Prolapsed hen

[oesdog]

Quote:
I think your doing all the right things. I had a prolapsed hen and sadly we had to have her put to sleep. I know there is one girls on BYC who has been able to successfully treat Prolapses with honey. I don;t knowthat your picking off poo - could it be a scab???? Thing is if the prolapse goes black it is dead tissue and cannot be fixed. While it is still pink it can still be gently pushed back inside. You may have to keep doing this for a long time! You need to keep your hen in a quiet dark place as this will discourage her to lay. Really prolapse is a hard condition to treat. Some vets stitch it back in but again not really financially viable. It really is a terrible and painful condition. There isn;t much can be done if the prolapse keeps comming out but to look for the rainbow bridge!

You have to remember these birds are canabolistic. - when my girl had her prolapse I didn;t get to her in time and she was chainsaw massicre when I found her. I check my birds twice a day and it so happend it was DHs 50th Birthday and I was late putting the girls to bed.

Really not nice and you don;t want to be in that situation. So keep her seperated out for a good few weeks if you do decide to try to treat her.

Sorry I can;t be more helpful I lost the link to the thread of the girl who treated hers with honey.

Oesdog

 

[crystal1957]

Tissue has turned black--sadly...thought that was the color of the PrepH being on there so long...she has been in a dog carrier the last few days in the house, and then periodically gently attended to by me...

Initially the mass was about the size of a lemon--today it is not quite the size of a golf ball, but the tissue is greyish/darkish

 

[katie4]

I had a hen that prolapsed. She was laying enormous "double yolkers." I caught the prolapse after it was past help but before she was pecked Some of the prolapse had turned dark (dead). She was also weeping blood from that area. The prolpase was the size of a golf ball or a little larger and was hanging out her backside.

After I sent her to the rainbow bridge I opened the prolapse to find an egg without a shell! Something else was wrong with my hen as she was laying enormous eggs faithfully in her nesting box. Then she started laying ones randomly outside and roosting at night that were very thin shelled and smaller than average. I didn't know which bird it was at the time that was laying the thin-shelled ones. She had all the right conditions to be a happy, healthy hen so I don't know what caused the thin shelled eggs or prolaspe or even if the two situations were related.

Hugs to the poor hen and you. Being a farmer, however small or big, comes with joy and heartbreak.

 

[crystal1957]

@katie4--thank you for your insight, and kind words. Appreciate the hugs and will take them--thank you

Farming can be bittersweet I am finding out. But I love every minute of it!!

 

[gilroygal]

I had a chicken with prolapse. It was hanging out, was really dark red and it looked like it may be infected. I confined her to a small cage in a isolated area and kept her warm. I kept her bottom clean by placing her in a bucket of warm water with a few drops of baby shampoo to clean off the goop from her poops every morning and at night (2x's per day). After she was cleaned, I smeared triple antibiotic gel on her bottom and placed her in a quiet location. I also kept a small heater on for her at night because I was afraid she would be cold after being wet from the bath. I gave her plenty of food (chopped dandelion greens/chopped grapes/shelled sunflower seeds/chick food w/antibiotics). She ate everything and never acted once like she was in pain. So I figured if she could deal with it, so could I. I also got some antibiotic to add to her water from the feedstore.

Every 3 to 4 days, she would lay an egg. The first time the egg wouldn't come out and was stuck in her for 1/2 the day. So I slathered on the triple anitibotic gel around the bound egg, placed her in a bucket of warm water, and gently pushed on the top of the sack and pushed out the egg. Needless to say she felt better. This went on for about 3 weeks. Gradually the color started to turn back to a normal pink color and soon after it poped back in by itself. That was about 3 yrs ago and she has been fine every since... and back to her old sweet self. Been 3+ years since then, she is still perfect...

 

[yankiwi]

Today I found one of my year and a half old New Hampshires had a prolapse. She had yucky poop all over her backside so (after checking on backyard chicken with a local expert) my husband caught her and we washed her off in warm soapy water and trimmed some of her feathers. Then we noticed a big red thing hanging out of her bum that looked like a tumor. After more research we phoned a local bachelor farmer (like in Prairie Home Companion) who picked her up to have for dinner. She was healthy in every other way but we couldn't leaver her in the coop with the other two and without extreme daily care for a month or more it seems there is no real hope for severe prolapse. We have had about four eggs over the past few months with almost non-existent shells and hope she was the one as prolapse and thin shells can be related. One hen also went broody about a month ago. We put her in the dark in a cage for three days and that cured her. I wonder if it was the same bird. (Two are identical twins, we know it wasn't the third one.)
It's wonderful what can be learned from Backyard Chickens, thanks everyone.