Prolapsed vent? HELP!

[Floof]

i just went outside to check the wateres for my animals and one of my favorite quail has something terribly wrong with her backside. She's all frazzled and puffed up and the egg she laid today has blood on it. You can see her vent seems to be sticking out and I have no idea how to treat her. Please help!

 

[Floof]

Well I brought her inside, washed her off, applied some prepH, and used a finger cot to push her vent back in. She kept baring down and push it back out twice while I was trying and she threw up on me but I eventually got it to stay in place. I don't know if I did it right since most of these posts about it don't have pictures but hopefully it stays in place. I have her in a cat carrier in my bathroom under a black shirt right now. She's so very reliable at laying eggs but don't want her to try for a couple days so hopefully the dark will help slow her down.

 

[Feathers everywhere]

This is not uncommon and I find every year that out of 40 or so layers I have 3 or 4 that develop a prolapsed vent.. The condition is treatable and you have done just what needed to be done. Other than an antibiotic to thwart any infection. Now for the bad news.. Once a bird develops a prolapse there is a very high probability even with treatment it will develop a prolapsed vent again when it returns to laying eggs. I cull these birds to keep them from an often painful death. I wish I could be more positive but that's been my experience with birds with prolapsed vents..

 

[Floof]

That's very disappointing to hear she's had pretty bad luck since she was hatched in March. One of the males scalped her early on, earning her the name Lady Head Wound, so she was housed indoors in a hamster cage for weeks. That's probably why she's also the friendliest in the whole bunch and will approach the front of the cage when she sees me in the yard.

 

[Feathers everywhere]

You're only other option is to remove her from your flock and keep her in a separate cage after she heals so she will not lay , but that in itself is cruel because they spend the entire day calling to return to the flock.. I had a male who would have to be right there whenever I changed the water or dumped feed in the feeders.. I have a pair of long tongs with silicone ends that I use to collect the eggs and of course he had to inspect everything I did with them. Even perching on them if I didn't keep them moving...Good luck with your bird.

 

[Binki]

Hello, really sorry to hear about your hen ;(

I don't have experience but it sounds like you did the right things, down to keeping her in the dark to rest.

What percent of protein are you two feeding the hens? There's been some studies that say about 23% protein is ideal for laying coturnix hens. Higher protein percentage feed has been linked to a higher rate of prolapse in laying hens, so that's something to consider if you're experiencing regular prolapse in your flock.

 

[Floof]

Hello, really sorry to hear about your hen ;(

I don't have experience but it sounds like you did the right things, down to keeping her in the dark to rest.

What percent of protein are you two feeding the hens? There's been some studies that say about 23% protein is ideal for laying coturnix hens. Higher protein percentage feed has been linked to a higher rate of prolapse in laying hens, so that's something to consider if you're experiencing regular prolapse in your flock.

That's really interesting and something I'd never heard before! Thank you for letting me know.