Urgent - possible necrotic prolapse (graphic images)

[froggyphore]

(Graphic images ahead) I have a 3 year old EE hen who had a messy behind. I didn't get to it the last two days and tonight when I cleaned it up in the bath I realized there was a big problem. What initially looked and felt like a very hard stuck case of pasty vent seems to be a necrotic prolapse - here (pic 1) is the matter that I assumed to be waste pulling cleanly away from the flesh below it - it is actually dead flesh. It had a soft, gummy texture with a crusty exterior and came away easily without bleeding. I initially removed a very small portion to try and confirm what it was - after it came away with no blood and the flesh beneath looking healthy I continued to remove very small pieces (still thinking it may be waste) until I reached a portion that was warm to the touch, a translucent yellow in color, and seemed still partially connected to the flesh beneath it. (pic 2 - it looks a little gnarly in this picture because I had to gently hold it away to get a good picture of the area where they join) There was no bleeding during this process aside from a small amount that was trapped in pockets inside the necrotic tissue. It seems that her body has effectively isolated the necrosis and is killing it off while retaining undamaged tissue. I located her vagina and anus and they both look healthy and normal - it seems a small portion of skin between the two is what is dead. I briefly released her from the towel and much less of her vent was protruding. (pic 3) After this I trimmed away the surrounding feathers and wiped all matter and waste away from the area and slathered it in a ton of neosporin to try and maintain a moist healing environment. I set her back in the coop to avoid stress impacting her healing.

She didn't react at all to me prodding around and seemed relaxed aside from the stress of being toweled up in a bathroom. She's been behaving completely normally, eating and drinking normally, and having normal droppings at regular intervals without straining or any signs of pain. Feeling her abdomen from the outside it feels normal, no swelling or lumps. Not sure about laying since it's winter.

What should I do? Does this seem like something that she could live through? Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[azygous]

Yes, I believe this hen can survive this. Sometimes with vent prolapse, a bit of injured tissue that is just inside the cloaca will protrude with the prolapse, and it can appear as scabby necrotic tissue. If that part retracts with the prolapse when you push it back in, then consider it within normal range for this condition.

Prolapse is almost always caused by straining to pass an obstruction. To help with this, give a calcium tablet immediately directly into her beak. It helps with contractions to push out the obstruction. A prolapse can take anywhere from one day to ten days to resolve, so continue the soaks and one calcium tablet per day, and keep the prolapse moist and the hen protected from the flock until her prolapse retracts and remains.

Here's my article for additional tips and info. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ng-from-vent-prolapse-oh-my-what-to-do.76124/

 

[froggyphore]

Yes, I believe this hen can survive this. Sometimes with vent prolapse, a bit of injured tissue that is just inside the cloaca will protrude with the prolapse, and it can appear as scabby necrotic tissue. If that part retracts with the prolapse when you push it back in, then consider it within normal range for this condition.

Prolapse is almost always caused by straining to pass an obstruction. To help with this, give a calcium tablet immediately directly into her beak. It helps with contractions to push out the obstruction. A prolapse can take anywhere from one day to ten days to resolve, so continue the soaks and one calcium tablet per day, and keep the prolapse moist and the hen protected from the flock until her prolapse retracts and remains.

Here's my article for additional tips and info. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ng-from-vent-prolapse-oh-my-what-to-do.76124/

Thank you so much for the detailed response. Is isolation still necessary if the other chickens don't bother her, or is that just to protect from pecking? This hen has always been quite willful and flighty so I'm worried isolation and confinement will stress her out too much.