Very bad prolapsed vent

[TJAnonymous]

I got a problem.... This morning I noticed a hen with a prolapsed vent. It wasn't super bad at first. Just protruding a little bit. I managed to catch her after a little chase. She's a very flighty and nervous hen so handling her is very stressful and traumatic for her. I brought her inside and gave her a warm Epsom salt bath and pushed it back in. I felt her belly to ensure she was not egg bound. She's not. A few minutes later, it came out again. More this time. I went to BYC and looked up treatment options. I saw the vet wrap sling so I thought I'd try that. It kept slipping off so I had to wrap it around her belly a few times and then above and below her vent. That worked for a few minutes until she started straining again...within a minute or two, she pushed her insides completely through the vet wrap support. It's a lot this time.... I kept trying to push it back in and she would push it out even more. She is clearly in distress even though I have her wrapped in a towel. At this point, I have her vent fully covered. It's the only way to keep it in. Naturally I know she can't stay like that... She's breathing a bit heavy and raspy now.

Are there some prolapsed vents that can't be cured? Should I just cull her? I didn't treat the area with hydrocortisone. Should I just keep the vent covered for a few hours and give it time to work?

 

[Eggcessive]

Take off the wrap now. That looks like an egg trapped inside the prolapse. Take another picture. If the egg is outside in the prolapse, you will need to find the opening for the egg. Or get her to a vet right away. Give a human calcium tablet with vitamin D right into her beak to swallow. Calcium citrate is rapidly absorbed, but other calcium or Tums can be used.

 

[Eggcessive]

Here is a video, if your hen is egg bound and prolapsed:

 

[TJAnonymous]

Take off the wrap now. That looks like an egg trapped inside the prolapse. Take another picture. If the egg is outside in the prolapse, you will need to find the opening for the egg. Or get her to a vet right away. Give a human calcium tablet with vitamin D right into her beak to swallow. Calcium citrate is rapidly absorbed, but other calcium or Tums can be used.

I have felt her belly from the bottom and with my finger inside her vent several inches. I can't feel any egg or even hardness. I can only feel soft tissue.

 

[Eggcessive]

Have you removed the wrap? It is not doing any good the way it looks. Will the prolapse go back inside now? Can you hold it in while sitting with her to calm her down for a little while? The calcium tablet can help with prolapses, and with laying eggs.

 

[Weeg]

I have felt her belly from the bottom and with my finger inside her vent several inches. I can't feel any egg or even hardness. I can only feel soft tissue.

Prolapse is caused by a blockage. That is why the tissues are expelled, because of intensive straining. You can assume there is an egg or similar blockage causing this issue.

 

[Weeg]

I’m linking my thread gif my bantam Cornish hen Lacey who I cured of a prolapse. The prolapse stayed outside her body for an entire week until it receded. You will likely need a similar strategy for your hen. Lacey survived and to this day is a happy girl.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/bantam-hen-with-bloody-discharge-coming-from-vent.1537237/

 

[TJAnonymous]

I took the vet wrap off as suggested. I'm sitting with her wrapped in the towel again. She has not pushed it back out (yet) but as I struggle with her to give her the calcium (crushed Tums), I feel like she is going to. Here's a video after removing the vet wrap. I did generously swab the area with hydrocortisone cream prior to attempting the sling.

 

[TJAnonymous]

I should add that when she pushes it out, it's larger than a golf ball in size but all soft tissue. There is no egg

 

[TJAnonymous]

She has prolapsed again... Here's the latest pictures.




She had a big poop in her cage so I'm assuming that's what caused her to prolapse again. As I took the pictures above, she was really straining every time I tried to put it back in. She was crying out and struggling so I know it hurts. It keeps coming back out. Realized she had more fecal matter coming through so I helped her remove it. Here's a picture of that...


Tried to put it back in after the poop was removed and she will not stop straining. Now the tissue is getting bloody. I have been lubing her with mineral oil to help her pass anything and keep the tissue moist. Called the vet. He doesn't/won't work on chickens but he suggested I use sugar to help bring down the swelling in the tissue. Apparently that's what they do with cows and a prolapse. Should I try it? Or just go get some preparation H?

BTW, I have checked her several times again for an egg and still don't feel one. Her belly is very tender when I palpitate it both externally and internally but it's all soft and squishy. Nothing even remotely that feels like an egg.