What is this?

[MrZip]

We have a hen that is just sqatting around. I posted earlier but now have a pic to show. She gets up for a little bit then just squats for hours. When we returned from vacation yesterday, we noticed the rooster was mating her a lot and keeping her in the coop. We have seperated her from the flock and have doctored her up with soap and water, hydrogen peroxide and some iodine in the red areas. She seems to be all right, but will not walk around or move much. Is this just irritation from being mated too much or some kind of other problem? Please advise as there seems to be quite a few knowledgeable people on these forums. Thanks for any help.

 

[GoldenSparrow]

does her red bottom feel hard or soft?
Is she laying eggs?
She may be egg bound, or be an internal egg layer.

 

[CMV]

I'd start with a bug check. You probably won't find any, but it pays to be thorough.

If no bugs are found I think it safe to say you have some feather picking going on in the flock. Exposed chicken skin turns bright red like that. That's normal. The naked butt is not, though. She is being picked at by someone.

 

[MrZip]

It felt soft when we applied the water and iodine.
When they are being pricked at like that, do they tend to sit so they can't be poked at anymore? We also noticed her comb is leaning over to one side now.
We have 10 hens, a guinea and a rooster. They have a large 8x16 run but a small coop that is 4x5. She seems to be the only one affeceted.

 

[CMV]

The coop is too small for a flock the size you have, and the run is just adequate. She may be the first to be affected, but unless you enlarge your coop she won't be the last.

 

[GoldenSparrow]

The coop is too small for a flock the size you have, and the run is just adequate. She may be the first to be affected, but unless you enlarge your coop she won't be the last.

but she is squatting? would that be caused from pecking???

 

[rbaker0345]

It looks like she's prolapsed, though the picture doesn't give a lot of points for reference. A vet would sterilize the area with a betadine scrub and then gently replace the tissue internally, then hold it temporarily with a pursestring suture. I would see if you have a local vet willing to help, in the meantime, keep it from drying out. If I am correct, you are seeing the end of her colon. It looks very inflamed, so separating her, cleaning it and then applying an antibiotic ointment would be a good place to start. I would keep her on shredded newspaper so she doesn't get anything stuck to that tissue and I would also clip the feathers around the area in order to help it stay as clean as possible. Just don't let the tissue dry out - I think.

 

[MrZip]

Thanks for the input. We will follow these recomendations. She has been seperated for a day now and is looking better back there already with some cleaning and ointment.