Prolapsed Vent - argh, the never ending health issues it seems.

[Kirmi8]

Hi again.

I have a hen who will be a year this spring. She has had soft eggs in the past but has passed them with no issues until just recently it seems. I have oyster shell for them and layer ration and then get a milled mix of grains for a treat/scratch in the mornings.

This morning she had what looked like albumen frozen in her butt fluff, and after I cleaned that up I noticed her vent was mildly prolapsed. I cleaned it as best as I could and lubed and prep H and put it back in with a gloved finger. I couldn't feel any shell pieces or any other material in her vent. She is bright and alert and eating and drinking fine from what I can tell.

Tonight when I went and checked on them, her vent was still in (yay!) but she had a bowel movement and it did briefly come out again but she was able to suck it back in. However the poop was frothy and white and had a very odd smell. So I'm not sure what's going on. Is that gleet? Took some pictures of her hind end tonight. It was very messy again but I didn't bring anything to clean it tonight. I will tidy her up again in the morning.

Thanks for your input and insight on anything else I should do for her or likelihood that this will improve.

 

[azygous]

She has a blockage in her oviduct. It may be an egg, or even two eggs, or just some sloughed off tissue. Here is my article on this subject. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ng-from-vent-prolapse-oh-my-what-to-do.76124/ Give her a calcium tablet like this.

One tablet each day directly into her beak until the blockage resolves. She will have an easier time swallowing it than you would.

The prolapse and the leakage will resolve once the blockage does. Even if you see nothing, her behavior will tell you she's better.

 

[Kirmi8]

She has a blockage in her oviduct. It may be an egg, or even two eggs, or just some sloughed off tissue. Here is my article on this subject. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ng-from-vent-prolapse-oh-my-what-to-do.76124/ Give her a calcium tablet like this. View attachment 2998298

One tablet each day directly into her beak until the blockage resolves. She will have an easier time swallowing it than you would.

The prolapse and the leakage will resolve once the blockage does. Even if you see nothing, her behavior will tell you she's better.

Thank you!
Can I use Tums extra strength? I don't have any calcium citrate on hand and the pharmacy is closed over the weekend here. I wonder if she would just eat on her own. She is pretty friendly and decent to handle although she was sick of my trying to clean her up, but was fairly agreeable to me placing her vent back in.

Thanks again and I hope this gets her back on track. I was worried this was going to be a reoccurring issue without something I could do. I don't have a place to isolate her that would be warm enough during winter, and so far no one is bothering her thankfully.

 

[azygous]

Yes, break the Tums in half, as I hear it's quite large. Slip the halves, one at a time, into her beak. The calcium will help stimulate contractions to expel the blockage.

Most of us have a pet crate we use as an infirmary. I set it up on my work bench in my garage where the temperature stays at a pretty consistent 60F. When I have a prolapsed hen, I place her in this crate on a couple of old towels to absorb the fluids leaking out of her.

Being in the crate also protects her prolapse from being injured by the others who would be curious if that red, juicy tissue is something good to eat. Once a prolapse is injured, it makes recovery for the hen almost impossible. Sometimes the prolapse is yanked all the way out of the hen's body, dragging the small intestine along with it. That is a death warrant.

Leaving your hen with the others is permissible for most health issues, and she will recover better when left with her flock. However, prolapse is one health crisis that demands the hen be protected from injury by her mates. It's sort of like thinking you can walk safely across a six lane interstate and not get injured by cars going 90mph. You might make it, but if you don't, gads, what a mess.

 

[Kirmi8]

Good news! Checked on her this morning and it is still inside where it should be and the discharge and straining has stopped. Perhaps I caught it early enough that it was a straightforward fix. Looks like she cleaned herself up pretty well. I will continue to keep an eye on her. Hopefully this will be the first and last time, but I feel much more prepared to manage it if it does happen again.

Thanks again for the support and advice!