Prolapse or bound egg???

[provost1801]

I'm not sure what this is so I don't know whether to push it back in or pull it out...please help!!! It feels like there is a string holding it in. The 'skin' around the bloody ball feels like the membrane from an egg and it is split in multiple places.

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. It looks like she was eggbound and has a prolapsed cloaca or vent. The egg has burst, and the string looks like egg membrane. The egg was probably shell-less or soft. It looks like the prolapsed tissue has gone back inside. If it comes back out, lubricate it and push it back inside and hold it there for a few minutes (disposable gloves are good here.) Hopefully, this is just a one time thing, and she will be fine. Once they prolpase it can happen again, if they strain to pass a large egg. If the red tissue comes back out and gets stuck, it may help to put some honey or Preparation H cream on it to help reduce swelling. But the main thing is to keep any red tissue moist with honey, oil, or hemorrhoid cream to prevent it from drying out, and to push it back inside as soon as possible.

 

[provost1801]

Thanks so much! I soaked her in an epsom salt bath for quite awhile before taking those pics as she was quite a mess. I covered the red ball (I guess the cloaca?) in honey and stuffed it back in. Soon after that she went to the bathroom which seemed like a good thing (right?). Given the amount of stress she had been through, I didn't clean her up again. I just put her in a crate and covered it so she could rest. I'll check in her again soon and hope she hasn't prolapsed again - poor girl!

 

[provost1801]

I just checked on her and unfortunately, she had prolapsed again ;(. I put more honey on it and stuck it back in again but shes not looking good. I can't get her to drink any electrolytes! Any suggestions?

 

[Eggcessive]

Sometimes they may keep prolapsing until more intestinal contents come out, and then cannot be saved. Hopefully you can keep putting the prolapse back inside. Keep it moist with honey or oil so it doesn't dry out. Try giving her liquids to her beak with a spoon or dropper a drop at a time. Here is a good link to read:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/04/prolapse-vent-causes-treatment-graphic.html

 

[provost1801]

Thanks so much Eggcessive for all of the suggestions and support. The prolapse was out again early this morning and as I've read more, I'm afraid that I didn't didn't discover it early enough. Even with all of the soaking and honey, the prolapse is still black and what I thought was a split membrane is probably the lining of her cloaca and parts of it have come off. This girl has been such a fighter since the day she hatched (she's the only one out of 3 white chicks that made it, is blind in one eye, has survived a dog attack, and I found out last night that she's extremely strong!) so I'm very torn right now and quite sad. However, it is looking like the most humane thing to do is to cull her. I'm going to keep working on the prolapse today as long as she doesn't seem to be in too much pain and make the decision tonight. Fingers crossed....

 

[Eggcessive]

I am always reluctant to suggest putting one down, but her prolapse tissue looked pretty dark in the picture. That usually means the tissue is dead from lack of circulation, most likely from being egg bound. So you might save her from suffering if you put her down. It is tough I know. My flock is getting older, and I have had to make that decision a few times recently.

 

[provost1801]

Well, not great news... I soaked her a few more times, put the prolapse back in again, and made a sling with vet wrap to hold it in for a little while. Somehow she got the sling off and it was hanging out again when I checked on her. So I had to make the very tough decision ;(. At least she's not in pain anymore. And wouldn't you know that I found another one with an eye issue tonight. Will start a new thread on that one... thanks so much again for your help!

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about your hen.