibiclens in the first aid aisle at Walmart for about $6. They also sell Betadine/povidone iodine as Equate First Aid Antiseptic, but those might be hard to find right now. Vetericyn, Theracyn, or a similar wound spray can be found at feed and farm stores. If none are found just use saline or water.

 

[Mvan42]

@aart @Kiki @casportpony
Not sure who else to tag on this.. I have never had a issue or seen anything like this tagged some who may.

 

[aart]

@Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive @Pyxis

 

[lauren3177]

How is she doing? I would definitely make sure she is getting water, if not you may need to syringe feed her. I am working as a Vet Tech (hoping to make it to vet school soon!) and have worked on a case very similar to this.

This is what we did for Gerty (The chicken with similar problems)

We gave her fluids several times a day, along with an epsom salt soak. While she was in the warm water, I massaged her back end to help aid the impaction out. If this didn't help too much, it is ok to stick your fingers in there and try your best to pull it out. Don't do this if she has any sort of cuts or it looks like putting your fingers in there would rip her in any way.

As mentioned earlier, chlorhexidene can be used. You can get this from a local vet clinic. Although, they may need you to bring her in, not sure.

Other than this, just try to make sure she is eating/drinking and getting those epsom salt baths in warm water. With the warm water, make sure she is dried off good before she goes outside if it gets chilly. I used a hair-drier, you could too if she tolerates it.

Also, I would just like to warn you that as chickens age, they start having these problems, it is pretty likely that it will happen again, just be prepared. If she does this a second time, chances are you will be struggling with it several more times.

Let me know if you have any questions! I wish you luck.

 

[R_V]

Can you get a clear photo of her butt?
Are you keeping the girl indoors for right now so no flies can get to her to lay more eggs?

Updated with shots of her butt. Please advise. Yes! She is inside our screened-in back porch. Would it be safer to keep her inside the house?

 

[R_V]

Sorry about your hen. Hard to know if the yellow material was a lash egg or a shell-less stuck egg, but the red vent looks a little prolasped to me. I would continue the soaks twice a day to keep the vent clean. Is she able to poop? Vetericyn or dilute chlorhexidene (Hibiclens plus water) are good to spray on the wound and vent. Keep the prolapsed vent moist with plain Neosporin or Triple Antibiotic Ointment, or coconut or other oil. The red vent tissue should be pushed back inside when it will go in, and stay. If it dries out, damage to the vent can occur. Leave the wound clean with the wound spray. By tomorrow if she has had no more maggots hatching out, then just soak her once a day. Soapy dish water is fine or the Epsom salts water is good.

On that note, do local pharmacies/supermarkets sell either Vetericyn or chlorhexidene? If I order it from Amazon, the earliest either product it can get to me is Tuesday. If I buy chlorhexidene, can I dilute it myself or should I buy Hibiclens and dilute that?

 

[Tre3hugger]

So sorry this is happening. Props for your super competent nursing care. Really hope she pulls through.