vent fleet with prolapse--AFTER vet visit

[hunthaven]

Hi, everyone:

On Saturday, I noticed that my 8 months old Wynadotte, who had only been laying for about 2 weeks, had vent sleet. I had isolated her because I have another hen with (strongly suspect) Marek's, and I thought Dottie had the same thing until I got a good look at her vent. My bad for not seeing the reality sooner--I was paying more attention to the weird way she was walking. (Probably to hide her vent, she was walking on her hocks).

So I immediately brought her inside, Epsom salts bath, Preparation H on the prolapsed tissue, pushed it back in, kept her in darkened bathroom, etc. Giving her ACV in her water, she's not eating much, helping her poop 2-3 x a day. She laid an egg on Sunday, which didn't help, and this morning (Tuesday), I felt another one, so I think she's going to lay again. Once she does, I'm going to put her in a vet wrap sling, if I can manage it, so help hold the prolapsed tissue in. I push it in, but the moment she strains, out it pops again, and there is necrotic tissue on the end. I'm also slathering it in honey AND spraying with Veterymicin. (sp?).

I took her to an avian vet yesterday, and to be fair, this vet deals more with parrots. She did some tests to say that the gleet was bacterial, not fungal, and no trace of worms, but she kept saying that laying eggs was bad for birds, and they would most likely kill her. She implied that if I didn't want to spend $500, I should cull her . . . She said she could put stitches around the vent, but then how could she lay an egg . . . .

Well, I don't want to spend $500, but I know that some hens can get healed up and I also know that chickens were designed to lay eggs. ;-). So I'm going to do my best to heal her, and if I can't, then I'll think about putting her out of her misery. But honestly, she seems fine--content, anyway, in our bathtub.

Any suggestions? I've scoured the internet, including many posts here, and am trying to do all I can for her . . . thanks for any help you can give.

 

[hunthaven]

Darn that autocorrect! Vent GLEET, of course!

 

[Cragg Klefor]

Sorry this is happening, the poor chicken.
All I can suggest is keep her in a darkened room to rest and deter egg laying while working oh her prolapse. Ideally she'll lay that egg in the tub. Best wishes

 

[rebrascora]

You are doing all the right things. If she is not stressed by bathing and blow dry..... most hens seem to enjoy it once they get over the initial panic, I would give her warm Epsom Salts soaks daily and then apply topical treatments and push it back in. Some people report holding it in with their finger still inside the chicken for 20 mins or more until the bird stops pushing, can help to keep it in. I have read of people sitting watching the TV with the chicken in their arms whilst doing so.
You might want to reassess diet too in case it has contributed to the problem. Birds that are carrying too much fat are more prone to prolapse, and a diet higher in carbs.... for instance if too much scratch or corn etc is given (or grain mix feeds fed adlib).... over a period of time can result in fat birds, but because of all those feathers and that we do not generally check them regularly or even know what to look for, a problem can occur without us realising..... and of course we love to treat our hens, so it can very easily happen. Fat gets deposited in a thick layer around the vent and abdomen, effectively reducing the aperture out of which the egg has to travel, causing it to get stuck and then prolapse. Not saying that is the case here but just something to consider.
A photo of the prolapse might help assess if a recovery is likely but many birds do recover from prolapse without surgery and go on to lay eggs without further problems.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I should cull her . . . She said she could put stitches around the vent, but then how could she lay an egg

So sorry you and your gal are going through this.

The stitches wouldn't close of the vent... they would be farther inside holding the tissue IN... My heeler had penis prolapse and that's what they did... it was only semi successful..

This sounds like something I would cull for. With an infection and prolapse she is a weak link in the flock... that will invite illness and predation. I don't believe prolapse is the cause of hock walking. And in my opinion the prolapse is likely to happen again.

With suspicion of Marek's... maybe culling and sending in for necropsy to either confirm or rule that out of your flock would be a good choice? Here are some links to help if you go that route...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-to-send-a-bird-for-a-necropsy-pictures.799747/

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahln/downloads/all_nahln_lab_list.pdf

I hope full recovery for her though!

Sounds like you rock, trying to take care of her your very best.

 

[hunthaven]

THANK you for your thoughts. I am still treating her, pushing in the prolapse 4-5 times a day. Had to remove the bandage I had put on because I think it was too tight, and I didn't want to restrict blood flow in any way. I will keep on until/unless I become convinced that she will not ver be able to return to the flock . . . She's a sweet girl, and I hate to see her suffer in any way.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

8 months old Wynadotte, who had only been laying for about 2 weeks, had vent sleet.

My bad for not seeing the reality sooner--I was paying more attention to the weird way she was walking. (Probably to hide her vent, she was walking on her hocks).

So I immediately brought her inside, Epsom salts bath, Preparation H on the prolapsed tissue

Giving her ACV in her water, she's not eating much, helping her poop 2-3 x a day. She laid an egg on Sunday, which didn't help, and this morning (Tuesday), I felt another one, so I think she's going to lay again. Once she does, I'm going to put her in a vet wrap sling,

the moment she strains, out it pops again, and there is necrotic tissue on the end. I'm also slathering it in honey AND spraying with Veterymicin. (sp?).

She did some tests to say that the gleet was bacterial, not fungal, and no trace of worms, but she kept saying that laying eggs was bad for birds, and they would most likely kill her. She implied that if I didn't want to spend $500, I should cull her . . . She said she could put stitches around the vent, but then how could she lay an egg

Can you post some photos?
You can try to help her stop laying by limiting the amount of light she has per day. Only give her around 8 hrs of light each day and leave her in a darkened room the rest of the time.

Does the prolapse come out when she poops as well?
The vent gleet - if it's bacterial, did the vet prescribe any antibiotics?

@Eggcessive or @staceyj I believe knows more about how they stitch vent for prolapse. For some reason I thought I saw they did it like a "shoelace" where you can loosen it for egg laying, but I may be confused.

For the prolapsed tissue, try an anti-inflammatory cream to see if that help reduce the swelling. I would also give her calcium for a few days, this helps with contractions and retention of the oviduct. 1/2 tablet Caltrate would be good. I'm a fan of poultry vitamins too, so direct dose her for a couple of days - Poultry Nutri-Drench or Poultry Cell (1cc per 3 pounds of weight).

I know you have been slinging her, that's a good idea. I don't know if you found this, but the tutorial may help you https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/successful-vent-prolapse-treatment-with-photos.1101406/
I believe @meetthebubus was also successful in using a sling with her prolapsed hen, she may be able to give you some tips as well.

 

[meetthebubus]

Like everyone said you are doing the right things. I did cortisone not prep h I felt it more homeopathic bc I read the witch hazel could burn the sensitive tissue but that was just my choice
I also used vetericyne spray, pushed back in and I vet wrapped her, that was the key bc like you said it comes out again otherwise.

I put the wrap right above the vent and then used her body underneath to apply light pressure and wrapped it under her wings to hold. I did one more right under the vent as well.

Don't go too tight or too loose after 1 day I took off the wrap, put more meds on and repeated the wrap once more with new wrap.

After 2 days it successfully stayed in but mine didn't have necrotic tissue
I suggest changing the wrap daily to make sure it's working properly and not bunching and hurting her

Good luck

 

[ShannonR]

The necrotic tissue is my biggest concern here. It should probably be removed. Otherwise, keep at it, you are doing the right things. Forced moult so she doesn't lay is an excellent idea.

 

[micstrachan]

You are following the right steps and have received good advice here. Please keep us posted. I'm hopeful for a full recovery!