HELP - Prolapsed Vent

[R_Tuggle]

Hi there,
I'm a new'ish chicken mom, and have never dealt with any prolapsed vents or eggbound hens.
I have a 21mos old Sex Link that has a prolapsed vent.

I took the pick below after her bath. She's still eating and drinking, but she is definitely not as strong as I would like. I feel terrible because I didn't catch this sooner.

What I've done so far:
soaked in warm water w/Epsom salts and a little bit of dawn. Tried to clean, but I'm afraid to hurt her. It feels hard, but not like there is an egg in there. I sprayed some Vetericyn VF and blow dried her. I now have her wrapped in a towel up against my body and she is sleeping.

I was planning to give her another soak in a little while to try to clear it up more, cut off some of the extra feathers, and rub some coconut oil on it to try to soften it up more with hopes of getting it clean enough to push back in. I think I have some preparation H, but I've also heard people use honey to reduce the swelling.

We have had well below zero temps up here up until the last two days, so I'm hoping there isn't tissue damage from the cold.
Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

The prolapsed tissue is hard?
Is she pooping?

The prolapse may have been out for a while, dried and some of the tissue died. Repeated soakings with just epsom salts may help soften it, but you may need to debride the tissue that is dead. Keep the tissue moist at all time with either the hemorrhoid cream or you can use raw honey if you have it.

Keeping her in a darkened room for 12hrs a day to discourage laying would be a good idea too - I'm not sure how well it would go if she tries to lay another egg. Try to keep her hydrated, warm and as comfortable as you can make her.

It may take several days to be able to get that back in, if at all. Give her some time, but if she continues to get weaker or she seems to be in pain, then it may be better to put her out of her misery.

 

[R_Tuggle]

The prolapsed tissue is hard?
Is she pooping?

Yes, it seems hard.. like the poop is really dried and the area doesn't feel like soft tissue.
She is 'leaking' poop if that makes sense, but hasn't had a full poop since I brought her in around 3hrs ago.

If it is dead tissue, and is necrotic, how should I go about removing it?

Thank you so much!

 

[R_Tuggle]

The prolapsed tissue is hard?
Is she pooping?

The prolapse may have been out for a while, dried and some of the tissue died.

Just did another soak, and tried to debride a bit w/a washcloth... it got a bit bloody without much rubbing so I stopped and a lot of the tissue is black. I dried her up and put more Vetericyn and a then some triple antibiotic ointment.

She is pooping.. some seems to be coming out of the side vs the actual vent.

She is still eating and drinking and seems to have more strengh than this morning.. but i'm concerned about all of the black tissue. *updated pic below*

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Poor girl.
Let's see if we can call in a couple more @Eggcessive @casportpony Thoughts?

Yes - the green circle - looks like dead/necrotic tissue. The only thing to try to do is keep it moist with ointment and debride it when you give her a soak. Epsom salts is good for swelling/soothing, but if you can get some chlorhexidine (hibiclens) to help when you debride that might be a good idea too.

Now...the RED circle - it looks like (to me) that she still has some soft shell hanging out - does that piece feel rubbery? Do you think it will come out if you lube her up a little or is it attached? This may be blocking (along with swelling) the vent so she can't poop very well (might be why it looks like she's pooping to the side). Does she seem like she is trying to push?

If you have poultry nutri-drench or poultry vitamins I would try to get those into her along with some extra calcium to help with contractions. Keeping her hydrated the best you can.

((edited to add - I forgot to tell you we are glad you are here Welcome To BYC, I'm sorry your first visit has to be under these circumstances))

 

[MLG1900]

Oh my gosh. I am a chicken novice but this does not look good. I am a nurse and seeing tissue like that is not a good sign at all. I am afraid it is necrotic. I am looking forward to hearing what some experienced owners have to say.
Good luck with her! I think you are doing a great job!

