Please Help - 3y Brahma Hen w/Prolapsed Vent – First-Timer Seeking Advice

[BrahmaMama207]

Morning, folks == I’ve read through the 2022 prolapse article here on Backyard Chickens and have searched the Emergency/First Aid threads for similar cases — so many have been helpful, thank you to everyone who has shared their experiences.


Here’s what’s going on with my girl:


Background:
Ana is a 3-year-old Brahma. Lately she’s had a very poopy backside and has been laying soft-shelled eggs. Otherwise she’s been active, eating well, and her personality hasn’t changed.
I’ve been keeping Brahmas for about ten years (we currently have nine) on our little suburban farm in Portland, Maine, and this is my first experience with a prolapsed vent.


What happened:
Yesterday after work I went out to visit the flock and found Ana with a clear prolapse. I brought her inside right away and gave her a 20-minute warm Epsom-salt soak. During the soak she ate a baby aspirin hidden in a kernel of corn. She passed a soft egg while soaking.


After her bath I applied raw honey to the protrusion and let it sit for about 15 minutes, then rinsed gently and used a water-based lubricant to help me hold the tissue up to her vent. With a few deep breaths together she drew the prolapse back inside, and it stayed put while I dried her off and set her up in a quiet, dark dog crate for the night along with fresh water but no food. I covered it in a beach blanket thinking dark = not laying, but @Wyorp Rock said in another emergency thread that it takes weeks to make that transition and that makes sense to me


This morning:
Her droppings looked normal—good consistency and quantity—but there was a strong odor of urine. Unfortunately, the prolapse had reappeared. There’s now a small string-like piece of tissue (not mucus) hanging from the protrusion.


I gave her a warm compress and gently pressed the prolapse back in; she again drew it inside, but within 15 minutes it had slipped out once more.
I’ve offered water but have withheld food for now to give her vent rest.

I'm thinking some of my next steps might include:
1- remove beach blanket / cloak of darkness from dog crate
2- administer calcium citrate + d3 (on hand I have 400mg calcium citrate + D3 (500 IU)
3- cover protrusion in preparation H or bag balm (which?)

Other Qs:
4- Should I offer a mush of her food so she can keep her strength?
5- How often should I try holding her protrusion to her vent / to take it back in?
6- Anything else I can do to help healing / support this sweetheart while we move through this holiday weekend (aka no vets available)


I’m tagging @Eggcessive and @azygous here also, as you’re also legends who have so generously shared


Any advice or next steps anyone would recommend? I’m hoping to keep her comfortable, prevent infection, and give her the best chance at recovery.


Thank you all so much for your time and experience

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Poor thing!

I'd give her the Calcium Citrate+D3 now, then once daily for at least a week. Hopefully this will help with contractions, retention and firm up the quality of her shells. Calcium is a crucial part of healing up a prolapse.

The white stringy material looks like urates and a typical material often seen with prolapses. I'm not sure of the whole makeup of it, it can be quite thick and sticky, also it usually will not disappear until the prolapse heals. Mineral oil can help if the white material becomes crusty, that seems to be fairly normal too.

Prep H, Bag Balm, Honey, oil...whatever you have on hand that will keep the tissue coated so it doesn't dry out.

Keep her hydrated and yes, she can eat. Wet mushy feed or her normal dry feed if she's willing. Bits of egg or fish can help with protein. If she's not wanting to eat much, try enticing her with small amounts of watermelon, tomato, etc. Basically, she needs to eat, so whatever she will take. Once she's healed, she'll go back to eating her normal feed.

I think you are doing good. It takes time for these to heal up sometimes, but hopefully this will resolve fairly quickly.

 

[BrahmaMama207]

Poor thing!

I'd give her the Calcium Citrate+D3 now, then once daily for at least a week. Hopefully this will help with contractions, retention and firm up the quality of her shells. Calcium is a crucial part of healing up a prolapse.

The white stringy material looks like urates and a typical material often seen with prolapses. I'm not sure of the whole makeup of it, it can be quite thick and sticky, also it usually will not disappear until the prolapse heals. Mineral oil can help if the white material becomes crusty, that seems to be fairly normal too.

Prep H, Bag Balm, Honey, oil...whatever you have on hand that will keep the tissue coated so it doesn't dry out.

Keep her hydrated and yes, she can eat. Wet mushy feed or her normal dry feed if she's willing. Bits of egg or fish can help with protein. If she's not wanting to eat much, try enticing her with small amounts of watermelon, tomato, etc. Basically, she needs to eat, so whatever she will take. Once she's healed, she'll go back to eating her normal feed.

I think you are doing good. It takes time for these to heal up sometimes, but hopefully this will resolve fairly quickly.

Thank you so much @Wyorp Rock ! I’m so grateful for your help and insights I love this naughty little hen and I feel awful for her that I’m a beginner on this. I started feeding her mush yesterday afternoon, infused with rooster booster and save-a-chick — she’s happily eating, so I’ll offer her as much as she wants moving forward and I’ll prioritize keeping her prolapse from drying out