Hen with an inside-out bum

[Trampledbygeese]

In my flock of 40+ leghorn hens (hatched this spring) and 4 banti-cross cocks, I have one hen who has been having trouble with her bum. It appears to be inside out.

About two days ago, we first noticed the inside out bum. It was quite bad, with a bit of what looked like clotted blood. We pushed it back in and she didn't seem to mind. Then today it was inside out again. We pushed it in this morning and it stayed there until after lunch. Now it's just starting to come out again.

She is lively and alert. She eats, drinks and poops normally - although the poop is a bit white. Her bum is messy and her feathers are dull compared to how she was a few days ago.

There is one hen in the flock laying extremely large eggs (4 or 5 times normal size and normal for these girls is a large egg) so I think that might be her.

She is currently isolated from the flock and rather grouchy about it. She is not expressing any obvious pain behaviour.

Any thoughts on what is wrong with her? What can I do to fix her? Going to the vet is not an option. Short of surgery, is there anything I can do for her here at home? Or, should I just put her down?

 

[awesomefowl]

It's called Prolapse, look it up in a chicken book. Its serious.

 

[Trampledbygeese]

Thanks for the name. It's not in any of my books, but maybe they call it something else? I guess I'll have to look online for some info.

Is it an infection or injury or defect?

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Yes, prolapse is what you're looking at. I had a hen that had an awful bout of it and survived. 4 months later, all of her insides came out. She was put down.


First, clean with warm water and antibacterial soap. Be gentle...as gentle as you would be with yourself. The warmth will help ease off any scabbing (which you do not want) and will replace lost moisture as well as be calming. I used running water, but others use a bath.

Then, pat dry that area and apply a hemmorrhoid ointment to help with inflammation. The swelling will decrease over the next few days, if it is as bad as my poor girl's was. If it's not as awful, you may be able to push it in. Decrease daylight hours as laying an egg will only be detrimental to the healing process.

Again...yours may be a reoccurring issue (which it seems to be for you) that will eventually get worse with time. There may be other threads on it, but hopefully someone can come along that knows how to fix the issue permanently.

 

[Trampledbygeese]

Good to know, thank you.

We used Bag Balm which has antiseptic qualities (and is great for treating scaly legs) on her bum, do you think this would be enough or should I get a stronger cream? (Bag balm was originally for veterinary usages to help heal sores on udders and the like)

The hanging out tissue looks very clean, except for the first time when there was blood. Each time it comes out, it seems to come out less, so I have hopes that she is improving. If only I could get her to stop laying huge eggs.

 

[awesomefowl]

Limit her light to less than 14 hours a day so she will stop laying.

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

I would not use bag balm on that area because it is "hopefully" going to be going back inside of her body. Bag balm contains petroleum jelly which should only be used on the exterior of a body.

As long as there are no tears, there should not be any type of infection. I would clip the feathers around her bum to keep them from sticking to the prolapsed area.

Using the antibacterial soap (dial or softsoap...something like that) should keep any bacteria from building up on the exposed parts.

 

[Trampledbygeese]

So here I am all worried about her, get everything ready for her treatment, get the grumpy hen out of the sick house, and with everything at the ready ... her bum has gone back in on its own.

Let's hope it stays that way. It must have just been the giant eggs that did it.

 

[Donna R]

I used to work for a vet and in cows with a prolapsed uterus/vagina they wold put sugar on it and then push it back in gently. You may have to hold it in with you hand for a while. Good luck.

 

[Trampledbygeese]

Thank you everyone for your help. She looked good when I tucked her in tonight, but I'll see how she is in the morning.