Prolapse vent GRAPHIC pics, please help

[stcroixusvi]

Alison is approximately 8 months old, had an impacted egg and a prolapsed vent about a month ago. She expelled a whole egg the minute we put her in the tub of warm water but another egg had broken - we got the pieces out ok and she healed nicely after 8 days in recovery. We put her with the other chickens, but she really never left the coop. She had trouble integrating back into the flock even though we introduced her at night. She often slept in the nesting boxes.

Yesterday I saw her up in the roost - she rarely goes up there. I saw this red bulbous mass that looked a bit like the prolapsed vent but much bigger.

I immediately soaked her in the tub of warm water for 15 minutes or so, and managed to find the vent in all that swollen mass. Some poop expelled along with some yellow - might be yoke, but I can't feel anything hard like an egg. I tried poking my finger up her vent and managed to get the mass down to a smaller size, but this morning it's back up again. Poop continues to run from it - I cleaned her up using a spray bottle, but will have to soak her again in the tub. I also used Prep H.

Have you seen anything as large as this? She continues to eat and drink, and actually is MUCH more lively this time than when she had the previous prolapse - but then there has been hardly any blood this time -last time she must have had a cut and bled quite a bit.

So, I wonder if she has not been eating enough calcium? What else could cause this? She is not overweight, and neither are any of my other hens. She came with all the rest back in May. She was the only RIR that I could not tag - she was the most skittish.

Any suggestions? Will this mass go down on its own?

 

[stcroixusvi]

I forgot to add that she is eating and drinking normally, and we have her in a crate in a dark room.

 

[OregonChickenGal]

When hens are young and start laying, this sometimes happens. Sounds like you've been doing the right things, the rest is up to her. Hopefully when the swelling goes down, the vent will go back in. That prolapse looks the same as one of my young hens had. It was a bad one. Hopefully your hen will recover my hen wasn't so lucky. Her prolapse started bleeding real bad and she quit eating and drinking, so I had to put her down. Something to be aware of, once they prolapse, there's a good chance it will happen again, so you'll have to keep an eye out. Good luck!

 

[stoopid]

Ouch!
I haven't had this happen yet, but keep her separated from the others.
They will pick at it.
Good luck!

 

[stcroixusvi]

This is the second time she's prolapsed, only this one is much bigger. We have her in a dog crate in the work room.

 

[Missouri 17]

This happened to our 6 mos old hen this summer. She layed a double egg (an egg inside an egg) and then we noticed the prolapse. She was still laying, eating, playing, etc so we didn't worry too much and one morning I found her dead.

It looked exactly like your picture, exactly.

So sorry but this isn't good.

 

[stcroixusvi]

Quote:
Was she isolated from other hens? I hope she'll be ok. I don't care if she doesn't lay another egg. Coincidentally my Poultry magazine came today with an article about prolapse. They seemed to indicate that sometimes the prognosis is that the hen returns to normal. I wonder if she lacked calcium. I didn't start putting it inside the coop until recently because I keep a whole binful outside. But Alison wasn't going outside.

 

[BarnGoddess01]

Quote:
I went through this with an EE just about the same age as your girl. She started laying early (16 weeks). It did not end well for my girl.

I hope things go better for you although if this is the second prolapse at just 8 months, I think you need to be prepared. I'm sorry ....

 

[Missouri 17]

Quote:
Was she isolated from other hens? I hope she'll be ok. I don't care if she doesn't lay another egg. Coincidentally my Poultry magazine came today with an article about prolapse. They seemed to indicate that sometimes the prognosis is that the hen returns to normal. I wonder if she lacked calcium. I didn't start putting it inside the coop until recently because I keep a whole binful outside. But Alison wasn't going outside.

I did not isolate her. I am new a chickens and didn't really know what was going on. She was acting fine so I let her be. Yours looks pretty bad, I don't know if she will make it. Good luck to you. We get so attached...

 

[stcroixusvi]

Allison is still hanging in there - no apparent pain. She eats and drinks regularly, although we only have the light on 4 times a day for about 1/2 hour. I give her a bath once a day to soften the tissue and other times squirt the poop away...trying to keep it clean. When she recovers, we have a second coop we built for a couple of other chickens that don't mix well and we'll put her in there. She is such a trooper. Hope she makes it. She has nice digs in a large dog crate with a very low roost.