I am totally new to chickens. Any help or experiences you can share would be greatly appreciated. I have a Rhode Island Red that is about a year and a half and I noticed today when I went down to change their water that she had a lot of poop on her back feathers. Upon futher inspection there is something sticking out of her vent. It is smaller than a golf ball in size and is very hard. In the pictures I was looking at online and all the pictures of a prolapse looks like soft tissue. Any thoughts? I also am treating the rest of the flock (3 Rhode Island red, 3 black sex link) for cocci. I had one black sex link pass away about 5 weeks ago and she had mucus coming out of her mouth when I found her. I cleaned everything and continued to watch. I thought I was out of the woods until last week when one day one of the Rhode Island reds started to act funny. I separated her and she passed hours later. I noticed when I picked her up to separate her the same mucus stuff came out of her mouth. When she passed she had the mucus stuff coming out of her mouth. I noticed some diarrhea in the other chicks and other symptoms of cocci so I am on day 3 of treatment. Does anyone have any experience with this and is it something other than cocci?
WELCOME TO BYC! Could you perhaps post some pics of the droppings and the vent of the RIR? Here is some info on cocci and prolapse. COCCIDIOSIS- This can be a fatal disease and is most often diagnosed in young chicks. Coccidiosis (also known as cocci) is caused by tiny creatures called coccidia, a kind of protozoa. They grow rapidly and spread fast. This germ spreading disease is very common. Protozoa live everywhere including inside chickens. However, in the case of coccidiosis the protozoa become to countless and make the chicks sick. There is not many ways to treat this. But, there are many ways to prevent it.To prevent this in adult chickens don’t allow water to collect in their living quarters. Clean their waterers and feeders often and provide daily and good management. Sadly, some chickens don’t live through coccidiosis because by the time it’s noticed, it’s too late. (Symptoms include: Weakness, lifelessness, pale combs and wattles, bloody droppings, not eating and sudden death.) The good news is if you know your flock and observe them daily, you can catch this early. Plus, if your bird lives through it, she won’t catch it again. The best treatments are amprolium and sulfa drugs and chorid 9.6% solution in the water. PROLAPSEProlapse is caused by the hen having to push too hard to expel an egg. And the eggs become stuck for lots of reasons...the bird is dehydrated, (this is a big cause of prolapse), not enough calcium in the diet for good contractions, eggs too large, even being too fat can cause a hen not to be able to expel an egg. Yes, you have it correct in isolating the hen, stuffing the insides back in, and applying the Hemorrhoid cream on the area daily. But during healing, you need to stop them from laying or the prolapse won't heal. So you can help stop them from laying by keeping the hen in low light, not dark, but low, (enough to see and eat of course,) for about 8 hours of light only, and then 16 hours of darkness. This can shut the laying off so they can heal before more eggs start coming down the pipe again. This lack of long light can trigger a molt, which will also shut off the eggs. During this time you keep applying the hemorrhoid cream, stuffing the insides back in, and hopefully the bird heals. Good luck!