Need post-prolapse advice

[CoriM]

I discovered that my very small runner duck had a small prolapse Friday, and I wouldn't have seen it unless I had picked her up to check her feet. It may have been there a couple days because I had noticed she was obsessively grooming her tummy for a couple days prior. Anyway, I brought her in and figured out how to reinsert it, by morning it was 3 times larger and swollen. I put it back in successfully, but each time she pooped it came out. Long story short, by Sunday I had discovered that a very large band-aid held the prolapse in place and it hasn't been out now for 2 and a half days. I'm very happy about that. She's still in a dog crate inside, and I spend a lot of time changing the bandage and she spends a lot of time pulling at it. I'm terrified that it will come out again when she tries to lay an egg of course. I don't know how much more I can do with her. We were both traumatized by putting the prolapse back about 25 times. But she seems very healthy and lively now. If anyone has experience in this department I'd like to know how long I should keep her inside with the bandage on? I was planning to try to keep her in for another couple of days.

 

[Quatie]

I would not expect this to be healed at this point, and she will likely have an issue again. It usually can takes up to a month to fully heal. If it pops out again, put her in a deep bath. It will sometimes go in on it's own in a bath. That is also a good sign.

You will want to increase her calcium intake during this time. I would give her calcium citrate or calcium gluconate twice a day. This will help with the proper contraction of her vent muscles.

You will also want to treat her vent with hydrogen cortisone ointment ( also know as preparation H). The ointment is better than the cream, since it sticks better to the skin. This will help with any inflammation internally. I would do this 3-4 times a day. If it also prolapses, you will want to coat the tissue with this as well.

The other important thing is, if she is still laying eggs, you want to get her to stop laying eggs. I have had bad luck putting them in the dark to stop them from laying. You can try it. I had better success making them going broody. But they need a break from laying. Laying an egg it hard on their system. Similarly if you have a drake, you will want to keep her away from them until she has time to heal. I would keep from a drake for at least a month.

You may also want to feed her crumble or moistened feed for now. This will be easier on her when she poops.

I would personally keep her indoors for at least a week to make sure she doesn't have a prolapse again. It is also easier to stop her from laying indoors than outside.

 

[CoriM]

Thanks for your reply. I put my girl back out with the flock last Thursday. It's been 9 days since she last prolapsed. She's a very young, a tiny little runner - only 7 months old. She's laid less than 10 eggs. I witnessed her first egg-laying and thought she was prolapsing at that moment, but it went back inside. She hasn't laid since, and I pray she doesn't lay until Spring - although I would prefer never! I'm not putting any more medications on her at this time as everything looks perfectly normal. I'm keeping a close eye on her and obviously checking her every morning. I know that she will be more prone to prolapse in the future , but I'm so thankful I have the knowledge now about how to replace it and keep it in!