Shepherd's Purse for prolapse?

chicksurreal

Songster
6 Years
Dec 3, 2013
2,558
315
226
Arizona
Back story - I have a SLW pullet who developed a prolapse due to, I believe, laying very large eggs too early. I didn't notice it soon enough and one of the Delawares pecked the tissue while it was hanging out and caused a sore. I isolated her and treated her with antibiotic ointment for the sore and prep H for the swollen tissue. She developed a very bad case of vent gleet and so I was treating her for both issues at the same time.

I tried ACV, Epsom salts, probiotics etc and nothing completely cleared the vent gleet, though it did help. I eventually put her on a round of antibiotics for a week and the vent gleet is now gone. I think she had an internal infection from the sore she got from being pecked.

Anyway, now to the issue at hand. The prolapse is nearly resolved, she no longer has any tissue hanging out after laying an egg, but she does have it push out a bit when she poops. I've heard amazing things about Shepherd's Purse being used for prolapse issues in humans and I was wondering if anyone has used it themselves for their chickens or heard any anecdotal evidence about it being used for poultry. I know they eat the plant, but my seeds won't be planted until fall and I wanted to use the tincture for Fanny. Any thoughts?
 
How is she? No one ever answered you.
One of the hens from my original flock, Crow "Buns", a Black American Game Bantam, died this week from a very bad prolapse, or at least I think it was a prolapse. She always laid soft shelled eggs or eggs with calcium deposits. It kept getting worse, to where she either layed her eggs on the roost at night, or she would lay them with much effort in the day, and they had no shell and sometimes no yolk. One morning, she was droopy and silent and I knew something was wrong. I massaged her abdomen and I felt something squishy, and she perked up a bit to where she would make soft noises and waddle around a bit.
The next day, she woke up with an egg without a shell hanging out of her vent with horrible smelling crap running out around it. She must have been clogged up for a while. I put her in a tub of water and cleaned her off and massaged her abdomen again. White liquid was pouring out of her vent and spreading through the water every time I pushed. The egg came out, then another egg without a shell. I kept gently pulling, until I realized what I thought was another egg was her vent... I tried to push it back in, but more crap just kept coming out. I gave her electrolytes and put her alone in a darkened coop for the night to keep her from laying. I had no preparation H or anything. Before bed, I gave her some grains but no layer feed since I read it might help to keep her from laying. Her vent had sucked back in, nice and pink and normal. She still was quiet and droopy on the perch, though. I cooed to her, said I hoped she would get better, and closed the door.
I found her dead on the ground, splayed out, the next morning. Mucus had shot out her eyes and vent. Her "boyfriend", Jesus, a silkie x old english game bantam rooster made screaming noises when I showed him her body. He was very sad.
I did a feeble necropsy with a saw (I know, eek, but It was my first one...) that night. She was FULL of fluid and infection, and even more stinky, shell -less eggs. Poor, poor Crow. We had thought she was getting fatter since she loved bread, but she was rotting inside.. it had to have been painful. She had access to oyster shell and egg shell. She had a choice between layer and grower feed. She just always laid deformed eggs.
Now she is with Dove, my beloved Buff Sebright that was killed by my dog in February. Those two LOVED each other, would even go broody together. They were never apart. Crow was never the same after Dove was killed in front of her. But now they are together again...
Sorry for going off. I just hope your hen did not meet the name fate.
 

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