Prolapse while pooping?

[ScotianChick]

I have a 9 month old Rhode Island Red and she lays gigantic eggs! She's great! This morning when she was out having breakfast I saw her squat and I thought for a second she was going to lay an egg in the yard, but she was just straining to poo. When she did her vent prolapsed and she stood there for a while until it went back in. Then she did it again a little later. She did lay a particularly large egg today... is this something I have to worry about? I tried to pick her up but I couldn't. They only "let" me pick them up when they're in the coop at night.

 

[Dar]

you may want to consider bringing her in and keeping her in a darkened room for a few days to let her vent heal

 

[tammye]

I agree, keep her from laying an egg for a while. If she does prolaspe put preparation H or honey on the prolsape and gently push in back in.

 

[ScotianChick]

You can stop her from laying an egg..? So this is something wrong? If I check her this evening, is there a way to see if something is wrong or will it look normal since it went back in earlier?

 

[Dar]

from the sounds of is she laid a pretty big egg (for her) she may have stretched the vent and its may now be inflamed and swollen. When she poops this is putting a strain on it and keeping it from healing... (like picking a scab will delay the healing time)..

reduce the amount of light she gets will slow her laying...if she is older then a year she may stop all together and thats ok while she heals. If you dont allow her to heal properly she may have a permanent prolapse issue... dont keep her in 100% darkness... but greatly reduce the amount of light to 6 - 8 hours a day

 

[tryxichicks]

What did the prolapse look like? How long before it went back in?
Did this happen before or after she laid her egg?
If it happened before, your probably ok it may have been closing off her poo part of the vent until she laid.
I would bring her in for 24 to 48 hours or at least separate her, I had a terrible experience with a hen that prolapsed and the other girls got to her before I got home...it's not something any hen should experience. In her case she was laying eggs larger than my fist (they were soft and it was some kind of crazy disorder.) This was from the very beginning of her laying not something that happened over time.
If you do bring her in keep her in the bathroom if you can, run hot water and steam the bathroom up twice a day for her for about a 1/2 hour at a time. It relaxes them and keeps them hydrated, and makes it easier to pass both poo and eggs! Good luck to you, and feel free to PM me if you have any q's!