Vent prolapse struggle

[Mhammond55]

I’m looking for any advice I can get. I have a 1.5 year old Calico Princess who has had a vent prolapse for about 6 days, it stays in until she poops an then out it comes. I have tried every method I can find to fix it. I’ve pushed it back in every time I see it out, I’ve applied honey, triple antibiotic ointment (no pain relief), hydrocortisone cream, preparation h, vaseline. I tried soaking her but she would not relax in it and everything in a 10 foot radius got soaked, so I started putting a warm wet gauze pad in a disposable face mask and placing it on her as I diaper for a bit to help moisten the tissue. Yesterday I started doing a body wrap to hold her insides in, I left an opening for her to poop although it seems she can’t very well with the pressure that’s applied so I take it off regularly and she poops an it comes back out. I have also tried to give her tums though she won’t eat it if she can tell it’s in what I’m giving it to her in. She does have thin shelled to soft shelled eggs recently. She has been eating a layer feed with oyster shell in it, but I have ordered oyster shell which will be here in two days for her to eat on her own doing. She’s been in a small dog crate most of the day since I found her. I found evidence that she laid eggs the first two days but obviously ate them (she had yoke on her feet but the cage had nothing). As I was writing this she laid an egg in front of me (the shell was more normal) and a significant amount of blood followed, I’d guess 1/2 a teaspoon or so maybe slightly less. I got it stopped and applied some triple antibiotic ointment and covered it with a mask to keep her from picking it to allow some time for it to clot before trying to put it in again. She seems happy and healthy in every other way. I have completely covered her cage now as clearly the darkness I have her in was not dark enough to keep her from laying. I’ve read that people have spent 10 days to 2 weeks working through this before it finally stayed in. I don’t have the option of a vet as there are none anywhere around me. I really want to do everything possible to help her. I’ve seen some great advice on here an I really hope someone has a similar experience and can tell me what worked. Thank you in advance

 

[MysteryChicken]

Pictures of the prolapse so we can see the severity?

@azygous

 

[Mhammond55]

Pictures of the prolapse so we can see the severity?

@azygous

I don’t have any at this moment, but I’ll try to get some In a little bit.

 

[azygous]

Here's my tutorial on vent prolapse. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ng-from-vent-prolapse-oh-my-what-to-do.76124/ Your hen's prolapse won't resolve until she expels whatever is stuck inside.

I've dealt with my share of prolapses. Some were very stubborn ones. In each case, a blockage caused either by a stuck soft egg or leftover egg material or even just a tiny bit of tissue stuck in the oviduct prevented the prolapse from resolving until after the material was expelled.

It's the calcium supplement that encourages contractions that helps to resolve the issue. Tums is okay in a pinch but calcium citrate, around 600mg with D3 is much better because it works much faster. Next time you shop, pick up some and keep it handy for any layer that seems to be having a problem, either spending hours in a nest without producing an egg or is having a prolapse event.

When giving a pill of any kind to a chicken, people overthink it. Just pry open the beak and shove the whole pill in. I've recently heard that Tums are now the much more generous size of a quarter. I think it's the only case of a product being increased in size in the history of capitalism, so break the thing in half and shove the halves into the beak one after the other.

The bleeding from your hen's vent is troubling. Infection from wounded tissue is a danger. Do you know for sure if the blood is from an external injury to the vent or is it coming from inside the cloaca, possibly from the oviduct? If it's coming from an internal injury, broken egg shells may be behind it. This can be fatal. If the shell remains are higher in the oviduct, you just have to hope they work themselves out without killing your hen. If the shells are just inside the cloaca, giving raw egg white can create a slimy "runway" to minimize further injury. I suggest you do that as a precaution.

 

[MysteryChicken]

I don’t have any at this moment, but I’ll try to get some In a little bit.

Okay.

 

[Mhammond55]

Here's my tutorial on vent prolapse. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ng-from-vent-prolapse-oh-my-what-to-do.76124/ Your hen's prolapse won't resolve until she expels whatever is stuck inside.

I've dealt with my share of prolapses. Some were very stubborn ones. In each case, a blockage caused either by a stuck soft egg or leftover egg material or even just a tiny bit of tissue stuck in the oviduct prevented the prolapse from resolving until after the material was expelled.

