Uterus coming out of vent

[5lovelyhens]

My Black Sex Link is 2 yrs and 5 mos old. The other day, we noticed a bump on her vent and a lot of blood and puss. I took her to the vet to find out what was wrong, and she said her uterus is coming out. She said it turned inside out like a sock and she'll die without surgery. Surgery is $1500, which I can't afford.

I'm sure the vets not wrong, but does anyone know of anything I can do to keep her alive? I need to bandage it up, because she's been picking. How can I do that? She's eating, drinking and pooping. How can I make her comfy? I've been giving her warm baths every night too to soak it. Any ideas?

 

[Eggcessive]

I am always reluctant to tell someone to put a chicken down if there is a chance they can possibly save it. Beekissed, who has decades of chicken experience, has pointed out the seriousness of this issue, and the advice on how pushing it back in may cause more problems. I tend to agree that she may need to be put down. If the prolapse was caught early and pushed back in before it was apparently pulled out more or injured by the other chickens, the outcome may have been more promising. Let us know how it goes, if you get the prolapse back inside, or if you decide to cull her. If she has been laying, placing her in a dark room or covered cage for 16 hours every night can help her to stop laying for a few weeks.

 

[Eggcessive]

I'm sorry that she is dying. It is hard for me to put a chicken down who is sick and suffering, but I have finally been able to perform the task this year with 2 hens with different illness. Before that, my husband would do it, but I finally decided that it was my responsibility since they were my chickens.

Most chickens sold by hatcheries and especially feed stores are bred to lay more eggs than the hens our grandmothers had. Any hen who will lay an egg every day may experience reproductive disorders more often. In the past people ate their chickens for meat when they added new chicks to their flocks. Nowadays many backyard flocks are partly for eggs, and become pets to families. Unfortunately, we need to be able to end suffering in those chickens if they get sick. We are all different people--some of us will try hard to try to save them, while some will cull earlier. If they are suffering or the problem is obviously untreatable, it is best to put them down. That is the good thing about this forum, to get opinions from others that may help us to make up our own minds.

 

[5lovelyhens]

My girl passed. I will miss her very, very much. I have a lot of love for my girls

 

[rebrascora]

So very sorry you lost her

but at least she is no longer suffering. I very much doubt that even a vet could have rectified that damage even if you had been able to afford the ridiculous charge they quoted, so don't feel like you let her down in any way....you could just have been $1500 out of pocket and still nursing a dying hen.
I have seen people make a plaster cast of their hen's foot print and decorate it with a few of her feathers as a momento to hang on the wall. Just something you might want to consider as a keepsake.

Best wishes to you and the rest of your flock.

Barbara

 

[rebrascora]

Hi

So sorry to hear that your chicken has a prolapse. I've not heard of the condition being operated on before and $1500 is beyond extortion in my opinion. Most people bath them in Epsom salts and then apply haemorrhoid cream or honey if that is not available and gently push it back inside and keep the hen in a dark place for a few days to discourage laying. It may need repeated treatment to get it to stay in but many people have success with treating it like this themselves. Is it really puss or a broken coagulated egg that you are seeing. Prolapses usually occur when there is a shell less of soft shelled egg which breaks and becomes difficult to expel or an extra large egg, so my guess/hope would be that you are seeing egg rather than puss. It may be worth gently inserting a lubricated finger into her vent to see if you can feel anything, before applying the Prep H or honey.
It is really important to not let the prolapse tissue dry out or get damaged by pecking, so keeping it lubricated and keeping her in the dark will help prevent that. Take her out twice a day to eat and drink and clean out her box and then put her back in the dark. After a few days- a week, she should be healed enough to resume normal activity, but you will need to be careful about reintegration into the flock because they may not recognise her. I hope you are able to resolve this yourself.... good luck with her.

Regards

Barbara

 

[Eggcessive]

Rebascora has given you very good advice. Can you post a picture of her cleaned up vent area? Prolapse tissue that gets dried out due to not catching it in time, may die and turn black. This tissue would need to be removed with soaking and rubbing off the dark tissue until healthy pink tissue is seen. Prolapse can occur again later, so I would not spend a lot of money on surgery. Here are a couple of good articles to read:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/04/prolapse-vent-causes-treatment-graphic.html
https://www.beautyofbirds.com/Prolapse.htm

 

[Eggcessive]

That looks pretty bad like she has been injured by the other chickens or a predator. How much of the red tissue is hanging out? That is not the the uterus, but the cloaca, the junction of the oviduct and the large intestine. It can keep coming out further and further. She may have had a prolapse first, then the tissue may have been pulled out more and damaged.
For the Epsom salts bath you can use 1/4 to 1/2 cup in a dishpan size tub of warm water. Try to rub off the blood as best as you can. Trim whatever you need to. Rub any dark or infected looking tissue off with a rag after soaking for awhile ro soften it. Apply the preparation H or honey to the red tissue, and keep it moist.
This hen is in pretty rough shape and you may need to put her down if you feel that she is not improving. Take more pictures tomorrow after she is cleaned. If she is eating, drinking, and acting alert, that is a good sign. But even though it may hurt, I would attempt to push it in, and hold it there for a few minutes. I just worry that there may be too much hanging out to get back inside.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi
Yes it can be quite normal for them to convulse before and even after death. The liquid will just be fluid that has refluxed from the crop during that seizure. I did read one person of some experience saying that every hen she had ever lost had flapped it's wings as it died and she took comfort in the thought that it was the chicken's soul leaving the body and flying off to heaven. I'm not personally a believer, but if it gives comfort to people, then I think it is a nice thought. X

 

[5lovelyhens]

Here's a picture. It's pretty gross because I haven't been able to clean it up too well. The blood is really stuck on her feathers. Would it help to cut the feathers off at the base? I'm also really skeptical about pushing it back in, because I don't want to hurt her. I just got some preparation h hemorrhoidal ointment, which I'll give her tonight after her bath. How much Epsom salt should I put in?

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