Prolapsed Vent Advice

[Eggcessive]

That looks a lot better.

 

[kissezmychicken]

Preparation H.. It will shrink the swelling.. I swear by it.. Vet told me to use it 10 years ago and its worked ever since (if i have issue to need it). Give it a try.. Dollar store carries it..

 

[yellowputty]

I am extremely saddened to say that our dearest Amica was put to sleep today. We woke up today to give her some 24/7 care, re-inserting her prolapse every time we saw it out (including at night when I woke up!) and occasionally slathering on honey or a vaseline/turmeric mix for inflammation. Towards the afternoon we found that her prolapse remained in even when she pooped! We were elated. We took her out in the garden and had a wonderful time with her on the grass, eating all the bugs she could chase. We were so happy, and began thinking about the steps for re-integration with her fellow hens.

Then we had the cruelest twist. She began to lay. We very quickly discovered that she had fully prolapsed again (egg hanging outside body but within tissue). Not only was the egg massive (again) but the opening of the oviduct/cloaca was sideways which meant she couldn't pass it. This time I found it extremely difficult to remove the egg and her tissue split and bled as we eased it out. At that point it was extremely clear that her insides were unable to deal with the large eggs and had been damaged by her egg size and frequency of laying (this had always been an issue).

We spent a very difficult half hour with her, letting her eat all the treats she wanted, as we knew we were shortly to lose her. She was put down quickly and cremated instantly. I cannot describe the pain I am feeling. I will miss her terribly. Giving her 24/7 care for the last week naturally made the process much more difficult, but I do not regret the quality time we spent together. I hope she forgives us if we did anything to cause the issue in the first place, but hopefully she knew we did everything we could.

This is our first loss, but we love chickens and know it is a part of looking after them and them being a part of the family. A huge thanks to the whole BYC community for the countless posts I read on this, and a special thanks to @Eggcessive for checking in on us through the process.

If anyone is reading this in the future and is experiencing a similar prolapse (and there is no serious underlying issue that would cause it to re-occur) then my tips would be to focus on debriding the tissue during baths, patience in re-inserting the prolapse, applying honey/turmeric for inflammation/swelling and simply allowing the time for it to heal (seemed like it never would, but did after just four days).

 

[Eggcessive]

I am very sorry that she became eggbound, prolapsed, and that you were forced to put her down. You did everything you could to save her, and at least she had some good days with you giving her a lot of loving care. Most people used to cull birds with a prolapse, and butchered them for dinner. Nowadays, if people can manage the time, they sometimes can save the hen, so many of these hens will prolapse again. I don’t know that you could have done anything different with your hen. Thank you for trying to help others who may go through this with other hens.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry

 

[356]

I am extremely saddened to say that our dearest Amica was put to sleep today. We woke up today to give her some 24/7 care, re-inserting her prolapse every time we saw it out (including at night when I woke up!) and occasionally slathering on honey or a vaseline/turmeric mix for inflammation. Towards the afternoon we found that her prolapse remained in even when she pooped! We were elated. We took her out in the garden and had a wonderful time with her on the grass, eating all the bugs she could chase. We were so happy, and began thinking about the steps for re-integration with her fellow hens.

Then we had the cruelest twist. She began to lay. We very quickly discovered that she had fully prolapsed again (egg hanging outside body but within tissue). Not only was the egg massive (again) but the opening of the oviduct/cloaca was sideways which meant she couldn't pass it. This time I found it extremely difficult to remove the egg and her tissue split and bled as we eased it out. At that point it was extremely clear that her insides were unable to deal with the large eggs and had been damaged by her egg size and frequency of laying (this had always been an issue).

We spent a very difficult half hour with her, letting her eat all the treats she wanted, as we knew we were shortly to lose her. She was put down quickly and cremated instantly. I cannot describe the pain I am feeling. I will miss her terribly. Giving her 24/7 care for the last week naturally made the process much more difficult, but I do not regret the quality time we spent together. I hope she forgives us if we did anything to cause the issue in the first place, but hopefully she knew we did everything we could.

This is our first loss, but we love chickens and know it is a part of looking after them and them being a part of the family. A huge thanks to the whole BYC community for the countless posts I read on this, and a special thanks to @Eggcessive for checking in on us through the process.

If anyone is reading this in the future and is experiencing a similar prolapse (and there is no serious underlying issue that would cause it to re-occur) then my tips would be to focus on debriding the tissue during baths, patience in re-inserting the prolapse, applying honey/turmeric for inflammation/swelling and simply allowing the time for it to heal (seemed like it never would, but did after just four days).

I share your sorrow. We lost our first to an egg bound prolapse on Thursday. It was heartbreaking to say the least. Thanks for your post and for chronicling your experience so others can learn.