Questions about prolapse vent

[Chopper923]

Well, Hennedy fished out all of the rice I had sprinkled in her electrolyte-fueled water. She's been scratching around at her feed and scrambled eggs, too. She also laid an egg! Yay!! A nice solid egg! It does have a bit of blood on it. I have noticed that on a couple of eggs over the past few months. Do I give her the calcium citrate or do I hold off? She hasn't had one yet...I just received the bottle this afternoon. For being "petites," they sure are huge! One tablet is 200 mg, so maybe I would need to give more if/when this happens in the future? I beleive I read 600 mg was used by others on the articles I found here. I havent checked her bottom yet...I was too excited to share the egg news.

 

[coach723]

There is some leeway on the dosing, there is a discussion on here, I will try to find and link to for you. For the short period she will be taking it, it shouldn't be a problem. With the petites I usually give two or 3 depending on the size of the bird. Usually 600 mg is what is recommended for a hen in egg binding crisis. Don't worry about the physical size of the pill, they can swallow it fine, they can swallow a lizard, a frog, etc. whole, that pill is not a worry. I would go ahead and give it to her once a day, until she lays again normally. It sounds like she's feeling much better, so hopefully it was just a glitch and won't recur, at 10 months I would still consider her a new layer, so glitches can sometimes happen. When you have a prolapse that is not wanting to stay in, you can sometimes use a wrap to help hold it in for periods, or overnight when you can't be watching constantly. This link has some pictures of that:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/successful-vent-prolapse-treatment-with-photos.1101406/

This thread has some discussion on dosing and types of calcium:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/calcium-question.1606737/

 

[Chopper923]

There is some leeway on the dosing, there is a discussion on here, I will try to find and link to for you. For the short period she will be taking it, it shouldn't be a problem. With the petites I usually give two or 3 depending on the size of the bird. Usually 600 mg is what is recommended for a hen in egg binding crisis. Don't worry about the physical size of the pill, they can swallow it fine, they can swallow a lizard, a frog, etc. whole, that pill is not a worry. I would go ahead and give it to her once a day, until she lays again normally. It sounds like she's feeling much better, so hopefully it was just a glitch and won't recur, at 10 months I would still consider her a new layer, so glitches can sometimes happen. When you have a prolapse that is not wanting to stay in, you can sometimes use a wrap to help hold it in for periods, or overnight when you can't be watching constantly. This link has some pictures of that:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/successful-vent-prolapse-treatment-with-photos.1101406/

This thread has some discussion on dosing and types of calcium:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/calcium-question.1606737/

Thank you for the info and the links! Having the visual of a chicken being able to swallow a frog puts things in perspective!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I've kept it dark in the garage except for a few hours, to keep her body from wanting to produce eggs, but she sat in a box quite a bit yesterday, so maybe I was too late...I worry that another egg will get stuck.

I'm glad she laid a nice solid egg, that's great!

As for keeping her in the dark garage to stop production, a hen would need to be in total darkness for 16hrs a day for several weeks to stop laying eggs.

But! Sometimes when they are not feeling well, being in a place that quiet and dim can be calming and soothing to them.

Has she been able to retain the tissue?

For the Calcium, I'd give her the Extra daily for at least a week.

 

[Chopper923]

Hennedy seems to be still doing well...except her poor butt. I will soak her today. After, I will apply some ointment and help the tissue back inside. Then I will use a cotton pad soaked with witch hazel on the area with hopes that she will be able to keep the tissue inside. I have the materials to make the wrap if that doesn't work. Sighhhh....

 

[Chopper923]

I'm glad she laid a nice solid egg, that's great!

As for keeping her in the dark garage to stop production, a hen would need to be in total darkness for 16hrs a day for several weeks to stop laying eggs.

But! Sometimes when they are not feeling well, being in a place that quiet and dim can be calming and soothing to them.

Has she been able to retain the tissue?

For the Calcium, I'd give her the Extra daily for at least a week.

Good to know about the lighting! I chuckled at myself thinking, "Well, duh, it's not a magical switch! Lights on = egg; lights off = no egg. Ta-daaa! Now for my next trick...."

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Good to know about the lighting! I chuckled at myself thinking, "Well, duh, it's not a magical switch! Lights on = egg; lights off = no egg. Ta-daaa! Now for my next trick...."

I wish it did work that way; it could really help in situations like this

 

[coach723]

Hang in there, prolapse's can be very frustrating. You are doing everything you can. Fingers crossed.

 

[Chopper923]

Thank you...

Hang in there, prolapse's can be very frustrating. You are doing everything you can. Fingers crossed.

I tend to get paralyzed with all of the info I read on the Internet, so I keep searching and searching for a definitive answer. I need to remind myself that sometimes there's many solutions, and it's not always "one size fits all." I just don't want to overlook things that I am not experienced enough to see.

 

[Chopper923]

Update: I gave Hennedy another epsom salt soaking and calcium citrate with Vitamin D3. I treated her with hydrocortisone, coconut oil, castor oil, followed up with the sugar water mixture. I then soaked some cotton in witch hazel, and held it to her bottom for about 5 minutes. The tissue stayed in, and it's been about 20 minutes...still in. Fingers crossed and prayers sent that this is a turning point. I did find some peculiars at the bottom of her cage, tho....I've attached pictures. The last picture of her vent area is from yesterday.