Help - Rooster with prolapsed vent?

[Denise McWhorter]

Hi there, I have a rooster who I noticed yesterday was not being himself. He was just standing around near the 6 hens but not helping them find goodies as usual. It has been extremely cold here in southwestern Virginia, so I thought maybe he was just not doing well with the cold. They all free range. Today I noticed that he seemed to strain to poop. I saw a bit come out, so he is not totally blocked, but I did notice he had a poopy butt. He is eating, I gave them yogurt with a topping of scratch and he did eat some - as much as the hens. I decided to check him after they roosted tonight and his butt had a lot of poop on it and I noticed some blood drops on some feathers. I took him in and soaked him in warm water with some epsom salt/acv. While I was wiping the poop from his butt feathers I noticed a dime-nickle sized protrusion of tissue. It was roundish and had a whitish substance stuck to it - I was not sure if it was poop or something else. I tried to gently clean it off, but there was still some of the substance stuck to it. I dried him off with a towel and a bit of the blow dryer but was not able to completely dry him so he is in a crate in the bathroom with a heater. I will turn the heater off later when I feel he is dry enough and keep him in for the night.

Does anyone know what this protrusion might be? All I can find is prolapsed vent on hens. I don't know if roosters can get this, too. I am very worried about him. We do not have an avian vet anywhere nearby, so that is not an option. Around here we have to be our own vet.

Thanks for any assistance.
-Dee

 

[azygous]

Vent tissue is vent tissue, whether on a hen or on a rooster. Straining to poop if he's constipated, certainly could cause the vent tissue to swell up and protrude.

The bit of white matter, though, has me concerned. That could indicate other issues. Infection, tumors, and parasites all come to mind.

I recommend you treat for the most simple first - constipation. Give him about a teaspoon of coconut oil by mouth. Use the solid form since it's so easy to stuff into a chicken without getting it everywhere except inside the bird. This does no harm even if constipation isn't the issue.

Then if you have Preparation H, smooth some onto his vent, and let him rest overnight.

Hopefully, this simple treatment will make your roo all right in his world again.

While you have him inside, it would be a good idea to monitor his crop. Check its condition tonight, and again in the morning before he eats. It's always good to rule out crop issues, and if there is one, it's good to catch it early.

 

[RodNTN]

X2 @azygous Great advice!

 

[Eggcessive]

I haven’ t seen it before, but I am pretty sure roosters may have prolapsed vent from constipation and straining. I might try a tsp. of mineral oil or castor oil orally in some food. Repeat the soaks and gently scrub any area that looks dead or necrotic, usually dark or black looking skin. I would lubricate a gloved finger, and feel inside his vent for anything inside or any hard poop.

 

[Denise McWhorter]

Azygous, thank you for your reply. I do not have any coconut oil on hand. Is there something else I could use?

After I bathed him and put him in the crate, I did see that he pooped, albeit looked like a songbird-sized poop, not a roo poop.

I'm afraid to use the Preparation-H with the bit of bleeding I saw while I was poking around...

 

[Denise McWhorter]

Thank you, Eggcessive. I do have mineral oil! Do you think I could just give him some with a syringe? How much should I give? A teaspoon like Azygous said with the coconut oil?

 

[micstrachan]

Were you able to admi ister any oil to your rooster yet? How’s he doing?

 

[azygous]

Any oil will do - mineral, olive oil, castor oil. I like coconut oil because it's so darned easy to handle and the solid form is pretty hard to aspirate into his lungs.

Liquid oil will require a syringe. Try to do it gently on the right side of his beak, slowly, a drop at a time. A teaspoon to a tablespoon should lubricate his intestines. The tiny poop is the classic symptom of either constipation or impacted crop. It doesn't matter which end of the bird is stopped up because it affects everything all the way to the anus.

 

[Denise McWhorter]

I gave him a little mineral oil with a syringe. A whole teaspoon was not possible, but I figured a little would be better than none. He is still alert.

I am wondering, could I give him pureed pumpkin? I know that works for the kitties and doggies with constipation...

 

[azygous]

Have you checked his crop? Does it feel hard and full?