Vent Prolapse or Strange Soft Shell Egg?

[gailburt]

Tonight my hen came running to me so I could put her to bed as she does every night. I usually take the opportunity to check her over, and tonight I was horrified to see what looked like party of a soft shell egg hanging from her vent. Only it was attached. I didn't know if it was a soft shell egg with a tail (looked at some pics and it appeared exactly like the tail part) or a vent Prolapse. I should have washed it what ever it was before I pushed it back in, but I panicked. I didn't want to pull on case I pulled her intestines out.

I've read that for vent Prolapse, you should give vitamins and electrolytes, supplement calcium (they do have oyster shell free choice in the coop) and limit sunlight to discourage laying. Should I do this? If it comes out, should I pull on it? It did not look red at all. It felt a little wet and squishy but like a soft shell.

Help! She's my favorite.

 

[Got_The_Chick_Itch]

Don’t let her have so much sun lite they need 16 hours of sun to lay an egg add supplements and to get the egg off wet the area and gently pull on it.

 

[coach723]

How is your hen today? If she is still having a problem could you get some pictures and post them here?

 

[Eggcessive]

It sounds like she was passing a deflated egg membrane or possibly a lash egg. I would insert a finger inside the vent to feel for any of the material and try to get it out. A prolapsed vent is reddish similar to your own mucus membranes inside your mouth. Pictures if you see it again would be good. There is no need to limit her daylight hours if ahe is not suffering from a prolapse. But if she is having problems with shell-less eggs, or broken eggs, you may want to give some extra calcium for several days. Human calcium tablet, Tums, and ground egg shell with a little yolk are good sources. Ground oyster shell is good to have in a separate container from feed for calcium.

 

[gailburt]

She is fine today. I think it was just a soft shell egg with a tail. I found a big wet spot in the hen house this morning when I went to check on her. The chickens must have eaten most of it. I'm still upping her calcium and giving some vitamins, but she did lay a beautiful, normal egg for me today.