Prolapsed vent??? HELP!

[Abbkayx]

Observing symptoms without considering behavior tells only half the story.

Your hen has a very swollen, irritated vent. We need to figure out why. Her behavior can provide important clues.

-Is she pooping (besides on her butt feathers)? Can you post a photo of her most recent poop?

-Is the poop watery? What color is it?

-Is she drinking more water than usual in place of a normal appetite?

Try smoothing some coconut oil on her vent to reduce swelling and discomfort until you figure out her real issue.

-Have you felt her crop?

-Has she spent more time than usual in the nest without laying an egg?

-If she's walking around the run, is she standing often in one spot, pumping her butt up and down? Is she squatting and straining, appearing to try to poop?

Depending on these questions, your hen could have impacted crop or gizzard or is egg bound. Treatment depends on which she's suffering from.

Observing symptoms without considering behavior tells only half the story.

Your hen has a very swollen, irritated vent. We need to figure out why. Her behavior can provide important clues.

-Is she pooping (besides on her butt feathers)? Can you post a photo of her most recent poop?

-Is the poop watery? What color is it?

-Is she drinking more water than usual in place of a normal appetite?

Try smoothing some coconut oil on her vent to reduce swelling and discomfort until you figure out her real issue.

-Have you felt her crop?

-Has she spent more time than usual in the nest without laying an egg?

-If she's walking around the run, is she standing often in one spot, pumping her butt up and down? Is she squatting and straining, appearing to try to poop?

Depending on these questions, your hen could have impacted crop or gizzard or is egg bound. Treatment depends on which she's suffering from.

- I’m not sure if she’s pooping, I observed her for about 30 minutes and she didn’t poop. When we checked if she was egg bound, upon removal poop came out when finger did (sorry). I attached a photo of it here.

- I haven’t noticed her drinking more than usual, no.

- Her crop appears / feels empty.

- Yes she has been in and out of her nest all day, no eggs (as far as I know). Before I brought her in for her spa treatment she spent about 45-50 mins in the box with no egg, but she does get in and out of it frequently. We did check to see if she was egg bound, and didn’t feel that she is. She has been very very vocal while she’s in her box, and flips around in it as if trying to get comfortable.

- She appears to be pumping her bottom, her vent was pushing in and out constantly, but didn’t seem to be straining to poop. No squatting down or anything.

She was slightly holding her beak open while we were giving her, her spa treatment as well. We also lathered her with coconut oil when we took her out.

 

[Abbkayx]

She seems to have more feathers on her rear end than my other birds (she’s my only female Brahma so comparing to the others). So we gave her the best trim we could so hopefully to prevent anymore caked poo and ease of viewing any issues.

 

[Eggcessive]

That is good. Hopefully she will feel better soon.

 

[azygous]

No, you don't want to mix calcium with the feed, as that would prevent a hen from regulating her individual calcium needs.

Long term use of calcium supplements isn't advisable as that can lead to kidney and liver problems. Also, stuffing a laying hen with calcium supplements can cause very bumpy egg shells as the excess calcium ends up as deposits on the egg.

It's okay to give a calcium supplement for several days in a row if you suspect reproductive issues. But as soon as the hen is behaving normally again, stop the calcium and leave her to help herself to oyster shell as she needs it.

 

[Abbkayx]

I would separate her asap until crisis is surely over and those scabs heal or can be covered with something like bluecoat, the others will stay at her and can cause serious damage.

Thanks! We got her all separated in her own little crate. Put some coconut oil on her bottom for protection / healing.

You’ve all been so helpful and I appreciate it!

(And PS yes I’m using supplemental heating lamps right now since it’s -30 lol, its only going to last two days so no judgement I know people get pushy about not using lamps in the coop)

 

[azygous]

No sweat on the supplemental heat during a weather crisis, especially if your chickens are used to much warmer temps. Chickens in regularly freezing areas are acclimatized to it, but there's no shame in helping chickens living in otherwise moderate climates get through these dangerous temperature dives.

Try not to keep the hen away from the flock any longer than is necessary as it's going to require her to endure confrontations with the others once she reappears suddenly. Blu-kote painted on all open sores and naked skin can neutralize the attraction to the others to peck her bottom parts. A protective enclosure or a crate in the run where she's safe would be a better idea than segregation.

A small patch of naked skin isn't going to put her at any significant risk for freezing while she's roosting at night.

 

[Abbkayx]

I think they will peck her raw again, and it could get worse. I’d crate her WITH the flock. Do you know who all is pecking her? If it’s just one, you might consider crating the pecker instead.

She’s been crated with the rest of them around (in the coop / run where they spend their time).

She was just so miserable in there I felt awful lol. There’s at least two that are pecking her (maybe three).

It hasn’t been all that bad, it’s really just occasional pecks. I’ve left her out and am monitoring her but if too many feathers start to disappear I’ll just recrate her. I just don’t know how long she will need to stay in there for them to stop.

 

[Abbkayx]

You might want to coat her vent area with some pine tar to keep them from pecking her. It is sticky and tastes bad, and is an old time remedy that will allow her vent to heal. Apply it as often as necessary to keep her bent protected. I would spend some time watching for the bullies. Here is a link for the dark pine tar:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000P7JMEI/?tag=backy-20

Awesome thank you. I bought pick-no-more but that doesn’t seem to be do anything. They aren’t pecking her skin or vent, just the feathers around it.

I have put her back in her crate but have a few more questions. Does she need a nest box in there? I currently have a little cardboard box in there for her if she wants to lay but it takes up over half the crate lol. She has her food, water, and a little roosting bar.

This is her backside today (pics), it appears the sores have mostly scabbed up, so should I wait till her feathers start coming in to let her back with the rest of the flock?

 

[Abbkayx]

I will give the pine tar a try.

I’m out there with the birds at least 4-5 times a day 20-30 minutes at a time so I can do a little supervision to see if it’s working or not.

Is the pine tar safe to use around the vent area?

 

[Cragg Klefor]

My hen is prolapsing!!!

Hi @ButtonquailGirl14
Have you done anything yet such as cleaning her vent area, pushing the prolapse back inside and holding there until it stays, checking to make sure not trying to pass an egg, bathed her, given her anything, applied any creams or ointments?
Could you post pics to show the extent of the prolapse?
How long has she been prolapsing?
Is she laying/when did she last lay an egg?
Is she pooping ok and what does that look like?
Any open wounds around her vent?
Are her flockmates pecking the prolapse or is she seperated?