Prolapsed vent

[bmetz]

Is there a way to treat prolapsed vent if the tissue will not stay in when you try to put it back? Followed advice on the chicken chick website and fear that was a bad choice to try to put tissue back in. Discovered her bleeding at 9:20 tonight in coop. Brought her inside. Cleaned up as much as I could with vetericyn spray and paper towels that I wet down. Tried to push back in and won't stay. Applied hydrocortisone cream and bacitracin. She is still bleeding somewhat. Should I try to soak her in epsom salt water tomorrow and repeat treatment?(all except trying to manually put the tissue back!) Is honey something good to apply also? If I cover her crate, will that keep her from trying to lay? Feel so bad for her! Has to hurt a lot! Not sure what the heck I am doing here!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Is there a way to treat prolapsed vent if the tissue will not stay in when you try to put it back? Followed advice on the chicken chick website and fear that was a bad choice to try to put tissue back in. Discovered her bleeding at 9:20 tonight in coop. Brought her inside. Cleaned up as much as I could with vetericyn spray and paper towels that I wet down. Tried to push back in and won't stay. Applied hydrocortisone cream and bacitracin. She is still bleeding somewhat. Should I try to soak her in epsom salt water tomorrow and repeat treatment?(all except trying to manually put the tissue back!) Is honey something good to apply also? If I cover her crate, will that keep her from trying to lay? Feel so bad for her! Has to hurt a lot! Not sure what the heck I am doing here!

Poor thing!
Do you know if she laid an egg? You didn't feel one when you pushed the tissue back in did you?

I would just keep the vent cleaned the best you can. You may not need to actually "wash" the vent tonight to clean her - not sure where or how you are cleaning her - in the shower if you have a hand held shower wand, spray her off. You can also fill a clean spray bottle with warm water and see if that helps to spritz her off. Pat her dry and then re-apply your cream/ointment. Just some thoughts there.
I would make sure she doesn't get chilled.
Keep the tissue moist with your hydrocortisone cream and bacitracin, those are fine. You can use organic honey if you wish - the goal is to keep tissue moist.

See that she's staying hydrated, so make water available. I would try to get some calcium into her, this can help with retention. A crushed up TUMS sprinkled on a bit of egg works or if you have Caltrate, give her 1/2 tablet.

Sometimes prolapsed tissue won't stay since it's too swollen. So give it time. I would keep her comfortable for the night and let her rest if she seem exhausted and soak her in the morning.

NOW...IF you did feel an egg in there, then please let us know because you will need to work on her some more tonight and try to get that out.

The blood is a bit concerning to me, this is why I'm asking about an egg. I'm sure you were able to see the tissue before you pushed it back in, did it look like it may have been damaged from other hens picking at it? Maybe that's the source of blood instead?

 

[bmetz]

OK, just keep your ointment on there so it all stays moist. It may loosen up with the soakings and ointment.
Yes, it makes sense that it feels hardened. I think the vent may have been picked at a bit and damaged.

You're doing a good job taking care of her. I know it can be tiring to tend to them, but just keep going.

Yeah I think it was picked at more than I thought originally. Feel so bad I didn't find her sooner..had to do all my usual stuff when got home-food and meds for animals etc and then had to hurry to try to get the yard mowed before dark. Poor girl! Hopefully the soakings help like you mentioned.
Thank you for the words of encouragement! I am trying for the poor baby. She did manage to poop a decent amount through the night and then again this morning before cleaned her up again and reapplied ointment. 4 decent sized poos so I imagine that made her feel a bit better(trying to look at the positives lol).

 

[bmetz]

Pooping is good.
Is she lethargic or still in pretty good spirits?

I know you feel bad, sometimes things happen when we aren't home, so you do the best you can when you catch it.

Keep me posted on how she's doing.

Yep, bet it felt a little better to get it out. She is not lethargic *knocks on wood!*. She did enjoy the blow dryer tremendously last night! I was surprised at that lol! She would hold completely still for it. I had wrapped her in a towel and laid on her side as I figured she would hate it. Quite the opposite! We did have a little stand off for the soak haha. Once she realized it felt good, she was fine, no sudden movements from me though lol. She is such a sweet girl, hoping she gets better!

