Lumenflower
Chirping
- Aug 9, 2018
- 22
- 15
- 71
Hi there. I have a 2 year old silkie hen who suffered from a prolapse last week. I brought her inside the house and cleaned it up, treated it, and it's no longer visible.
I let her back out into the flock today because the prolapse healed and she seemed lively and active but I've just noticed she seems to be constipated or impacted in some way. I'm not sure whether she was pooping while she was in her hospital cage because I already threw out the shavings, unfortunately.
I can see her straining her vent, there's poop visible, but it won't come out. It's stuck inside her and she's trying to grab it with her beak. I assume this is how she got prolapsed in the first place.
It's been very hot and dry here in this US southwest and I'm suspecting this might be caused by dehydration. She eats a layer feed and has access to grit. Almost no treats except the occasional mealworm, no table scraps ever. She seems very active and normal, except for the constipation.
Any suggestions on how to help her? Some posts here recommend manually disimpacting with your fingers, others say that is risky because it could damage her internally. I have molasses on hand that I've heard can help constipation but I don't want to use it until I have a better idea of how to administer it.
Edit: I have read azygous' topic on prolapse which recommends calcium citrate. Should I still use this if the cause appears to be constipation and not egg binding? I only have calcium gluconate 23% liquid solution, I will need some help with the math to determine dosage. She's around 2.5lbs.
I let her back out into the flock today because the prolapse healed and she seemed lively and active but I've just noticed she seems to be constipated or impacted in some way. I'm not sure whether she was pooping while she was in her hospital cage because I already threw out the shavings, unfortunately.
I can see her straining her vent, there's poop visible, but it won't come out. It's stuck inside her and she's trying to grab it with her beak. I assume this is how she got prolapsed in the first place.
It's been very hot and dry here in this US southwest and I'm suspecting this might be caused by dehydration. She eats a layer feed and has access to grit. Almost no treats except the occasional mealworm, no table scraps ever. She seems very active and normal, except for the constipation.
Any suggestions on how to help her? Some posts here recommend manually disimpacting with your fingers, others say that is risky because it could damage her internally. I have molasses on hand that I've heard can help constipation but I don't want to use it until I have a better idea of how to administer it.
Edit: I have read azygous' topic on prolapse which recommends calcium citrate. Should I still use this if the cause appears to be constipation and not egg binding? I only have calcium gluconate 23% liquid solution, I will need some help with the math to determine dosage. She's around 2.5lbs.
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