Prolapse - possible injury too (GRAPHIC)

[MandS]

I didn't keep her in the dark! I now wish I had because she seemed to be ok this morning and because she'd laid two eggs yesterday, I assumed she was kind of safe. I've got the room dark for tomorrow. All blinds closed and towels put over the crate. I'll keep her dark for the time you suggest.

I'm pleased that the scab thing is something that should fall off. Your comments are very helpful but I'm still stressed. I feel like I'm fighting a battle I might not win.

Tomorrow, I'll get her into a bath and then ensure she's had the calcium tablets throughout the day. If it's 3, then I'll give one morning, afternoon and evening.

Again, Eggcesive, I'm grateful. One last question: should I wake her during the night to moisturise her prolapse - or is it better to let her rest? I'm just worrying about it drying out it becoming more covered in urates.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I didn't keep her in the dark! I now wish I had because she seemed to be ok this morning and because she'd laid two eggs yesterday, I assumed she was kind of safe. I've got the room dark for tomorrow. All blinds closed and towels put over the crate. I'll keep her dark for the time you suggest.

I'm pleased that the scab thing is something that should fall off. Your comments are very helpful but I'm still stressed. I feel like I'm fighting a battle I might not win.

Tomorrow, I'll get her into a bath and then ensure she's had the calcium tablets throughout the day. If it's 3, then I'll give one morning, afternoon and evening.

Again, Eggcesive, I'm grateful. One last question: should I wake her during the night to moisturise her prolapse - or is it better to let her rest? I'm just worrying about it drying out it becoming more covered in urates.

If you feel it's going to dry out in the night and you want to treat it, it won't hurt anything to apply more ointment/oil during the night.

 

[Chicken_Obsesser]

Good luck!! You got this!

 

[MandS]

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately by the time I received it, I'd gone to bed however, this morning, she has managed to do a fair bit of poop, about enough to fill a small cup (Cappuccino mug) easily. However, the urates have managed to coat everything again and it's solid, so I've bathed her with salt water and removed what I could, although it's really baked on. I've then covered everything in honey. The urates are effectively dripping out of her continually because she's unable to control it and it's not mixing, as it normally would, with her poop. It just means that there's this constant dripping of this stuff that sets like concrete continually and it's very difficult to stop it building up.

I've kept her in the dark, apart from using a torch to allow her to see water and her food. She's eaten heartily again and I was able to get the first of the calcium and vitamin D tablet down her.

I actually think if it were not for the urates it would look a bit better today and doesn't seem to be as protruding. That said, she does make that laying breathing noise that they make every time she tries to do a poop.

It's now my intention to bathe her every couple of hours to try and soften up this really hard coating. Each time I clean it up with salt water, I'm going to cover it with honey again.

Thank you again for all your support and help.

 

[Poppybutt]

My hen also recently prolapsed. She kept pecking at her own prolapse so I resorted to using a mask as a diaper/cover for her which also helped keep it moisturized. Of course, remember to change it frequently. I also had to deal with the “scabs” but they will eventually come off on their own if you moisturize her enough. I was afraid picking at it would tear the prolapse. I used triple antibiotic until the bleeding stopped, and continued with hydrocortisone and Vaseline for a week. I tried honey at first but realized Vaseline sticks better and longer, helping with the moisturizing.

Unfortunately, the prolapse couldn’t stay in even after a week of treatment. But once she was administered anti inflammatory medication, it stayed in after a day. A vet told me although hydrocortisone is an anti inflammatory, it might not be as efficient on chickens as it is on humans.

And definitely keep her in the dark to stop her from laying eggs, give her prolapse time to heal, best a month of not laying eggs.

 

[MandS]

Thank you.

We can't get triple antibiotic cream here in the UK. I managed to bring some back from my last US trip, but I'm running short now.

I've got some sudocreme - which is for nappy rash. That should help keep it moist and stop done of the irritation.

I'm bathing her every two hours unless it looks really bad and then will do it sooner.

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you get vaseline or Aquafor ointment there? Vaseline is pretty cheap, especially generic, and you could apply some to a pad or use the mask suggested by Poppybutt. The thickness makes it stay on. We have spray on olive oil and canola oil here in the US, and even one of those could be used for convenience. The Sudocreme may be fine, but it does have some alcohol in it which might dry her out. It has a lot of other ingredients. I would only soak her when her vent is soiled, or once a day. Then oil up the scab and prolapse. That is just my opinion, but you are the one who is there and knows best. She could have suffered some vent damage, since she is leaking urates, or it may be the prolapse. Can you give the whole dose of calcium to her once a day so that she can get the benefits at once? She can handle 600 mg all at once. Let us know how she is doing.

 

[MandS]

Thanks. Yes, I've been using vaseline but the prolapse is so wet (as in tissue wet) that it doesn't stick. I found Manila honey better. I'll try spraying her. It's nighttime that's the issue. That's when the urates stick and go hard.

Just to be clear, do you agree about the dosage? The tablets are 400mg calcium carbonate and 2.5ug of vitamin D. According to chatgpt, that requests to 160mg of actual calcium per tablet. So it suggests 3 tablets.

I don't want to overdose her but, yes I can give her it so I'm one go if that will help her.

She's 2.7kg (5.85 lbs) - so she's a fairly chunky bird. I've also given her some meloxocam this afternoon to help her be comfortable and not push as much. She's quite normal otherwise. Eating and drinking fine. I've weighed her poop (yes, I know but I was curious!) and she's done 85g (3 oz) so far. The biggest issue is this continual dripping of urates.

 

[Eggcessive]

A 5 pound hen can have 600 mg per day. 300-600 mg is the a average dose for most hens.

 

[MandS]

Yes, I suppose what I'm asking is do you go by the tablet content or the actual PPE calcium that would provide? The difference is that it's 1.5 tablets of the former and 3 of the latter.