 

[Michael Propst]

I had a hen with a prolapse this past summer. I caught it on day one and even at that it took 3 days of Epsom salt baths and preparation H to get hers back in and to stay in. When I had mine I also cleaned it with Witch Hazel, a tip I got from reading another post. Also can you tell if there is any other damage. I have read in many cases if you don't catch the prolapse soon enough the other hens will peck at it causing further damage, which may be why you are getting the blood while cleaning. Keep us posted.

 

[R_Tuggle]

Poor girl.
Let's see if we can call in a couple more @Eggcessive @casportpony Thoughts?

Yes - the green circle - looks like dead/necrotic tissue. The only thing to try to do is keep it moist with ointment and debride it when you give her a soak. Epsom salts is good for swelling/soothing, but if you can get some chlorhexidine (hibiclens) to help when you debride that might be a good idea too. I have some chlorhexidine 2% from when one of my girls escaped a coyote, but he took all of her tail and bumm feathers :/ she healed well, but her feathers have never been quite the same... Should I dilute the solution and soak her in that vs the epsom salts? Will repeating this a 3 or 4 times each day along w/ointment eventually allow me to get all of that dead tissue off?
I'm assuming I shouldn't attempt to push her vent back in until that tissue is gone, correct?

Now...the RED circle - it looks like (to me) that she still has some soft shell hanging out - does that piece feel rubbery? Do you think it will come out if you lube her up a little or is it attached? I noticed that when I gave her last soak.. I had gloves on, so I couldn't tell if it was rubbery or not. I pulled a bit, but it didn't seem to want to come out easily, and I was afraid I was going to pull something I shouldn't be and hurt her more. :/ she didn's seem uncomfortable when I pulled though. This may be blocking (along with swelling) the vent so she can't poop very well (might be why it looks like she's pooping to the side It literally looks like it is seeping out the top right corner...but the more solid poop is coming out of her vent). Does she seem like she is trying to push? She was definitely trying to push when I was cleaning the area.

If you have poultry nutri-drench or poultry vitamins I have nutridrench in her water, and she has had a pretty good appetite.. I snuck her some of my cats food, and some raspberries as well. Is it ok to still give her laying pellets if i don't want her to lay? I also had put a crushed up rolaid in her water, but she flipped it over.. so I switched her dish and put in the nutri-drench.. I'll crush up another rolaid in her food... not sure if she would eat the oyster shells I have...I would try to get those into her along with some extra calcium to help with contractions. Keeping her hydrated the best you can.

((edited to add - I forgot to tell you we are glad you are here Welcome To BYC, I'm sorry your first visit has to be under these circumstances))Thank You! I've been a lurker for almost 2yrs ... I guess I'm lucky that this is the first time that I've really needed help!

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[R_Tuggle]

Oh my gosh. I am a chicken novice but this does not look good. I am a nurse and seeing tissue like that is not a good sign at all. I am afraid it is necrotic. I am looking forward to hearing what some experienced owners have to say.
Good luck with her! I think you are doing a great job!

Thank You!!

 

[R_Tuggle]

I had a hen with a prolapse this past summer. I caught it on day one and even at that it took 3 days of Epsom salt baths and preparation H to get hers back in and to stay in. When I had mine I also cleaned it with Witch Hazel, a tip I got from reading another post. Also can you tell if there is any other damage. I have read in many cases if you don't catch the prolapse soon enough the other hens will peck at it causing further damage, which may be why you are getting the blood while cleaning. Keep us posted.

I just pulled out my bottle of witch hazel, I was going to try to use that once I got her a bit cleaner... still some poop stuck on there and I don't want to irritate her too much at once....
I don't think the other hens noticed luckily.. but I did catch HER trying to peck at herself, probably because it was irritating her...
I feel absolutely horrible for not catching it sooner... my husband has been on travel for work this week, and my afternoon chores have been pushed to after dark and I didn't see what was going on. Top that with the really cold snap we had, and I'm sure that it killed that tissue quickly. She has a bit of frostbite on her comb as well. so I'm going to treat that while I have her in the house...
She seems to like being pampered... loves the blow dryer... lol