prolapsed vent

[gibsterl]

So tonight I found one of my 2 yr old hens with a prolapsed vent. She was squatting and seemed to be trying to poop. I pushed her vent in and she passed a soft shell egg. So wondering if this is likely to happen again-the prolapsed vent....or did she spend a lot of the day trying to lay the egg. I have had some hens with a broken egg in their vent and have been able to remove it and it didn't happen again-the prolapsed vent is a new one-will also say once the soft shell egg was laid her vent went back in.

 

[azygous]

It may or may not happen again. Your hen is young, so this has a very good chance of just being a one off.

Poor calcium absorption, on the other hand, increases the risk of egg laying issues. I suggest you give your hen a calcium supplement for several days to boost her reserves. Thin and shell-less eggs run a higher risk of being bound up and even collapsing inside. Then the grief begins. Better to try to get a handle on it before it happens again.

If she lays another shell-less egg, start the calcium again immediately. This can help tremendously. Get it at the pharmacy in the vitamin aisle. Select the kind with D3 added.

When you see a prolapse, most often there is a stuck egg responsible. I have a hen right now being treated for prolapse and collapsed egg. As soon as I suspect a collapsed egg inside, I start the hen on an oral antibiotic along with the calcium. The yolk can start an infection so the antibiotic heads that off.

It can take a number of days for the calcium to trigger consistent contractions to expel the egg remains. This hen of mine has been through this before. Her prolapse doesn't retract until all the remains have been expelled. It's been five days, and tonight I'm finally seeing signs of yolk and albumen. Hopefully, the collapsed membrane will soon follow.

My hen is an eleven-year old SLW. She just keeps laying these shell-less eggs and getting into trouble. I don't know how many more times I can save her from this foolishness. You'd think she'd have the good sense to retire like her other old biddy pals. She has a younger friend, a ten year old GLW that lays thin-shell eggs. So far she hasn't had any stuck inside. These Wyandottes of mine have been prolific egg layers well into their later years. But it's time both of them start acting their ages.