 

[bmetz]

I have heard that patting some coconut oil and sugar on the vent can help tighten it...

I did try a sugar, bacitracin and hydrocortizone mix last night after her soak and this morning. Thank you!

 

[bmetz]

I would give her a few more days.
I'm still thinking that tissue may need to come out or it may finally come off.

If she's eating/drinking, alert and doesn't seem to be in pain, then give her time.

Thank you! My thoughts exactly. Yes, I hope it comes off on its own, kind of like how a scab would when healing etc. Fingers crossed. She is acting just fine(knock on wood lol). Full of "pee"(lol to sound nicer on here) and vinegar actually. She got me soaked last night-liked the soak but she had her toes curled under and didn't want her to be uncomfortable for soak..tried to help reposition and she went flap crazy and soaked me LOL. We were both not thrilled for a bit haha.

 

[eggsandhens]

Hey there! I’m so sorry to hear about you hen Can you upload any pictures (of her, her vent, etc.)?

 

[bmetz]

Poor thing!
Do you know if she laid an egg? You didn't feel one when you pushed the tissue back in did you?

I would just keep the vent cleaned the best you can. You may not need to actually "wash" the vent tonight to clean her - not sure where or how you are cleaning her - in the shower if you have a hand held shower wand, spray her off. You can also fill a clean spray bottle with warm water and see if that helps to spritz her off. Pat her dry and then re-apply your cream/ointment. Just some thoughts there.
I would make sure she doesn't get chilled.
Keep the tissue moist with your hydrocortisone cream and bacitracin, those are fine. You can use organic honey if you wish - the goal is to keep tissue moist.

See that she's staying hydrated, so make water available. I would try to get some calcium into her, this can help with retention. A crushed up TUMS sprinkled on a bit of egg works or if you have Caltrate, give her 1/2 tablet.

Sometimes prolapsed tissue won't stay since it's too swollen. So give it time. I would keep her comfortable for the night and let her rest if she seem exhausted and soak her in the morning.

NOW...IF you did feel an egg in there, then please let us know because you will need to work on her some more tonight and try to get that out.

The blood is a bit concerning to me, this is why I'm asking about an egg. I'm sure you were able to see the tissue before you pushed it back in, did it look like it may have been damaged from other hens picking at it? Maybe that's the source of blood instead?

Hi. Ok, I just used vetericyn(sp?) spray and some paper towels-there was no hardened stool or anything. She is in my sun room and I closed the sliding glass door so it should be warmer than the rest of the house as the A/C won't get out there now with door closed. Ok, I wasn't sure if honey would be better but seems like it might cause more of a mess/ be sticky for her. Ok, will get some tums tomorrow since I unfortunately don't have any. I did not feel an egg in there. I did see a few pieces of tissue that looked like they could have been pecked at so it could be that like you said.
Should I soak her every day or just as needed and then apply the creams? Anything I can do for pain for her? Would you cover the crate to try to keep her in the dark more to try to deter egg laying?
Thank you so very much!!!!

 

[bmetz]

@Wyorp Rock

Thank you so much!!!!

 

[bmetz]

Vetericyn is good for the cleaning. I would still keep the tissue moist with the cream after you clean her. You sure don't want it to dry out, that will cause some more issues.

If she's not lethargic, then I would soak her at least once a day to help reduce swelling.
Personally, I would wait and see if there's more bleeding overnight before I gave anything for pain. Aspirin can be given for a day or two, but if she's bleeding, then I would not give it.

You can cover the crate, but if you are wanting to stop her from laying eggs, she will need to be in the darkness for 16 out of 24 hours a day (she can have 8 hours of daylight to eat/drink and move around) and it can take several days for them to stop.

Ok, thank you for all the help and advice!! How much aspirin can be given/how often? Can the aspirin be crushed in the water? Should I just give her one tums tablet and that is it or one a day etc? I just figured if she keeps laying it will make the prolapse worse. Thanks again!!