# Gory vent photo, what the heck is going on?? treatment?



## littleheathens (Apr 27, 2019)

My daughter found this older (almost 3?) Red Star today. I've never seen anything like this. What do you think? She's up and about, maybe a little slow but you wouldn't know she was struggling if you didn't lift her tail feathers. Her comb is a little pale, but not much different than the other girls. She's eating and drinking. Is it prolapse? What can I do for her? We are about to get really cold weather, which might be a turning point for her.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Oh no. It looks terrible. Unfortunately I don't know much about chicken medical problems.


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## MadHouse (Oct 3, 2019)

That’s a prolapse. Seperate her immediately so the others don’t peck at it, that would be the worst.
Bathe in warm epsom salt water, put honey on it and carefully try to push it back in. If it doesn’t stay in, keep her separated and bathe her 3-4 times a day, put honey on and dry her wih a blow dryer.
Good luck
I just went throuh this, and it took 5 days. The girl is fine now.


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## Sfgwife (Feb 18, 2018)

littleheathens said:


> My daughter found this older (almost 3?) Red Star today. I've never seen anything like this. What do you think? She's up and about, maybe a little slow but you wouldn't know she was struggling if you didn't lift her tail feathers. Her comb is a little pale, but not much different than the other girls. She's eating and drinking. Is it prolapse? What can I do for her? We are about to get really cold weather, which might be a turning point for her.


What madhouse said and also keep her in a dark spot or keep a towel over the crate. You do not want her makin eggs right now. The decreased light will help.


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## MadHouse (Oct 3, 2019)

Sfgwife said:


> What madhouse said and also keep her in a dark spot or keep a towel over the crate. You do not want her makin eggs right now. The decreased light will help.


Yes, and also small food rations, so she doesnpoop at much. Pooping hurts her probably right now.


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## littleheathens (Apr 27, 2019)

Thanks! I wondered about honey, blue kote, or a healing salve. I'll clean her and start with honey. She's tucked away with only fresh water for a while.


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## MadHouse (Oct 3, 2019)

I would stay away from bluekote, as it is internal tissue. When I blow dried mine after a wash, I would cover the prolapse area with a little cloth, so it wouldn’t dry out.
What happened was a part of turned black and came off bit by bit with each wash. Then one day she had pulled it back inside.


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## Sfgwife (Feb 18, 2018)

littleheathens said:


> Thanks! I wondered about honey, blue kote, or a healing salve. I'll clean her and start with honey. She's tucked away with only fresh water for a while.


Some people also use preparation h for hemerroids on them. She does need food for energy....


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## Aprilszoo (Mar 31, 2014)

So I know this is a few weeks old but I had already typed up my response before I noticed the date on the last post... so I thought I'd go ahead & post it anyway for anyone who comes along later having a similar issue. (thumbup)
Btw [email protected] inquiring minds want to know: how did things go for your gal?

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First with a prolapse, you should lube up a finger and feel inside to see if she's eggbound- you may have to reach pretty far in there ... hope you've got long fingers.  If she's periodically contracting, you'll want to feel during the contracting, in case it's only 'feelable' during the contractions. Do this even if you are "certain" the hen laid that day, unless you physically saw her lay only a few hours before. You can't assume she laid based on # of eggs or # of colored eggs, etc. Even if she's your only blue/green/brown/whatever layer, you still should have a feel, because an egg could've still gotten stuck if it's been more than a few hours. Every so often a hen will lay an extra egg during a given day, too, so you can't ever be sure.

If there is no egg, a "spa day" - aka sitz bath or epsom salt soak- and then just some sugar, honey, or prep H ointment, and 1/2 to a whole aspirin, might make it able to be pushed back in. Unfortunately, unlike with other animals that prolapse, you can't put a stitch across the area to prevent another prolapse, because they still need to be able to lay. So she may, or may not re-prolapse...

If she is eggbound, I won't lie- it's not good ... you'll have to make a decision as to whether to attempt to help her or to cull her. It's cruel to leave her eggbound, as it will kill her eventually, but it will be a long, painful death. Many older hens who've become eggbound once, will continue to have problems... but sometimes it's just a glitch and they surprise you.

So, in my mind, it can be worth a try at least. If that's what you decide to do, you'll need:

quite a bit of Vaseline (petroleum jelly) 
Preparation H or generic hemorrhoid ointment (optional but highly recommended) & possibly suppositories - I recommend the big tube, you'll use plenty... & it's good to keep in the animal first aid kit anyway. 
Epsom salts

and a dishpan or shallow tub for birdie sitz baths. 
Then follow these steps:

Put a fairly thick layer of Vaseline on the swollen area, to protect it from the salt water which could sting. (and that's all you need- a stinging, flapping chicken going nuts flailing & flinging salty water everywhere... oh yeah that sounds fun...)

Next let her have a good 20-30 minute soak in very warm epsom salt water (keep in mind that a chicken's normal body temp is +104-105°F ... so you'll want it a bit warmer than that)
After her "spa treatment", dry her off well, removing most of the Vaseline (if you have the Prep H), then wrap her firmly in the towel- she is not going to appreciate the next step AT ALL!

Apply lots of the Preparation H, especially up inside the vent. (Be generous! That said, it does spread farther than you might think...).
Alternatively, if you don't have prep H, apply more Vaseline, inside & out.
Try to very, very gently slide your finger alongside the egg just a bit- did I say gently?- to lube that area with the ointment (This is the part she probably will NOT appreciate! No surprise, I mean, would you?:ahh If the egg is too far inside, and you don't have a long-fingered helper, do your best... or get some prep H suppositories, which are designed to melt and spread past stuck, umm, "things")
Pet her & love her... then put her in a pet crate or box lined with a clean towel (or shredded paper or puppy pads) in a quiet, dimly lighted (but not completely dark) room. It shouldn't be any darker than her nest box area normally is. You don't want her to sleep, she needs to get busy laying that egg! 
Make sure she has water-pref w/electrolytes- & food.

Let her rest for a while. Keep kiddos away, so she's not excited or scared. (Or looking for treats)
Repeat the above 3 or 4 x in the next 24 hours... if she's made no progress by then, you really can't do more for her after that on your own... you'll need to either take her to a vet, or cull her. 

If she *is* making progress but is just not quite there yet, and assuming she still isn't acting particularly ill, you can:

try using preparation H if you haven't been... it really does shrink tissues. Or if you couldn't quite reach before, try again to lube around the egg better.
Put a heating pad or hot water bottle under the towel or puppy pad to relax things a little more.

Give 1/2 - 1 aspirin to further reduce swelling & inflammation (You can do this to start if you want to...) You can give aspirin 1x/day... but if she goes more than 24 hours, repeating aspirin won't likely help more. 

I think that's everything- I hope it helps someone. Good luck! :squish:


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## littleheathens (Apr 27, 2019)

That is incredibly helpful! Thank you. Between a major home renovation about to start, insanely cold weather and quadruplet kids, we decided we couldn't manage the care she needed. We did a quick version Day 1 and she was worse Day 2 so we culled her. She was an older factory hen so it's likely it would have been recurring.


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## Aprilszoo (Mar 31, 2014)

littleheathens said:


> That is incredibly helpful! Thank you. Between a major home renovation about to start, insanely cold weather and quadruplet kids, we decided we couldn't manage the care she needed. We did a quick version Day 1 and she was worse Day 2 so we culled her. She was an older factory hen so it's likely it would have been recurring.


You bet... 
Sometimes it's better to acknowledge that not everyone can be saved. The time, effort & expense are sometimes best placed elsewhere- it sounds like you were at that point. Sorry you lost her, though.


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