Prolapse - possible injury too (GRAPHIC)

[MandS]

This morning Luna laid her egg. She's funny because she makes the little chirping noise they make when you give them treats! She laid an egg as normal.

Later this afternoon, my daughter said "one of the chickens had a very dirty butt" and on checking, she had been dust bathing and was covered in baked on dust, however, I could also see a large protrusion which was clearly a prolapse.

I cleaned her up and I noticed that although there's the red protrusion there was also very dark almost hemorrhaged protrusion to the side which is where her poop would come out.

I bathed her to clean her properly and she laid a soft shelled egg as I did so. This is her second egg of the day - so my guess is that it is tomorrow's egg delivered early because her body is telling her that something needs to come out.

I put triple antiseptic ointment on the prolapse and some lubrication and pushed it back in. Unfortunately, each time she tries to poop it comes out and I've separated her from the other chickens because they seem to be rather interested in what's going on about her backside.

I've now put Vaseline on it and if I just hold my hand on the protrusion she squeezes and then manages to suck it back in herself but unless I have my hand over it, it won't go back in itself.

I just want to show a picture to ask what people's thoughts are on how serious this is and whether this will recover. I have had a chicken about 8 years ago who prolapsed and I managed to sort that out. Fine doing just what I'm doing now, but this one seems a bit more aggravated.

It's the not on the right that is the darker bit - not the scale stuff on it (which doesn't come off) but the dark red on the right of the vent. It is much darker in real life.

 

[Chicken_Obsesser]

@Eggcessive @Wyorp Rock

 

[Eggcessive]

Yes, it is a prolapse and it is good to keep her separated in a wire dog crate with food and water so the others cannot peck and injure her vent. Keep it moist with honey, sugar, vaseline, hydrocortisone cream, or other oil. It should not dry out since that can damage the tissue. It can days to a week to stay inside. She probably had an egg stuck and then the second egg came just behind it. A human calcium tablet 300-600 mg or Tums might help.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Yes, it is a prolapse and it is good to keep her separated in a wire dog crate with food and water so the others cannot peck and injure her vent. Keep it moist with honey, sugar, vaseline, hydrocortisone cream, or other oil. It should not dry out since that can damage the tissue. It can days to a week to stay inside. She probably had an egg stuck and then the second egg came just behind it. A human calcium tablet 300-600 mg or Tums might help.

 

[MandS]

Thanks for the replies.

She has had a quiet night. Boy, can that chicken poop! She's done lots of poop and I'm relieved that her prolapse is nowhere to be seen.

I'll keep her separated today and see how she gets on. She's eaten heartily this morning. I've kept her in a dog crate overnight but I've a whole run at the moment that is chicken-less, so she can go in there on her own, just in case it pops out again and the others go for it.

I've not given any calcium yet. I've got some I can give her (Tums).

Thanks again. I'll report back in due course.

 

[Eggcessive]

She probably could not poop with 2 back to back eggs, the second being soft shelled. She really needs the calcium to make her shells hard and to help with muscle contraction. Calcium citrate with D is ideal, but at least give her calcium, and it could be given for up to 7 days, or until her shells are normal.

 

[MandS]

Thanks again.

She prolapsed again this morning. I've bathed it with salt water, out vaseline and honey on it but it kept coming out.

This afternoon it's gone back in on its own but I am a bit worried by what looks like dried poop (it isn't, it's like a coating of urates on the flesh). Any ideas? I've not picked it off in case it's a scab or some kind of healing.

 

[MandS]

Alas, I cannot get it to stay in. Each time I do, she strains and it comes out. The white stuff is like the really gritty stuff that you can get on their feathers when they have a dirty butt. I've soaked quite a lot off but it is crusty.

I think the thing on the left is her ovipositor - and she's straining a lot. She laid another soft shelled egg this afternoon. Amazing because she laid two eggs yesterday - a normal one and then a soft one. I presumed that was today's but obviously not.

I also gave her calcium with vitamin D as suggested The tablets are 400mg calcium carbonate and 2.5ug of D. According to chatgpt, I should give 3 tablets a day because it's 500g of calcium that is allowed and each tablet equates to about 160g of actual calcium. I hope it's right. I've given half a tums earlier and then one of these combined ones this evening.

The white stuff is urates. I'm sure of it. It's formed a hard layer on part of the prolapse and when I push it back in, I can still feel it, like a stone or hard surface. I've soaked a lot off but it's continually dropping issues on top of stuck urates, so it's not properly coming clean.

I'm actually quite stressed about this tonight. She's settled down for the night and eaten before bed with her usual gusto but the prolapse is sticking out tonight, whereas last night it wasn't. I cannot get out to stay in.

I don't know if I should wake her up in the middle of the night to ensure it's not dried out?

I'm hoping this is not a hopeless cause. I've lost 3 hens this year already (each a different issue) and I've only got 5 left now. I've never lost so many in such a short space of time. I know they are ex batts but this seems very unlucky.

I'm definitely stressed. I can feel it!

 

[Chicken_Obsesser]

@Wyorp Rock @azygous

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry this is worrying you so much. They usually don’t keep laying eggs as often with a prolapse. Her prolapse keeps popping out because of the eggs. Soft eggs are more difficult to lay. Calcium 300-600 mg is fine every 24 hours. It doesn’t have to be exact. The scab on her prolapse is fairly common, and it will eventually fall off. The daily soaks are good to do when she poops, to keep it clean. Just do the best you can to keep some ointment on the prolapse. How bright is the room she is in? It can take a few days to stop them from laying, but if you cover their crate or keep them in the dark 16 hours a day, they can stop laying. I sure hope that she survives this. Most do, but some don’t.