probably prolapsed vent

[Amastacia]

i have a hen that i noticed this morning seems to be prolapsed. her rear end is sticking out and hugely swollen. and bleeding. i got her in isolation, but i was running late for work as it was so i just gave her some food and water and put her in a large cardboard box in my garage. it is pretty dark, since i put another box over half on it and a window screen over the other, and it is cold. i'm hoping it isn't too bad for her during the day so i can take care of her this evening when i get home.

from the research i've done around here briefly before i actually post myself tells me that there are a few options to try and take care of her and that they will either work or she will die. my plan at this point is to bathe her when i get home in an Epsom salt solution then coat the prolapse with honey. i will then bring her box into the house, since it will be far too cold out there for a wet bird. i'm hoping that will be enough. and on the plus side, i don't work tomorrow, so if she makes it that long i will be able to take good care of her.

and now to try and get some help for my guilt complex. is there anything i should have done that could have prevented this? it has been such a harsh winter around here that i have kept my birds in the coop for the last few months and feel like i have been neglecting them (i have been out there twice a day every day to feed and water them, and do a visual check, but i have had a few weird injuries occur). i don't really think i've done anything wrong, but i need someone to tell me if i could have done more for them.

thanks.

 

[TTracy]

I'm sorry, I don't know much about prolapses. I hope she is hanging in there! bump

 

[Eggcessive]

Some chickens may be prone to prolapse because of laying at too young an age, laying too large an egg that damages the cloaca, or from becoming eggbound. Egg binding can be prevented by giving plenty of calcium in the form of layer feed plus crushed oyster shell on the side free choice. The sooner the prolapsed tissue is pushed back inside with lubricant or honey, the better the chances that the tissue won't become dried out and necrotic or dead. Prolapses can recur for a few days, so you may need to check her after she has a bowel movement or passes an egg. Sometimes it is best to cover her cage for 16 hours a day, and reduce her feed volume to get her to stop laying for awhile to heal the vent. Honey seems to shrink the vent tissue, and the area needs to be kept clean.

 

[bettybooplou]

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/04/prolapse-vent-causes-treatment-graphic.html check this out for more answers hope it helps you I also looked for same thing and this is what I found...also found this if this helps any...https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/637621/my-chicken-has-a-prolapsed-vent

 

[Amastacia]

so for an update, she didn't make it, but it was also worse than a simple prolapse. from what i have found, a prolapse is usually fairly small, where as for her it was the size of an egg. and it had half an egg stuck in it. she was bleeding from it when i found her in the morning, pretty much dripping. i managed to get the rest of the egg out, but i don't think there was really anything i could have done for her. there was no pushing it back in, it was far too large and swollen. i feel terrible that she suffered so much her last day.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss and thanks for the update. Prolapse or egg bound is something most of our grandmothers would have just rung the neck for, and thrown them into the pot for supper that night, but it is hard to get attached to them when they are pets.

 

[Amastacia]

i'll be honest, we considered eating her. but with the cutting from the broken shell, we were concerned about infection and contamination and decided not to. she was pretty messed up.