hen death, vent blown out?

[MarjorieBee]

I'm am very sorry to share this, but I came home to a dead hen today. Trying to figure out what happened to the poor gal. Her vent looked inside out, like a red balloon was coming out of it. I tried to feel around thinking an egg could have been stuck but everything felt soft, so I don't think So. Another thing I thought of was that I did get an enormous egg about 3 days ago, could have pushing that thing out have done this to her? I wish I could have noticed something before it was too late and hope I can prevent this from happening again. Anyone seen this before?

 

[Toddrick]

Welcome to BYC! Sorry for your loss. It looks like a prolapsed vent. I'm guessing that big egg must've caused internal trauma or symptom of an existing problem. A prolapsed vent alone should not be fatal as I understand it.

 

[MarjorieBee]

Well thank you for your feedback. The next time I see an enormous egg like that I'll have to thoroughly check them all. Thank you!

 

[Eggcessive]

It does look like a prolapse, but it looks totally occluded like she couldn't pass droppings. The tissue looks like it had dried out, too. Prolapse can be caused by a number of things such as too large of an egg, egg binding, or from previous damage to the cloaca. So sorry for your loss. Here is some info about prolapse if you ever need it in the future: http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/04/prolapse-vent-causes-treatment-graphic.html and http://beautyofbirds.com/Prolapse.htm

 

[MarjorieBee]

Thank you I will definitely check those out. She is young and had only been laying for about three months, and was healthy and hadn't had any previous problems so I am kind of shocked. Thanks again!