Successful vent prolapse treatment - with photos

[MandaRae]

I have vet wrap i will be trying this on my Wyandotte hers won't stay in either.

 

[MandaRae]

Hi all. A few months back, I was able to successfully treat a hen with a significant prolapse and wanted to share what I did in hopes it can help others. I first noticed Sugar had a prolapse after investigating the cause of her dirty butt. She's a 2-year-old Plymouth rock. I saw right away at least an inch of innards protruding from her vent. At that point, she seemed otherwise healthy. We washed up the area, cleaning off as much of the dried poop as we could without ripping it off, and used a finger lubricated with Vaseline to push the prolapse back in.




Well, it didn't last 10 minutes before it prolapsed again. I spent the next week walking around with a glove in my pocket and pushing the prolapse back in whenever I spotted it out. But it never stayed. She was having poop issues and was losing weight from not eating. It got to a point where I had to either fix it or cull her. So I did a little reading, got some new supplies and got to work!

First step, a little spa time. A nice warm water soak (I didn't use Epsom salts, but I've read that you can) and Sugar absolutely loved it. It was mid-February, below 0 outside and she was also dealing with a touch of frostbite on the ends of her comb, so I'm guessing that soak felt great! She laid in there, by herself, for a good half an hour! While soaking, the prolapse actually went back inside on it's own, but it didn't last very long once she got out. After a little break, she had a second soak before we got to work.




Rather than use Vaseline, we switched to Preparation H for lubrication, trying to get as much inside her vent as possible to help the swollen tissues subside.




After we got the prolapse back in, she got a nice blow dry - chickens are so weird because she also loved that. I'm seriously thinking Sugar could happily live at a hair salon!

Next step was to make a sling to try to hold everything in where it was supposed to be. I only got photos of the first attempt, which helped but I made some improvements to the next one. This first one, I used one length of that stretchy bandage that's supposed to stick to itself. I used Johnson & Johnson brand, found it at Walmart. It passed under her tail, covering her vent, and below her wings before crossing over top of her wings in front. I had to use some first aid tape to make it actually stick and cut a slit in it to go over her vent so she could still poop. However, it ended up kind of bunching up and would slip either below or above her vent. The second time around, I just used two lengths of bandage - one above and one below the vent. That worked much better. She wore the sling for a week and the prolapse never once popped back out while she was wearing it. I continued to apply Preparation H every few days, making sure to get some inside to work on those swollen tissues.





After about a week, when her vent area looked normal (pale pink and not puffy), I took the sling off and watched her closely for a few days. No more prolapse! Within a month, I spotted her in the nest box again!

Now it's been almost 2 months and no more issues. She's eating well, laying, and no sign of prolapse again. I can't promise that it will work in every case, but I'm happy with the outcome we had.

Did you ever have anymore issues with her later on?

 

[Idaho Chicken Bungalow]

HELP, I just noticed the prolapsed vent on my pullet after
she laid a healthy egg today. Will diaper rash cream help?

 

[MandaRae]

HELP, I just noticed the prolapsed vent on my pullet after
she laid a healthy egg today. Will diaper rash cream help?

Do you have Raw Honey?

 

[Idaho Chicken Bungalow]

Yes, I put it on the tissue and pushed it back in. I held her in a towel and put slight pressure to keep it from coming out.I put some antibacterial salve on it. It came out just now and is very red and angry looking. It looks worse than when I started.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

HELP, I just noticed the prolapsed vent on my pullet after
she laid a healthy egg today. Will diaper rash cream help?

Yes, I put it on the tissue and pushed it back in. I held her in a towel and put slight pressure to keep it from coming out.I put some antibacterial salve on it. It came out just now and is very red and angry looking. It looks worse than when I started.

Please post some photos of the prolapse.

What was the antibacterial salve you used?

Do you have an Calcium Citrate with D3 (like Caltrate) or TUMS?
If you do, give her 1 tablet now. Keep her hydrated.

 

[Idaho Chicken Bungalow]

Here are her photos this morning. The redness on the outside around the vent is much less this morning. I sprayed a mixture of witch-hazel throughout the night. I just gave her another soak in Epsom water. tried to clean the area, put honey and a dusting of sugar. wrapped in a towel. She did a normal poop.

 

[Idaho Chicken Bungalow]

Please post some photos of the prolapse.

What was the antibacterial salve you used?

Do you have an Calcium Citrate with D3 (like Caltrate) or TUMS?
If you do, give her 1 tablet now. Keep her hydrated.

I just posted some pick from this morning.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Keep the tissue moist with your ointments.
She needs hydration and Calcium.
It's possible that she may have an egg on the way as well, hard to know.
Read this article, it will be very helpful to you https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ng-from-vent-prolapse-oh-my-what-to-do.76124/

 

[Idaho Chicken Bungalow]

Keep the tissue moist with your ointments.
She needs hydration and Calcium.
It's possible that she may have an egg on the way as well, hard to know.
Read this article, it will be very helpful to you https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ng-from-vent-prolapse-oh-my-what-to-do.76124/

This happened just after her afternoon egg yesterday. I have her in a dark brooder with nutradrench water and feed and fresh grass. I was sooo shocked about the normal poo. No yellow runny ick. Do I keep the regiment up before trying to push it in.