Torn Vent

[Gigi1983]

Hi All,
I have an 18month old hybrid hen who laid an egg with some blood on it and as a result was vent pecked by the other girls. They actually tore through the top of her vent. This was just over a week ago. I have her in the dog crate in the spare room and have been bathing her in sea salt mixed with Espom Salts twice a day and spraying her with Vetericyn Plus afterwards. The wound is clean and I would have thought healing nicely. The problem is there is still blood on her eggs when she lays. It seems she is tearing it a bit again every time she lays an egg, and she lays daily. I am wondering at this stage should I bring her to the vet and see if they can numb her and stitch it? Another member on here had the same issue but the injury was worse than my girl. She did the same process as me and her hen healed up quicker than mine. Should I keep going with the salt baths and spray for another few days or down to the vet with her? She is eating, drinking, in great form and the area isn't infected. I will attach a pic later when I get home.

 

[tripletfeb]

I would suggest keeping her in the dark so she stops laying naturally. Make sure she gets less than 12 hours of light, either sunlight or artificial. If she keeps laying, she might not heal. I had a girl that was vent pecked and started leaking urates which are VERY hard to clean off. She ended up dying but yours sounds like she is doing much better than mine ever was. Good luck and keep her in the dark while you still treat her

 

[Eggcessive]

I would probably keep soaking her daily for about 15-20 minutes in warm Epsom salts water or saline for at least another week. Spraying with a wound spray such as Vetericyn or Microsyn AH would also help heal. If this doesn’t help after another week, then it may be better to go ahead and stop her from laying temporarily. That is done by keeping her in the dark in a dark room or covered crate for 16 hours a day overnight. Then let her out in the light for 8 hours daily where she can eat and drink, and walk around. It can take 3 or so days to stop the eggs from coming.

 

[Gigi1983]

I would probably keep soaking her daily for about 15-20 minutes in warm Epsom salts water or saline for at least another week. Spraying with a wound spray such as Vetericyn or Microsyn AH would also help heal. If this doesn’t help after another week, then it may be better to go ahead and stop her from laying temporarily. That is done by keeping her in the dark in a dark room or covered crate for 16 hours a day overnight. Then let her out in the light for 8 hours daily where she can eat and drink, and walk around. It can take 3 or so days to stop the eggs from coming.

Hey there thanks for your response. Yes she is sprayed down with Vetericyn Plus after her bath. I had her crate covered for 5 days straight but unfortunately she is still laying daily. Definitely stopping the eggs for a few days would do the trick but doesn't seem to be happening. Absolutely, I'll go with it for another week and reassess then. It's just unfortunate there is still blood on the eggs because I'm so happy with how the wound looks. I think I'll also start bottle spraying her with salt water every 3hrs between baths. Might speed things up.

 

[Eggcessive]

Make sure the saline or salt water is 2 tsp of salt per quart/liter of water. That is equal to the body’s pH.

 

[Gigi1983]

I would suggest keeping her in the dark so she stops laying naturally. Make sure she gets less than 12 hours of light, either sunlight or artificial. If she keeps laying, she might not heal. I had a girl that was vent pecked and started leaking urates which are VERY hard to clean off. She ended up dying but yours sounds like she is doing much better than mine ever was. Good luck and keep her in the dark while you still treat her

The poor thing. Hens get an awful time. I had her crate covered for 5 days but eggs kept coming. Only thing is I had the front of it uncovered and a dim lamp on so she could see her food and water but the blinds in the room were closed, etc to keep it as dark as possible. Maybe just need to keep the whole thing covered.

 

[Eggcessive]

She needs to be in complete darkness for several days for 16 hours per day. Of course make sure that she has air circulation. A closet might be a good spot, then let her out in late morning. She does not need to eat and drink at that time. She will eat less, but that helps with stopping laying as well.

 

[Gigi1983]

Make sure the saline or salt water is 2 tsp of salt per quart/liter of water. That is equal to the body’s pH.

It's a standard sized bucket and I'm putting in 6 tablespoons of sea salt and 4 tablespoons of Espom salt. So this needs to be doubled..

 

[Gigi1983]

She needs to be in complete darkness for several days for 16 hours per day. Of course make sure that she has air circulation. A closet might be a good spot, then let her out in late morning. She does not need to eat and drink at that time. She will eat less, but that helps with stopping laying as well.

Ok full cover on the crate

 

[Gigi1983]

It's a standard sized bucket and I'm putting in 6 tablespoons of sea salt and 4 tablespoons of Espom salt. So this needs to be doubled..

Sorry misread teaspoon for tablespoon. Ok yes in that case I have enough salt in the mix.