Urgent help needed - dog bitten hen having difficulty passing egg

[The Kibble Goddess]

my husband's dog got my hen this afternoon. I doctored her wounds, cut on her back, bleeding tail - feather's were all torn out. Now the silly thing is attempting to pass an egg. It's been over 20 minutes, and it looks like there's a bit of membrane over the egg, with the vent duct on one side and the egg just won't drop free. What to do? While waiting for help, am off to try to get a photo. How do I post photos? Don't have any luck following the steps posted elsewhere.

Nancy

this was the best pic I could get with my phone. see the opening to the left? I think that is the vent opening. ??? This is only her second egg.

 

[The Kibble Goddess]

D***! I couldn't wait any longer, she seemed to be in distress, so I put her in a warm Betadine bath & irrigated her vent with the warm water. Using a handful of baby oil, I was able to massage the egg out. BUT it looks as if half her vent is torn away, kind of C shaped, from center top to center bottom. AND she seemed prolapsed. She just kept pushing eventhough the egg was gone. I dabbed honey in and around her vent, and the tissue did seem to shrink a bit. My question now is, can she possibly recover from an injury like this???

 

[The Kibble Goddess]

Help anybody?

 

[Silkie Sue]

i'm sorry about your hen...
it sounds like you have everything under control so far...
i have not dealt with this before but i have had chickens with a few injuries that they have overcome. i would say keep an eye on her and keep it clean
good luck and keep us posted

 

[Miss Lydia]

Something like this happened a while back and they ended up taking their hen to the vet and the membrane was cut so the egg could drop out. Sounds like what you have done. I have never had to deal with this so really can't help you, other than to say I have read where others have used honey and also Preperation H for a prolapse, I'll see if I can find the other post.

 

[The Kibble Goddess]

Has anyone / can you suture a vent? I have a friend who is a Ranger Medic that I was thinking of asking for help if it could be sutured. After I washed her off and got the honey on I could see that that white streak of poo in the center of the egg in the pic was covering the torn band of the vent. I guess it would be akin to hemrroid (SP??) surgery on people, but folks don't lay eggs.

 

[chickerdoodle]

Poor baby!!

I have not dealt with this. It seems you did a good job helping her get the egg out. (Remember to always use a weak Betadine solution though). Prolapses are typically treated with Preparation H after cleaning and the bird kept separated until there is nothing for the other birds to pick at which can take a few days or more.

I can only suggest keeping it clean and keep her indoors in a comfy warm area. Give her some chopped hard cooked or scrambled egg and water with vitamins in it to drink to help her heal. If after several hours it doesn't shrink more--and only if not bleeding or oozing--you might consider adding a little Preparation H on it. Once she eats well you can give her the normal feed. She also may need antibiotics if it gets infected or if she has other wounds from the dog encounter.

I don't know if it can be sutured and hope a more experienced person chimes in!

 

[Pickles03]

I have zero experience..but am sending good thoughts your way.
Keep us posted...hoping for her to fully heal.

 

[The Kibble Goddess]

Well, Sister is doing well so far. She's eating & drinking. Her poops are dribbling out of her butt, but they look normal. Her vent is going to have to be sutured if she's to remain viable though. A friend is a Army Ranger medic & has some little experience w/chickens & is willing to try. We have to wait till he gets home from Colorado Monday night, which is a long time to wait. But I would like to keep her as a layer if I at all can, so I'm keeping her clean, dry & slathered with honey. Prayers please.

 

[The Kibble Goddess]

So far so good. Talked w/a Vet at UGA's Poultry Science Dept this AM & he said to go a head w/ the suturing eventhough it was late. He said hens can be amazingly resiliant & she'd probably go on to have a successful laying career. We can only hope. He also said it was good to use a TINY bit of injectable lidocain prior to stitching the muscle.

I've been keeping her under a red heat lamp and she seems to have stopped laying, thank Heaven.