Prolapsed vent—egg folded inside

[Wyorp Rock]

Poor thing!

It's getting worse isn't it

You can try coating with honey or mineral oil, those may adhere better.

She's got a lot of poop/leakage going on. Is there for sure an egg inside the prolapsed tissue?

 

[brix]

Poor thing!

It's getting worse isn't it

You can try coating with honey or mineral oil, those may adhere better.

She's got a lot of poop/leakage going on. Is there for sure an egg inside the prolapsed tissue?

Not sure. She won’t let me do much to check, either. I’ve tried sliding my finger in the fold and she’s not ok with that. I did try to use a syringe to put a little lubrication inside, but that’s all she tolerates. I’m not sure what a protrusion normally feels like—weight or feel of what’s inside when putting pressure on it—so I can’t say for sure there’s an egg. At this point it would be crushed anyway if there were.

Edited to add:
I thought there was an egg inside initially. Partially because of the shape and weight of it. Now I’m just wondering if thats just the feeling of her skin and tissues, So I’m just not sure anymore.

To help you understand, this pic is when I first saw that something wasn’t right and brought her in for a soak. I actually thought an egg was stuck in her feathers. Then I realized it was skin and thought she pushed the egg and her skin outside of her. It almost had a crunch to it when pressing gently, though that could’ve been her skin and all that was stuck around it. Any way to confirm one way or another?

 

[azygous]

Are you giving the entire calcium tablet? If not, she needs at least 330mg calcium per day to do the job.

 

[brix]

Are you giving the entire calcium tablet? If not, she needs at least 330mg calcium per day to do the job.

For the most part. I bought the petites which are 200 mg per tablet. First day she got one. Today I crushed up 2, knowing some would be lost in the process of getting her to take it. Seemed to work and she took most of the two today so I’d estimate she got at least that if not a bit more.

 

[azygous]

You do not need to crush a pill to give to a chicken. They swallow a pill much easier than humans do. You are just making work for yourself.

Here's my tutorial on why chickens have an easier time swallowing a bulky pill than humans do.

We think chickens must have a problem swallowing a large pill just because we do. But their digestive process is different from ours. We begin the digestive process by chewing first, then swallowing. We aren't meant to swallow large chunks. We naturally choke.

Chickens don't have teeth for a good reason. They don't need them. Their digestive process begins after they swallow. The food goes directly into their crop without passing "Go", and then it trickles down into their gizzard where the "chewing" action goes into full swing.

Therefore, chickens can amaze us by swallowing things that we think would choke them, large pills included. But they actually have no problem. Slip the pill into the beak and you'll see it disappear like magic. Unless you don't get it far enough back on the tongue. Chickens can rival dogs and cats at firing a pill across the room like a guided missile, but it's not because they aren't able to swallow it easily.

 

[Eggcessive]

It almost looks as if that is a large mass or lash egg coming out of the vent. I haven’t dealt with something like that before. I would be tempted to give the calcium daily 300-600mg daily and offer fluids often. A warm soak just to her vent might help to soften the mass. If a vet is possible, they might be able to try and remove what ever it is. I hope that she gets better, but keep the thing moist with cream and not let it dry out.

 

[brix]

It almost looks as if that is a large mass or lash egg coming out of the vent. I haven’t dealt with something like that before. I would be tempted to give the calcium daily 300-600mg daily and offer fluids often. A warm soak just to her vent might help to soften the mass. If a vet is possible, they might be able to try and remove what ever it is. I hope that she gets better, but keep the thing moist with cream and not let it dry out.

Tonight I was cleaning and reapplying ointment when I noticed the skin on the prolapse had thinned on one side to the point where you could see liquid through it, much like a blister. It wasn’t long before it ruptured. Besides a significant amount of liquid, egg yolk also came out. No shell. I rinsed with saline solution and coated everything in antibiotic ointment. I’m assuming it will continue to drain and that she’ll need antibiotics. Her poop is separate and coming from the opening of her vent on the opposite side of the prolapse. What now?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Tonight I was cleaning and reapplying ointment when I noticed the skin on the prolapse had thinned on one side to the point where you could see liquid through it, much like a blister. It wasn’t long before it ruptured. Besides a significant amount of liquid, egg yolk also came out. No shell. I rinsed with saline solution and coated everything in antibiotic ointment. I’m assuming it will continue to drain and that she’ll need antibiotics. Her poop is separate and coming from the opening of her vent on the opposite side of the prolapse. What now?

What does the other side of the prolapse look like? Can you get a photo?
Can you still see the "opening" of the vent (yellow arrow)?

Good call @Eggcessive for saying it looks like a mass or lash material coming from the vent. It does now look like this is either lash or some wrapped up membranes with material inside of it.

SO Hard to know what to do. I agree, you may make this worse, but to me the material needs to be expelled. The Calcium will help, but I think perhaps the material is also adhered to the tissue. See if you can work on loosening that "shell" from the tissue and remove the material. Mineral oil, coconut oil, ointment, whatever you have to start coating that and trying to get it loosened would be good.

And yes, I would start an antibiotic if you have something. What do you have?

 

[brix]

What does the other side of the prolapse look like? Can you get a photo?
Can you still see the "opening" of the vent (yellow arrow)?

Good call @Eggcessive for saying it looks like a mass or lash material coming from the vent. It does now look like this is either lash or some wrapped up membranes with material inside of it.

SO Hard to know what to do. I agree, you may make this worse, but to me the material needs to be expelled. The Calcium will help, but I think perhaps the material is also adhered to the tissue. See if you can work on loosening that "shell" from the tissue and remove the material. Mineral oil, coconut oil, ointment, whatever you have to start coating that and trying to get it loosened would be good.

And yes, I would start an antibiotic if you have something. What do you have?


View attachment 4025864

View attachment 4025865

Yes you can see the opening of the vent on the other side (pic attached). It is somewhat leathery and tough despite all the ointment. Is that ok? She’s still pooping just fine and it doesn’t seem to affect what’s happening on the opposite side. When you say see if I can start loosening the shell from the tissue, I believe that IS her tissue, just all stretched out and somewhat rough. It really was like a giant blister—I think her skin thinned when filled with fluid.

There was a reddish layer that began peeling back, revealing a pale somewhat see through layer beneath. Unless it turns black and begins to fall off I’m not sure how to remove it? I have kept antibiotic ointment and honey on it for moisture.

I have cephalexin. I’ve looked up the weight conversion for her so I’ll start her on that this morning. Still eating and drinking normally as of last night.

 

[brix]

Update: You were right!

It was a soft “shell” that detached. I soaked her again today and while cleaning her up and using ointments separated the two successfully. Smell has been deadly. Pics attached!

My question is all the build up against her skin—looks like ridges and rot, will that need to be removed or will she shed that as well? Just not sure how much of what’s left is good.

generously applied antibacterial ointment inside and out, put cortisone in a mask and put that around her back end. She got 400 mg calcium today and approx 100mg cephalexin. Getting her feistiness back.