Help anyone? We have a 9 month old, organically fed (Modesto Milling), free-range Buff Orpington with what appears to be a prolapse. Read the forum and the chicken chick. Gave her a really warm bath and when we got her out, the prolapsed area had disappeared. Her vent was still contracting so I don't know how long that will last. Went ahead and put honey around her vent as some said it helped reduce swelling. I did put a small amount of hibi-cleanse in the bath water. She is now in a box near the broody box so she can share the heat lamp. Her lower feathers were dripping wet - that's what made me notice her in the first place. The prolapsed area was only about as big as my thumb from the knuckle out. How do I know the difference between prolapse and a stuck egg? I did see her poop recently. Will a stuck egg prevent elimination? I read all about the calcium deficiency problems with uterine contracting. That made sense to me (a student midwife) so I put after-birth tea in her water (helps a woman's uterus contract properly and is high in calcium from raspberry leaf) along with vitamin/mineral pack, apple cider vinegar and probiotics. It's hard for me to imagine how she got a calcium deficiency since her food is such a high quality and we supplement with oyster shells. What should I do now? I'm sure there is a different treatment for prolapse vs egg bound. Thoughts, tips anyone? We really like our Orpingtons and hate to see her die so young. It's too late for me to call anyone locally and we are not inclined to spend a lot of money on vet visits if this is going to be a recurring problem. We will just cull her from the flock if we have to. It's just not our first choice. We'd like to help her heal and have a happy egg-laying life!
I don't have any personal experience with either condition, but here is a thread on prolapse with a bunch of information in it, which is linked in the sticky in our Emergencies forum. Perhaps you will find something else to try. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/793/please-help-my-chicken-with-prolapse/0_20#post_5932 And two on eggbound: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=32648&p=1 https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=22308
A prolapse is when part of the oviduct actually comes out of the vent. It often appears as a red lump of tissue. Egg bound is when the hen has a stuck egg inside of her. It causes her abdomen to feel hard, and sometimes somwhat swollen. You appear to be treating her well for a possible prolapse. The same treatment can help an egg bound hen.
Read these: http://www.avianweb.com/Prolapse.htm http://www.avianweb.com/eggbinding.html Have you done a cloacal exam? -Kathy
Thank you everybody. I decided to go with prolapse treatment because she didn't act egg bound. (Too perky for that). She did look like a sick chicken for a while but after the first bout of tea she started perking up. Here is right before the bath. See, pretty alert, not panting, wings not out and droopy. Still dealing with the issue though. Electrolytes probably made her feel better right away. Someone suggested the wet feathers may have been due to her breaking an egg inside of her? She was raring to go - beating the doors on the sick cage - the next day so I let her out to range. I did put the medicated tea water out and they all drank it. Figured if it was good for a human uterus it would be good for a chicken. Now I'm a little paranoid. They free range a lot so I'm thinking about making red raspberry and nettle tea on a regular basis to improve their calcium and uterine efficiency. They gobbled the tea and leavings right down. Everything is improving steadily. Her feathers are starting to fluff again. I keep catching her and looking. The vent is not even red or swollen. The treatment really worked! It was terrible scary. She is so young, hope this doesn't mark her and become a repeat experience. Thanks again. I feel completely under-qualified all of a sudden! Keeping chickens is easy when all you are doing is letting them out to play and keeping up with food and water.
