Vent Prolapse Recovery

[crazychick26201]

I have a six year old Buff Orpington who presented yesterday with a prolapsed vent. I bathed her, sprayed the area with Vetericyn and with gloved hands tried several times to put the prolapse back in but it kept popping out. Fortunately my vet was available and she was able to put the prolapse back in, pack the area with antibiotic and she also put a couple sutures in the vent area to hold the prolapse in. She also prescribed antibiotic (amoxicillin) and Loxicom. I have her in a darkened crate and she has had no food for 24 hours. So far so good. She has pooped a good bit and the sutures are holding. Here are my questions:
1. What to feed her? I have read low protein, regular feed, egg, greens and grapes. All these suggestions seem to contradict each other.
2. How long to isolate her? The vet said to keep her in a dark area for 4-5 days. That seems long to me.

3. I have to leave in one week for 6 days. The vet has offered to board her to keep an eye on the prolapse since my caregiver knows nothing about chicken problems. Should I do this? I worry about integrating her back into the flock.

Please advise! Asap. She is so hungry!!

 

[PirateGirl]

@Eggcessive can guide you, but part of the reasoning for keeping her in the dark for several days is to try to stop/prevent her from laying an egg while she is in this critical stage of healing. Since you said she is hungry, go ahead and give her some of her regular food. This is safe. Her being hungry is a good sign that she is feeling ok despite the trauma

 

[Eggcessive]

Yes, by all means feed and water her. She should be out of her dark area for 8 hours per day to eat and drink and get around, but either keep her inside or keep her in a large dog crate with food and water inside the coop. I would let her have some supervised visits with her flock or keep her with them in a crate.

It can take several days for her to stop laying completely, and after that you can let her out. Egg laying usually takes 12 hours of daylight, so that is the reason behind keeping her in the dark for 16 hours a day.

It is great that you could seek vet care and get the sutures put in. How long do the sutures remain in? She shouldn’t need to much care, as long as she is eating, drinking, and pooping normally. She just needs to be stopped from laying temporarily, so that her vent heals, and to make sure the sutures stay in place.

 

[crazychick26201]

Yes, by all means feed and water her. She should be out of her dark area for 8 hours per day to eat and drink and get around, but either keep her inside or keep her in a large dog crate with food and water inside the coop. I would let her have some supervised visits with her flock or keep her with them in a crate.

It can take several days for her to stop laying completely, and after that you can let her out. Egg laying usually takes 12 hours of daylight, so that is the reason behind keeping her in the dark for 16 hours a day.

It is great that you could seek vet care and get the sutures put in. How long do the sutures remain in? She shouldn’t need to much care, as long as she is eating, drinking, and pooping normally. She just needs to be stopped from laying temporarily, so that her vent heals, and to make sure the sutures stay in place.

 

[crazychick26201]

Sunday night we had a rather frantic chicken because she needed to lay an egg and her vent was sutured. I took her in to the vet Monday morning and when she clipped the sutures an egg popped out. No prolapse. She told me it was healing well but to keep her in the dark and no food for three days. I worry that she will get so weak. And then Saturday I have to leave them for a week. I am thinking of boarding her with her BFF from the flock so she has some company and the vet can keep an eye on her as I have no caregiver who knows about chickens.

Is anyone familiar with a shot or implant that stops laying? I don’t want my old girls to die this way.

 

[Eggcessive]

Your vet is wrong about not feeding her. I am sorry but the literature says to feed them a bit less protein to help stop laying, but not to starve them. They also cannot regulate their body temperature well without eating. The decreased light each day will stop her laying. What is she taking in, just water? I am afraid she would be in bad shape if you follow their advice to not feed her anything.

It can be hard to reintegrate a chicken after being away from the flock for more than a week. I would let her outside with her flock during the days right now, as long as her prolapse stays in. Then when you leave, she should be able to go back to her flock. Are you having someone care for your flock who could look in on her?

Chickens can have hysterectomies or have hormone implants, as long as you can find a vet to perform them. Here is some info on hormone implants:
http://www.poultrydvm.com/cases/titch
https://opensanctuary.org/article/s...al-tool-in-chicken-health/#what-is-suprelorin

 

[crazychick26201]

Thank you for the links. Today I supervised a visit from flock members and after a few tense moments everyone settled down. Tomorrow I will take her out to be with the flock for a couple hours. The sutures get removed Thurs. morning. My delimma is what do do with her next week. We gave to be gone for six days and our caretakers are new and have never cared for chickens. Neither do I have anyone who knows what to look for and what to do. I am quite alone here. That’s why the Backyard Chicjen community is so important! I think her prolapse is healing nicely but what if I leave and it happens again?? What is the chance of that?? That’s why I thought the lesser of the two evils is to board her at the vet while we are gone. At least I have someone who knows to check in on her. But I know the reintegration period will be rough if I do that. I also could use any food hints on reintegration. That’s why I thought I might board her with a buddy from the flock.