Update on hen - Prolapse Was:My young hen had an egg stuck, and now...some of her insides are outsid

[Nyxish]

Imoen, my young gold laced wyandotte had an egg stuck half in and half out of her this morning, with ...i don't know what to call this - the membrane that lines her...egg laying canal? on the outside, around the egg. There were dropping backed around her butt. The egg was whole, unbroken, and sideways... as if maybe it was sideways and got stuck and then her straining pushed...some of the insides out?

i brought her in and washed her in warm water and she did pass the egg, but now that inner lining is still kind of outside. Her butt is still pasty and looks pretty bad (not just because i trimmed away a lot of feathers, but her droppings are firm and normal looking. Tho she seems more comfortable (obviously) now that she doesn't have an egg stuck, she was never lethargic or acting odd. Currently, she is active, alert, eating, moving around and very, very baffled about being in the house. i've just been keeping her as clean as possible and...well, i am also baffled.

What is this called, is there anything i can do?

 

[Whoops]

I think it's called a prolapse. I have no idea what to do, though.

With sheep, you cull them. hope there is a better answer for your hen.

 

[GreenSahara]

Don't know about chickens, but with cows you put it back in and hope for the best.

 

[dawg53]

Here's a link for you to read regarding prolapse in chickens:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/04/prolapse-vent-causes-treatment-graphic.html

 

[Wyandottes7]

Its called a prolapse.It can ocurr when a hen has a hard time laying an egg, is new to egg laying, is an older hen, or lays an especially large egg. Insufficient calcium can also lead to a prolapsed vent. Here's what you can do to treat it (I've had a bird with a prolapsed vent before, and this is what I did):

• Give warm water baths twice a day. The water temperature should be around 90-95 F. Make the baths last for about 15 minutes each. This will help her relax, and will keep her relatively clean. Don't get all of her wet-- just let her lower half soak in the water.
• Apply some honey and Witch Hazel to the prolapse. Both honey and witch hazel will help the prolapse recede back into the hen's body by shrinking it. You can also try Preparation H, or sugar water. All of these will shrink the prolapse.
• Give vitamins/calcium. I had some poultry vitamins on hand, and so gave her these. Calcium will help a hen's muscles become stronger, and retract the prolapse back in.
• To keep her from laying anymore eggs (which will only compound the problem), keep her in the dark for most of the day. It is also a good idea to only give her feed a couple times a day, as passing droppings can irritate the prolapse. But always provide the water.
• Once or twice a day, try to push the prolapse back in. Do it gently with your fingers. It will likely pop right back out again after a few minutes, but over time she should be able to hold it in longer.

This all worked for me, and hopefuly will for you too!

 

[Nyxish]

Immediate update, Imoen is ok. i hope.

More detailed:

So i will own i was pretty freaked out by my first readings about prolapse, and in a pretty bad OMG She's Going To Die place, which...extra sucked because i am a **** sucker and my hens are stupidly spoiled pets AND we just lost 4 to a duel fox attack....first ever in 3.5 years - we've been so lucky - oh woh my emotional state.

Doing some further reading i did try the suggestions and treatments i found - THANK YOU BYC community!! - ... but her bits kept falling back out and having read the note that if the tissue dries out it dies... well, i just called the vet and took her in. She had surgery to put herself back inside, which also involved removing an already formed egg she was trying to lay at the vet.....and Imoen came home the next day.. (i would just like to say my poor vet... Bless Dr W he has told me often he had to option at Cornell to go into poultry science and he firmly DID NOT WANT to... and i just listen politely and agree.. and give him my hen and he does his best. Bless him and his staff.)


i have followed some of the treatment advice - keeping her on restricted diet and keeping her mainly in the dark (i feel like an *******, but a justified one) to retard egg-laying. She has had one egg since: it did cause a small prolapse, but not nearly as bad and she did get the egg out herself, and when i put her bits back in with some honey for the inflammation, they have stayed in... she seems to be ok....but she has not had an egg since, which is the real test.

Currently, she is my house-hen. She is entirely comfy popping up on the couch to sit and watch tv with me now and only fussed about my very, very kind young son cat in a token way. (Bless him, he is a lovely small fuzzy romeo) She will finish her meds in the next couple days but then we can't eat her eggs for another 3 - 4 weeks, so... since we can't tell her eggs from the now healthy hens in the coop, ....it's possible she will remain my house-hen for a ...month.

i shall invest in lysol wipes.



So. YAY for some hope on the topic. i am hopeful for lovely, black and gold hawklike-looking Immy. As for prolapse itself, i feel more able to handle this without vet care when it happens again.... i hope. i am hopeful. Just... thank you to the forums and the advice and community here. My panic was more dangerous to her than the condition itself, so it's good to be reminded there is such a wealth of knowledge here. /sappy


i am still worried about what happens when Immy is on a more normal light/laying schedule, but we will deal with that when it comes.

 

[Phoenixxx]

I couldn't find an egg in mine - but she's been pushing hard like trying to pass something. She is so bad that putting everything back in was lasting only a few seconds to a few minutes so I made a sling from two strips of t-shirt and that's working to hold everything in place. What sucks is she seems to be in pain and is very lethargic; however, when all her stuff was still hanging out - before I began treating her - she seemed more "normal". I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she makes it but it's not looking really good.