Large bulging area under vent in 1 1/2 year old Barred Rock

[Miss Lydia]

Have you done any soaking? you can put her in your sink in some nice warm water, let her soak for about 30mins. also you might want to add some epsom salt to the water. lrgarden soaked her hen several times and now the swelling is going down, It's hard to say what it could be, but posting pic can really help

 

[Raven81]

i did try the soaking in a bath but it didnt seem to do much other than relax her lol. ill try get some antibiotics today & see if that helps her. thanks miss lydia, ill try get a pic to.

 

[tinychicky]

i have a cornish hen like that too. she appears healthy, but has a bulge under her vent and a history of minor prolapse (when the internal portion of the cloaca stays outside the bird after laying an egg). if your bird is an older, heavy breed, the bulge may just be fat. that's what it turned out to be on my cornish. if your hen appears sickly or uncomfortable, that may not be the case.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Raven if she is egg bound thats the purpose of the warm soak to help her relax and maybe help her lay the egg. Also putting her on a heating pad with a towel wrapped around it in a nice quiet place may help also. Just be sure to provide food and water for her. Heating pad on low.

 

[Raven81]

ok i got some pics but they not that good but can see some of the bald areas & the missing feathers on her back.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Raven I am sorry it's taken me this long to get back with you, different time zones lol, boy she doesn't look so good. Is she thin also or is it because she swollen in the belly? I would advise you to PM Speckled Hen she has delt with this if it's egg bound or internal laying many times she could probably help you more than any of the rest of us. Please keep us posted and I will be thinking of you both. Blessing!

 

[lrgarden]

Hi Everyone, just a short update on my Barred Rock. She is out with her flock day and night and while she seems to be missing feathers around the vent, it is not nearly as swollen and she is as personable as the other BR.

In retrospect I wonder if she had mites or another bug? The many long soaks with small amounts of soap and epsom salt compresses may have gotten rid of them? The other hens are fine, bedding had just been partially changed 4 weeks ago, and now changed again yesterday.

They do have a large mortar mixing box in the middle of the coop filled with sand and some garden soil for grit and dusting. Has anyone ever put a bit of fireplace ash into the dust bath? I have read here and other sites about that recipe.

Not second guessing anything here but I sure would like to know what she was going through so I can continue to improve my skill in caring for them.

Good luck raven81 in New Zealand. I was wondering why your photo had green grass in the background!

Lori

 

[Miss Lydia]

Hi glad to hear she is doing so good. I put the ashes from our wood stove out in the only dirt showing here right now under our wood shed, after it's good and cold I just spread it around in the dirt, I had also read it was good to help keep down the bugs. Are you going to continue with the soaks till she's completely healed?

 

[Raven81]

Quote:

no shortage of green grass over here except a few weeks ago when we had a bit of a drought