Prolapse chicken - help!

[4-H chicken mom]

I'm sorry for your girl. I had this happen before and yes we tried to push it back in with a cold wet cloth, preparation H, dark cage to stop the egg laying but I would say 8 out of 10 times it will happen again. Sorry

 

[jywel417]

I am sorry to hear about your girl, I wish you the best of luck with her if you don't have to cull her. I will tell you tho that maggots will appear quickly and if you can get them washed off you will be fine. As long as you are able to keep her indoors and away from any flies that will also help cut down on your maggot population during the healing/treatment process. I don't know if you still have your girl with you at this point but wanted to post just in case. Wishing you the best of luck!

 

[hinkjc]

I am sorry I couldn't get to this sooner. Is your girl still with us? If not, I am terribly sorry. Most will recommend culling, as typically a hen who experiences prolapse will go through it more than once. They are weak back there and don't typically do well as layers.

In instances where these are more pets than 'food producers' or 'breeders', there are some things you can try to help her. One is a warm bath to help relax her muscles. If there is anything lodged in the prolapse, it may shrink the material enough so she can pass the egg. If it is just her vent hanging out (and no egg), it can help to minimize the prolapse. Then apply Prep H and gently press the prolapse back into her body. Sometimes it has to be held in position or pushed back in several times. It often helps though. She would then need to be kept in a dimly lit area to shut down her lay cycle so it does not reoccur right away and she has time to heal. I figured I would offer this information in case you held on for hope or if someone else may need it in the future.

Regardless, the decisions when we raise poultry are never easy and I know what you are going through. My heart goes out to you and your sweet hen.

 

[Monstertone]

Well, first of all - thank you all for the great information and all the support.

In the end, I did cull it. Thursday afternoon, it was so weak, it went under a tree and just lay there in the hot sun. It appeared miserable, and honestly, I doubt it would have made it to Friday morning.

When I gently picked it up, it even threw up. That's how bad off it was.

I've learned a lot from this, and will keep my eyes out more closely for any signs in the future.

The only good news - her sister, my other cuckoo maran began laying and has laid several glorious dark brown eggs!

Thanks again all.

Tom

 

[MomAtHome08]

We just lost one this morning due to prolapse. We did try to re-insert last night, kept her isolated, to no avail. Next time I would try honey, or Preparation H, but from what I have read, once it happens, they usually don't recover. Is this correct or just unfortunate coincidence?
Thanks.

 

[Gargoyle]

Sorry to hear of your hen.

Antibiotics are important, they do recover sometimes. We had one that was doing better for a day until the internal infection set it, we started antibiotics too late.