Prolapsed Vent

[Ashley Pederson]

My 7 month Ameracauna looks to have a minor prolapsed vent. The bottom half of her vent opening seems to be a little swollen and I can see a little bit poking out. It isn't super red and the other chickens have not been picking at it. It is also very clean.

I've read some posts on here saying to glove up, cover finger in preparationH and poke it back in. However, it is not nearly as bad as the pictures that popped up when I google images searched this problem. My question is whether a minor prolapsed vent will fix itself or whether I should try to fix immediately. She is not the easiest bird to catch and handle, so I'm hesitant to risk hurting her while trying to fix something that may fix itself.

Thank you!

 

[MrsBachbach]

My 7 month Ameracauna looks to have a minor prolapsed vent. The bottom half of her vent opening seems to be a little swollen and I can see a little bit poking out. It isn't super red and the other chickens have not been picking at it. It is also very clean.

I've read some posts on here saying to glove up, cover finger in preparationH and poke it back in. However, it is not nearly as bad as the pictures that popped up when I google images searched this problem. My question is whether a minor prolapsed vent will fix itself or whether I should try to fix immediately. She is not the easiest bird to catch and handle, so I'm hesitant to risk hurting her while trying to fix something that may fix itself.

Thank you!

I don't have experience with prolapsed vents, but if it doesn't look bad to you, why don't you just rub a bit of the prep H on it and see if it reduces swelling and gets to looking normal.

 

[Eggcessive]

Pictures can help. I have had a hen that always kept a little bit of her cloaca visible on the outside, and it never was a problem. You can put some honey or sugar around the vent, and this will draw out any fluid from the prolapse, thereby reducing the swelling.

 

[Ashley Pederson]

Sorry if it's a little blurry, it was definitely an "action shot" taken while running bent completely over and holding my phone behind my chicken.

 

[Ashley Pederson]

I noticed something was off with her by the way she seems to be walking gingerly and holding her wings slightly away from her body.

 

[Ashley Pederson]

She also pooped while I was trying to get a picture and it seems as normal as free ranging chicken poop can be. It did not seem hard for her and did not get stuck.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would keep an eye on it a couple of times a day just to make sure it doesn't worsen. Try the sugar, honey, or preparationH. It doesn't look bad now, and hopefully it will get better. She may prolapse whenever you pick her up or she is straining, but if it goes back in on it's own that is good.

 

[Ashley Pederson]

I went to the store to buy some preparationH and it had gone back in on its own by the time I got home. I will keep a close eye on her for the next couple of days. Is it normal for it to only be prolapsed for a couple of hours and fix itself? She gets a very well balanced diet and is able to free range in my backyard for several hours each day; is there anything else I can do to try to prevent this from happening again? She was not a happy chicken