It's the calcium supplement that encourages contractions that helps to resolve the issue. Tums is okay in a pinch but calcium citrate, around 600mg with D3 is much better because it works much faster. Next time you shop, pick up some and keep it handy for any layer that seems to be having a problem, either spending hours in a nest without producing an egg or is having a prolapse event.

When giving a pill of any kind to a chicken, people overthink it. Just pry open the beak and shove the whole pill in. I've recently heard that Tums are now the much more generous size of a quarter. I think it's the only case of a product being increased in size in the history of capitalism, so break the thing in half and shove the halves into the beak one after the other.

The bleeding from your hen's vent is troubling. Infection from wounded tissue is a danger. Do you know for sure if the blood is from an external injury to the vent or is it coming from inside the cloaca, possibly from the oviduct? If it's coming from an internal injury, broken egg shells may be behind it. This can be fatal. If the shell remains are higher in the oviduct, you just have to hope they work themselves out without killing your hen. If the shells are just inside the cloaca, giving raw egg white can create a slimy "runway" to minimize further injury. I suggest you do that as a precaution.

Thank you for your reply. There is no sign of injury to the exterior of the vent, the blood followed directly after the egg and appeared to come from the prolapse. I will try to get my hands on the citrate an give egg whites as well.

 

[MrsWayne]

I have a question on this subject. I have a 1 year old leghorn with prolapse. I didn't recognize it at first, but I did see her bottom was very dirty. I figured I needed to trim off the feathers in the back so she could get cleaned up. That is when I saw the prolapse.

I brought her in Wednesday (today is Friday) and soaked her in a couple rounds of warm Epsom salt water and gently pushed the tissue back in. Yesterday and today I gave her a Tums, Epsom salt water bath, applied honey, and gingerly pushed the prolapse back in.

I have her in the basement, with a warming lamp. She doesn't seem to be having trouble laying good eggs. There doesn't seem to be any discharge, no blood. I'm turning the basement light off early and on late to try and get the egg laying stopped.

Should I keep up the Epsom salts baths, or just switch to witch hazel? The swollen tissue keeps coming back outside of the vent.

 

[azygous]

I have a question on this subject. I have a 1 year old leghorn with prolapse. I didn't recognize it at first, but I did see her bottom was very dirty. I figured I needed to trim off the feathers in the back so she could get cleaned up. That is when I saw the prolapse.

I brought her in Wednesday (today is Friday) and soaked her in a couple rounds of warm Epsom salt water and gently pushed the tissue back in. Yesterday and today I gave her a Tums, Epsom salt water bath, applied honey, and gingerly pushed the prolapse back in.

I have her in the basement, with a warming lamp. She doesn't seem to be having trouble laying good eggs. There doesn't seem to be any discharge, no blood. I'm turning the basement light off early and on late to try and get the egg laying stopped.

Should I keep up the Epsom salts baths, or just switch to witch hazel? The swollen tissue keeps coming back outside of the vent.

As long as she is prolapsing, it's a sign she still has a blockage in her oviduct she's trying to clear. You may stop the soaks now, except brief washes to keep her cleaned up. Calcium with D3 is the best treatment to clear a reproductive obstruction.

 

[MrsWayne]

As long as she is prolapsing, it's a sign she still has a blockage in her oviduct she's trying to clear. You may stop the soaks now, except brief washes to keep her cleaned up. Calcium with D3 is the best treatment to clear a reproductive obstruction.

How long, in your opinion, do I wait to decide she has cleared any obstruction? No prolapse for 24 hours, 48, or more?

After her soak, and honey treatment yesterday she has been good, roughly 18 hours.

 

[azygous]

It's not a matter of timing. It's her behavior you need to pay attention to. A hen with an unresolved obstruction is miserable. She behaves in a way her misery is obvious. When the obstruction clears, she will behave as she normally behaves, whatever that is for her. When my hen is sick, it's very obvious to me because this hen and I have a close bond that becomes dulled when she isn't feeling well. I notice it immediately. Same for when she's back to normal. Trust your instincts to tell you when your hen is feeling better.