PEAHENS PROLAPSE AND SUDDEN DEATH

[SilveryMoon888]

Hello Bird People,
I brought a young peahen home yesterday.
She was in a blanket on my lap, and she peed on my lap, quite heavily.
When I put her in her new pen, the other peahen welcomed her like a sister. Later she was roosting alongside a new guinea member to the pen, the older peahen and two chickens.
In the morning I found her on the floor, her eyes moved. I wrapped her up and started towards the house; I could feel her trembling. She let out a cry, then silence; she did not make it.
It was such a sad event, and I am still reeling over it.
On examining her, I noticed that the blanket that I wrapped her in was wet, with yellow urine.
I continued to check her, and it looked like she had been on one side for a while, because of all the organic matter (mulch) on her feathers, on that side. I then found that she had a protruding anus/vagina ...
Have a look at the pics, and PLEASE let me have your thoughts on what happened to her. Apologies for the graphics : (
Thank you : )

 

[Debbie292d]

I'm so sorry for your loss.

I would contact where you got your peahen from as it was obviously sick when you got it. They don't urinate separately from their feces; they are mixed, so when you got it, and it had only dark yellow liquid urates coming out, it perhaps had a liver disease, but unless you sent it for a necropsy, it would be hard to know for sure.

Was it old enough to be laying eggs? Usually prolapsed vents occur over an egg laying issue, but also could be from unbalanced diets, the latter again to which whoever had this bird before would be responsible for.

Since you didn't quarantine, I'd keep a close eye on your other poultry in case it was something communicable like salmonella.

 

[SilveryMoon888]

Dear Debbie,
Your response makes the most sense so far. My nitial thought was that because she "peed" quite heavily on my lap (she was blanketed and I held her all the way home), this was pre-existing. I then accepted the explanation from the seller, that "a prolapse occurs quickly and due to stressful conditions". I also read that someone on this forum had a duck die suddenly from prolapse, and with no explanation. I guess it is possible that the additional stress of transportation, and her new environment (other types of birds in the pen, guineas and hens), could have brought her "condition" to a head? I also thought that the peahen must have been "fragile" because I have transported a male and female over an 8 to 9 hour trip in a box on two occasions (when I bought them and then 3 years later when we moved home); they are very healthy still. It does sound like a pre-existing condition, because she "peed" on me, and as you explain, there should have been poo with the pee and there was not. The other thing, the next morning when I wrapped her in a blanket and brought her inside, the bright yellow "pee" (seen on the blanket) was most likely puss from infection. Any added stress could have brought things to a head, as she did not last very long, and died the next morning (it seems), as I had seen her roosted with the others that same evening that I brought her home. Thanks again, and I believe that I should be sending this response to the seller, as his menagorie could be at risk (as well as mine : (

 

[KsKingBee]

Most prolapsed vents are caused by a stuck egg and is seen at the beginning of the laying season. During that condition the vent is blocked by the egg and the bird can not pass urine or poo. The bright yellow 'pee' could have been a mixture of egg yolk and white. A broken egg in a vent without removal will kill a hen in a short amount of time.

 

[SilveryMoon888]

Most prolapsed vents are caused by a stuck egg and is seen at the beginning of the laying season. During that condition the vent is blocked by the egg and the bird can not pass urine or poo. The bright yellow 'pee' could have been a mixture of egg yolk and white. A broken egg in a vent without removal will kill a hen in a short amount of time.

Now that makes so much sense, thank you for your input : ) xx