Decision Time for Lilly: Prolapsed Vent

[Lilly16]

I am 8 days in treating Lilly for prolapsed vent with Calcium plus Vt D, epsom salt soaks, confinement in a crate
(indoors) very little change. No more bloody discharge. laid two eggs in captivity. Cage covered most of the time. alert. At this point, the vet has said put her down, without seeing her, but in conversation. If her cloaca is still protruding at this point, she won't heal in your opinions? I have had chickens for years, but this is a first for me. I have not tried preparation H, I will do that. She is a good hen, and chats with. me when I let her see daylight lol. That is the last thing I have seen to try. What does the community think about her chances at this point?

 

[Rose the Legbar]

@Wyorp Rock @azygous @Eggcessive

 

[Lilly16]

@Wyorp Rock @azygous @Eggcessive

 

[azygous]

Does she have a constant watery drip from her vent that smells acrid and very unpleasant? What is her behavior? Is she eating at all? Does she act sleepy and weak? Have you seen anything like normal poop from her? How much calcium are you giving her each day?

It's been my experience that while the vent remains prolapsed, there is still material obstructing her oviduct. Have you considered tube feeding her to bring up her energy levels and improve organ function?

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you post a picture of her vent prolapse? I haven’t had a hen prolapse, but many here have had prolapses stay out for a week or more. Have you ever been able to get the prolapse back? Just keep the pink prolapse tissue from drying out with ointment or honey. Honey or sugar water paste can help shrink tissue.

 

[Lilly16]

Update on Stella:
1. Today, for the first time since discovery of the prolapse, it is retracted. Bulging some, but in.
2. Her initial treatment plan was epsom salt daily soaks and cleaning the vent area, spraying on a antimicrobial/antifungal poultry wound spray.
3. I added crushed the equate citrical equivalent in scrambled eggs later, but decided that was too indirect. The person whose thread read, apply it directly down the throat, these birds eat rocks, both amused and informed me. I began doing that 3 days ago.
4. I decided, against the advice of The Chicken Chick blogpost on prolapses, to use Preparation H. Literally 2 days in with that and the whole calcium tab life has changed. She has been having some regular poops, mostly in the soak, but today, in her crate. She continues to have the yellowy runny kind that indicates she is compromised, but that has greatly decreased. I do not palpate any blockage internally or externally, and in the last 5 days she has laid 2 perfect eggs with improved shell quality and no blood or poop on them.
5. If this holds, I think we have turned the corner. I will attach a photo when I take the wet newspapers of out her cage from the drip dry process.
Thank you for your interest!

 

[Lilly16]

Update on Stella:
1. Today, for the first time since discovery of the prolapse, it is retracted. Bulging some, but in.
2. Her initial treatment plan was epsom salt daily soaks and cleaning the vent area, spraying on a antimicrobial/antifungal poultry wound spray.
3. I added crushed the equate citrical equivalent in scrambled eggs later, but decided that was too indirect. The person whose thread read, apply it directly down the throat, these birds eat rocks, both amused and informed me. I began doing that 3 days ago.
4. I decided, against the advice of The Chicken Chick blogpost on prolapses, to use Preparation H. Literally 2 days in with that and the whole calcium tab life has changed. She has been having some regular poops, mostly in the soak, but today, in her crate. She continues to have the yellowy runny kind that indicates she is compromised, but that has greatly decreased. I do not palpate any blockage internally or externally, and in the last 5 days she has laid 2 perfect eggs with improved shell quality and no blood or poop on them.
5. If this holds, I think we have turned the corner. I will attach a photo when I take the wet newspapers of out her cage from the drip dry process.

6. Adding this reply, she acted withdrawn and like she didn't feel well, but keeping upright, etc. when I brought her indoors for treatment. She was never "down". But her alertness and posture has increased quite a bit in the last 3 days. She sort of crows in the morning if I have not soaked and fed her. I will say she hasn't eaten much but that is not a surprise. I keep her covered about 18 hours a day, that seems to be suggested multiple places, but I was not uncovering her to light that much last week, and I think that has helped as she has improved.

Thank you for your interest!

 

[Eggcessive]

It sounds like she is on the road to recovery. Do you know what breed she is? There is always a chance that she may suffer another prolapse someday, but hopefully not. When you keep them in the dark for 16 hours a day to get them to stop laying, they may take 3-4 days to respond. Then when they stop laying it can take 1-3 weeks to start laying again once the daylight hours are increased.