Prolapsed Hen

[Flybybirds]

I have a young hen that has prolapsed. I keep pushing her insides in but they keep on coming out. I have lubricated her and checked her for an egg. At first we thought she had one but she either absorbed it, if that is possible, or we encountered part of the mass that she is pushing out. As soon as we found her in that condition we put her in a bath of warm water for 30 minutes hoping if she had an egg she would expel it. No luck. She is eating a little egg and spinach. She had nothing to do with the oatmeal. What now?

 

[Eggcessive]

Give her a Tums or a calcium tablet by mouth. I had never treated prolapse myself until 2 days ago when I found 2 sisters both had it, one worse than the other. Nothing I could do would make her keep it inside, so I just left her alone with her sister. I never realized the opening could be so relaxed. Each time she strains even just being picked up, it comes out. I don't have very good hopes for my one hen, unless a vet could put in a purse string suture, since hers seems to be a chronic type. Mostly, you will want to apply some honey or Preparation H ointment to reduce swelling, and try pushing the prolase back in. In one of the links below, it gives info about a pressure diaper to hold the prolapse in. Here are some helpful links: http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/04/prolapse-vent-causes-treatment-graphic.html
http://www.littlehenrescue.co.uk/Pages/Medicaladvice.aspx

 

[kari_dawn]

...I would try prep H for a while to try to shrink the tissue...its possible that the tissue is swollen, and because it is swollen, it keeps popping right back out, because there's no where else for it to go. Prep H will help shrink the tissue down, and maybe allow it enough time to heal and give it a chance to stop being so inflamed....but if it continues, you may need to consider culling...and if you are worried about a calcium issue, stop the spinach immediately. Spinach actually binds calcium and prevents absorption. It can cause problems for animals so dependent on calcium like laying hens if fed over long periods.

 

[Flybybirds]

Thank you for the information. I have tried this now for five days and she is eating less and not drinking much water. We have decided to cull her. Sad, I feel really bad doing this. She would probably never lay after this anyway.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about your hen.

 

[Flybybirds]

Thank you