Prolapsed vent help

[Willow2253]

This morning I went I to the coop and one of my 2 year old hens hadn’t come down from the roost. At first I thought is was egg bound, so I gave her a warm bath and put her back in the coop, and she went to a nest box on her own and has been sitting there since. After a little more research, I’m now pretty sure it’s a prolapsed vent. What could have caused this? And any tips on how to help her? She was injured about 3 1/2 weeks ago and hasn’t laid an egg since then, but she had been recovering and doing really well until now.

 

[Eggcessive]

Do you have a picture of her vent? Causes of prolapses are calcium deficiency, being overweight, constipation, or vent or oviduct damage. I had a hen injured once by a dog who stopped laying immediately. When she started back several months later, she laid soft shell-less eggs which can be hard to pass.

Keep her prolapse tissue moist with hydrocortisone cream, honey, or a nontoxic oil. Try to push the prolapse back inside and hold it there for a few minutes. If it comes back out, just check it often and push it back inside. The honey can reduce swelling. Here is a good article about prolapsed vents:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/prolapse-vent-causes-treatment-graphic/

 

[Willow2253]

Here’s a photo. It looks somewhat severe from what I understand about the condition, but I’ll do my best. I think it’s gotten worse since I found her this morning. She was attached by a dog a few weeks ago and lost all of her tail feathers, and they’ve just started growing back.

 

[Willow2253]

We got it back in, but it fell out again after a few minutes. This time I’m holding onto her longer, so hopefully it stays.

 

[Backyard Hencam]

Keep working on it holding her with her head slightly downward. I always thought chickens died with the smallest injuries but keep working on her. She may surprise you!

 

[Eggcessive]

That prolapse is pretty far out, so I would keep trying to reinsert it. Sit with her in a chair or watch some TV while holding it in so that she relaxes. Good luck. Sometimes a bad prolapse may get worse.

 

[Willow2253]

Thank you. I’m currently sitting on the floor and holding her in my lap. I’m hoping she’ll be able to recover from this, but I am coming to terms with the fact that there’s a chance she won’t. She’s been through a lot lately and I don’t want her to suffer more than she has to.

 

[Willow2253]

My hen that likes to come inside decided to hang out with us, so I think that’s helping keep her calm.

 

[Maryam.]

Thank you. I’m currently sitting on the floor and holding her in my lap. I’m hoping she’ll be able to recover from this, but I am coming to terms with the fact that there’s a chance she won’t. She’s been through a lot lately and I don’t want her to suffer more than she has to.

Sometimes they surprise you, my duck had a pretty bad prolapse with excessive bleeding, although she had a mini surgery under anesthesia but she survived.
Hope she has a speedy recovery

 

[Willow2253]

Unfortunately a vet isn’t an option, though we would take her if we could.
My mom was taking a turn holding her and the hen was starting to get restless. We had been holding her over an hour so we thought it would be ok to set her down for a minute, but it immediately fell back out. It still looks just as bad as it did to start with. I’m afraid we waited too long to do anything and now it’s too late to fix at home.