vent problem?

[Ballerina Bird]

This morning my hen had her vent open and was trying to pass a stool but couldn't. I saw her sort of push a couple of times:







I was worried about her being blocked, so I took some wet paper towels and gently removed the stool. But even after I did that, her vent area didn't seem to close up like it would normally (you can see a little pink -- I had a hard time getting this pic):



She is behaving normally otherwise. I've never seen this before in either of my hens.

 

[Eggcessive]

She probably has a little prolapse from being constipated. This sounds gross, but take a rubber glove and lubricate it, then poke a finger inside 1-2 inches to try to push the pink tissue back in and clean out any stuck droppings. Also check for a stuck egg. Then I would give her a 1/2 tsp of caster oil, mineral oil, or molasses to hopefully stimulate her bowels. She may have eaten some grasses that have blocked her up, or she could be dehydrated. Make sure that she is drinking well (perhaps put more water bowls out) and a twice a week probiotic in the water may help.

 

[Ballerina Bird]

Thank you. Another chicken friend to whom I showed the pics said that her vent looks chewed on and therefore it's mites. So now I am not quite sure -- I did check her for mites about a week ago, taking her out in the middle of the night to look at her vent, and didn't see any, but it's possible that I missed them or didn't know what I was looking for. But I am not sure which of these two different explanations is most likely to be the one. If it's constipation, I wouldn't want to medicate unnecessarily, but if it's mites, I don't know if I should irritate her vent further. Perhaps the thing to do is watch her for 24 hours before taking any action either way?