Help Urgent Silkie Pullet Expelling Uterus - UPDATE!!!

[technodoll]

the egg slipped out after i made a small incision in the membrane holding it halfway in her body, it bled a bit but not much and the egg popped out - i had to do something, i was panicking - Angel did not struggle or make any noise so i assume that didn't hurt her?

she is alert and walking around, i put preparation H on her vent and tried to push the red, swollen flesh (whatever it is) back in her body but it's like she's trying to poop it out. There was a mess of poop in there when I found her in this condition, I rinsed under warm water and disinfected the best i could first but I am afraid of infection.

Right now she is picking at her vent and oh, it looks so painful and gross

Like bloody hamburger

What should I do, besides keeping her in the house in a crate under surveillance?

How do I know if she should be put down?

What if she has to poop, won't it get infected? what about the next egg, will the same thing happen - or worse?

It's like she was malformed and had no opening to let the egg out!

 

[Dar]

I would bring her in the house and isolate her..

reduce the amount of light to slow her egg laying cycle.

increase her protein to keep her energy up and to help healing of the incision.

hopefully there is not a next time (but odd are there will be.. sorry) IF there is a next time... try bathing her vent in warm water to relax the vent and help guide the egg out. get a box of laytex type gloves and keep some mineral oil or vaginal lube because you may need to lube her vent the next time this happens.

 

[technodoll]

She is crated in the bathroom right now, on a towel (no wood shavings), with chick crumbles and water...

Her egg was not stuck inside her, it was hanging halfway OUT of her body, stretching her vent horribly - it's like her uterus had no opening to let the egg slide out, it looked like a pocket turned inside out - there was plenty of mucus and some blood, the more she pushed the more uterus came out so I had to do something as she was crying...

I hope the incision heals, I hope she does not develop an infection, I hope her prolapse reabsorbs...

She made a normal poop on the floor so at least I know that part of her body works.

My poor baby

If it happens again, as I am afraid it will, my friend will put her down for me as I do not want her living in pain.

Most horrible experience ever

THANKS EVERYONE FOR YOUR SWIFT HELP, ENCOURAGEMENT AND ADVICE!!!

 

[Southernbelle]

This happened to me once on a young Silkie pullet - the egg was completely out of her body, but encased in her inner membranes. I tried pushing the egg back in and guiding it to the right exit, but it didn't work. I ended up doing what you did, made a small incision to remove the egg. I used a needle and thread that I sterlized to sew the incision I'd made, but in her case, everything went right back inside right away. I kept her isolated for a few days to make sure she was okay - she dripped tiny amounts of blood from her vent for a few hours, but she acted fine. I was prepared to put her down if it ever happened again but it didn't.

From what I understand, this prolapse problem is likely to happen again because there's an abnormality in her reproductive tract and the eggs can't come out the right way. If the membranes dry out while they're outside her body, you run the risk of the skin dying and gangrene setting in. Keep them hydrated with saline and/or vaseline. It's extreme, but I've heard of someone removing the oviduct on a hen who was laying internally. It saved her life, but she wasn't able to lay eggs anymore.

I'm so sorry

 

[Southernbelle]

I've also read that low calcium can make it hard for them to lay properly, not just to make the shells hard, but because Calcium helps with the contractions necessary to expel an egg. Does she have access to calcium?

 

[technodoll]

She eats a mixture of layer crumbles so should be ok... the egg itself was well formed, nice shell... but it could not exit her body due to some malformation.

I can't imagine it NOT happening again so I think I will take the horrible, horrible decision of having her cross the bridge... right now her swollen insides are still protuding from her vent, it has got to be hurting... *cries*

Why does this happen? I love my little Angel, why oh why!!!

 

[rancher hicks]

It is unfortunate but you must consider her first. She is going to have a heck of a time when it comes time to lay the next egg, which is most likely in the process. The process of laying an egg is like having a baby every 25 hrs or so. I doubt she'll have time to heal before the next one is ready. Unless you seek medical help. I am so sorry.

I don't have time to look through every issue of Practical poultry but it does say that this is most likley to happen in young birds who lay unusually large eggs/double yolkers, and happen again.

Always the best
Rancher

 

[technodoll]

Angel is resting now, if her prolapse hasn't receded by tomorrow morning then it's pretty clear what must be done...

I was advised to give her a chance as long as she's acting normal (which she is, so far), who knows her body might fix itself... since she's a silkie, I'm hoping her next egg won't come for another couple of days. If she prolapses again or cannot lay properly and is suffering, she will have earned her name way too early and become an Angel in chicken heaven...

Please send prayers our way, we really need a miracle to save this little sweetheart

 

[Dar]

Quote:
try some preparation H on her vent

 

[technodoll]

I already did that earlier, after the surgery and will repeat in a couple of hours... praying it helps...