Emergency- hen abdomen is split open with internal part hanging out.

[bobbi-j]

The difference between treating a new chick for a rupture and this hen is bacterial load, a "clean" wound, and length of time the intestine is outside the body, and how much damage the intestine has. I am not familiar with this chick with the protruding intestine you speak of, but it's a safe bet the chick probably wasn't free ranging amongst an adult flock that may have injured the wound, further contaminating it and worsening it.

You can't just stick her intestine back inside and glue the wound shut. She would be dead from infection within 24 hours.

Here's what it would take to fix this hen, and a vet clinic would need to do it. Fully irrigating and cleansing the abdominal cavity of bacteria, isolating and repairing any tears in the intestine. Closing the wound enough to keep the intestines inside but not so completely that bacterial laden fluids can't drain. IV antibiotics and nutrients to stabilize the hen and coax her body to fight the infection. Most vets would advise euthanasia, but some might be happy to charge you hundreds of dollars to try to treat her and ultimately euthanizing her.

I agree with this. Animals will sometimes wander off to die. I think that’s what your hen was trying to do when she went away from the coop instead of going in to roost. At this point, I think the kindest thing you could do for her is to end her suffering.

 

[Aspiringfarmlady]

Thank you everyone. I went to check on her this morning and she had passed away. She was free ranging yesterday afternoon. And the split must have been gradually opening throughout the day and she couldn’t make it back to roost at night. i tucked her in an isolated coop and she passed away sometime in the night.

 

[Weeg]

Thank you everyone. I went to check on her this morning and she had passed away. She was free ranging yesterday afternoon. And the split must have been gradually opening throughout the day and she couldn’t make it back to roost at night. i tucked her in an isolated coop and she passed away sometime in the night.

I'm so sorry for your loss.

 

[Eggcessive]

So sorry that you lost her. Do you know how the opening under the abdomen occurred? I have read some threads where the abdomen had a hernia that eventually opened up. A pecking injury could also be a reason for this happening. Hens can develop an enlarged lower belly from internal laying or ascites. In hot summer weather where flystrike can occur, that can also be another way that dehiscence could occur.

 

[Aspiringfarmlady]

So sorry that you lost her. Do you know how the opening under the abdomen occurred? I have read some threads where the abdomen had a hernia that eventually opened up. A pecking injury could also be a reason for this happening. Hens can develop an enlarged lower belly from internal laying or ascites. In hot summer weather where flystrike can occur, that can also be another way that dehiscence could occur.

She was only two years old. But she had a history of getting egg bound. I had to soak her before to relive this pressure. she was also very large. Much larger than the others in the flock and I suspect she was a “meat chicken” or poorly breed to be extra large. I think the internal issue created so much pressure that it eventually split. And although she was ok enough in the morning (to hop up out of coop and free range throughout the day) she eventually split open and as she scratched and foraged around the yard that day, the intestines came out as the hole grew larger.

 

[Miss Lydia]

So very sorry

 

[NatJ]

I went to check on her this morning and she had passed away.

Thank you for the update
Even though it's a sad update

 

[BeckyHP]

This just happened to our Americana chicken. She had a random hole open (not her vent) and her intestines were coming out of that hole. I tried to wash her, disinfect it and push them back in, obviously it didn't work. She lived the next day and was eating/drinking but looked absolutely miserable and in pain. My husband put her down. Chickens only have 1 bad day. He said she was filled with Liquids so im thinking there was a blockage in the intestines and there was so much pressure they started being pushed out an exsisting wound.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

This just happened to our Americana chicken. She had a random hole open (not her vent) and her intestines were coming out of that hole. I tried to wash her, disinfect it and push them back in, obviously it didn't work. She lived the next day and was eating/drinking but looked absolutely miserable and in pain. My husband put her down. Chickens only have 1 bad day. He said she was filled with Liquids so im thinking there was a blockage in the intestines and there was so much pressure they started being pushed out an exsisting wound.

Welcome To BYC

I'm sorry to hear about your hen. Thank you for sharing your experience.

 

[Eggcessive]

Very sorry for your loss. I usually do a necropsy on hens that die, just to check the abdominal organs for what might have been wrong. It sounds like she may have suffered a peck wound or injury, and could have caused dehiscence of her organs. Sometimes in warm weather, fly strike may occur and a wound can open. Also she could have become injured on something sharp, and the others may have been attracted to it, pulling out the intestines.