Protuding anal area

[NWChickLovers]

Hello I am new to raising chickens and just yesterday discovered that one of my chickens has a servere protuding anal. They are 26 weeks old and just started laying about two weeks ago. This just happen to appear over night. I noticed it last night when I was shecking on them in their coop. It looks horrible. I have done the soaking twice now in warm water. the smell is horrible. I am not even sure if she can be helped....hoping she can as she is a favorite of the kids. I am attaching a picture of the area....(WARNING) kinda of gross for those who have a week stomach. this was taken right after I dipped her in warm water. Can anyone please help me.

 

[Wyandottes7]

She looks like she has a prolapse. This is not too unusual for new layers, but isn't extremely common, either. Some usual causes are insufficient calcium (creating weaker abdominal muscles) and laying very large eggs, or a pullet that's just beginning to lay and isn't used to it.

Heres what to do: Isolate her immediately from the other birds. They will pick at the prolapse, and she might harm herself when running away from them, or jumping onto high rooster, etc. A dog crate would work well.

Start soaking her lower half, twice a day, in a warm water bath. Make this water 95 degrees, and soak her for twenty minutes each time. This will help relax her muscles so that she can draw the prolapse back into her body. It will also keep the prolapse moist and relatively clean.

After each soaking, and throughout the day, apply some honey and some Witch Hazel, or Preparation H. I recommend the honey and Witch Hazel, as it helped one of my birds when she had a prolapse. All three items help reduce swelling, and the honey keeps it moist and lubricated.

Once a day at least, I'd recommend trying to gently push the prolapse in. It probably won't stay in very long at a time, but should eventually help.

Stop her from laying. To do this, keep her in the dark. Witholding feed for most of the day will also help. Witholding feed also has the advantage of preventing a lot of feed from going through her system, which can irritate the prolapse, make it dirty, and prolong the healing period. Give her some feed each day at night, though, and always provide water.

Adding calcium to the water is a good idea as well. This will strenghten the muscles, and help her pass any eggs if she is still laying.

Hope this helps!

 

[NWChickLovers]

Thank you wyandottes7 hope this all works. Also read on another blog about putting sugar on it to make the swelling go down have you ever heard of it.

 

[Wyandottes7]

Thank you wyandottes7 hope this all works. Also read on another blog about putting sugar on it to make the swelling go down have you ever heard of it.

Yes, I've heard of putting sugar on. But I've also heard that some people have problems getting the sugar to stick. That's why I recommended honey.

 

[NWChickLovers]

Any ideas what the black ball at the end of the opening is. Also how long does it take the normal time to recover and will it retract itself?

 

[Wyandottes7]

Any ideas what the black ball at the end of the opening is. Also how long does it take the normal time to recover and will it retract itself?

Sorry, but I do not know what the black ball is. When my bird had a prolapse, she recovered in four days, but I've heard that it can take up to two weeks.