The Poultry Keeper

Christine · Joined: 29 Mar 2008 Posts: 64 Location: somerset

good morning, could someone please advise me?

This morning, one of my norfolk greys had a very wet vent are, I bought her inside and cleaned her up, and noticed what looks like her insides popping out, she has a lump of soft tissue about the size of a marble by her vent, I cant see exactly if its directly in the middle of it.

She has always had a bit of trouble laying, she lets the whole world know about it, and her eggs has been torpedo shaped and blood stained lately, almost a though shes really pushing to get them out.

I did wonder if she'd strained so hard she had a prolapse! There was also a thin shelled egg in the roosting area this morning, not sure if this was hers or not.

Iv'e put her back with the other girls and she's understandably a bit subdued, but I would welcome advice as to what I should do with her, ie, let nature takes it's course or help her out.

Many thanks,

Christine

EGirl · Joined: 01 Nov 2007 Posts: 1119 Location: Dublin, Ireland

Hi Christine,

Poor hen! Sounds like a prolapse to me. The first thing I would do is to separate her from the others. If they decide they like the look of that soft tissue they will peck it. She's probably not feeling great anyway so some peace & quiet in a box or cage would probably help. I can't help with treatment for a prolapse, though a visit to the vet may well be all you can do. Keep checking she's not soiled herself and keep the area clean.

Hope this is of some help. Someone with more exp. will hopefully be along soon.

Good luck.

Christine · Joined: 29 Mar 2008 Posts: 64 Location: somerset

Thank you, glad I'm at home all day today to keep an eye on her.
Have been reading previous threads about prolapse, have to say it dosn't look too good!

Think i will get her inside with me, she can stay in a big box in the kitchen and have some rest and peace.

CP · Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 8:45 am Post subject:

Yes, isolate straight away or your other hens will cause her more damage.
We've not had a hen with a prolapse but I understand you have to try & push it back in! Shocked

Maybe a vet's visit would be easier! Embarassed

Kitsune · Joined: 13 Mar 2008 Posts: 1338 Location: Manchester

if you can restrict the light getting to her as well it will help as it will slow down the egg laying process - give her about 30 minutes of light morning and evening to eat, drink and everything else that she may not be doing in the dark and keep your fingers crossed!

Sometimes prolapses can only be treated with a couple of stitches at the vets, they can occasionally be treated at home though - if there is still flesh sticking out, lubricate a finger and push it back in (I recommend latex type gloves) if it insists on staying out then keep it lubricated so the tissue doesn't dry and start to die off, if it does stay inside then check her when you feed her and push it back if it's out again. If she does lay another egg you'll need to check and gently push it back inside more often.

It may actually be better to give her 15-30 minutes of light at intervals during the day too so she can eat/eliminate more often so poos wont be as big.

Hope you get a good result.

Christine · Joined: 29 Mar 2008 Posts: 64 Location: somerset

Thank you all of you,..............so I won't necessarily loose her? I hope not, that will be 2 girls in 5 months. I should'nt get attached to them I know, but they are all my babies.

I spoke to the vet and he said I should'nt waste my money on taking her, I wont tell you what he said then! Guess he has no idea of how to look after chickens.

Kitsune · Joined: 13 Mar 2008 Posts: 1338 Location: Manchester

a lot of vets only have experience with farm chickens, I don't think they quite understand that to a lot of people hens are more than just egg laying or meat producing machines.

I think as more people get backyard poultry and take them to the vets when they need it more vets will cotton onto the idea that chickens can be pets too.

If you can get some preparation H cream to put over the exposed flesh it will help everything shrink back inside. There is definitely hope for her, but if she does recover she'll be more likely to have it happen again in the future - definitely one to keep an eye on.

voodooslippers · Joined: 19 Feb 2008 Posts: 26 Location: Oxford

How is she? bless her. I have a copy of 'practical poultry' dealing with this (with some horrible pictures). It says to wash the prolapsed oviduct very gently with a clean cloth and water (while someone else holds her) then use your fingers (short nails and vaseline) to push the oviduct back in her. Apparently push it upwards for the oviduct as down the bottom of the abdomen is the digestive tract. Hope that helps.
It'll most likely pop out a few more times. Hope she survives.

Christine · Joined: 29 Mar 2008 Posts: 64 Location: somerset

An update for you all on my baby, I pushed her prolapse back in several times, and each time she pooped, out it came again. She was looking decidely fed up, and yesterday morning we did the deed.
We hung her in the shed, bled her, and last night we prepared her for the oven, and inside her there was one egg, but also 5 egg yolks all in her tube., bless her, no wonder she was having problems.
It was quite sad, but we both learnt a lot from doing it.
As she was primarily an egg bird, there isn't a great deal of meat on her, and come tea time tonight we will enjoy her with the respect she deserves.
I never thought I'd be able to eat one of my babies, but as I know what she has been fed, and how loved she was, I feel that this completes the full circle.

Having said that, I bought 4 more birds yesterday, 2 maran cuvees, one sussex rock, and a blue maran, they are all 18 weeks old, and we put them all in the new run last night, and they are getting on brilliantly, it was so lovely to see all 10 snuggled up in their cube last night.
The look on their faces this morning when I went to open the pop hole was a picture, they all just stood for a minute at the top of the ramp wondering where the heck they were!
Anyway, thanks all for the advice, really appreciated.

CP · Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 8:37 am Post subject:

That's a shame. Crying or Very sad

At least you did your best for her.

Good luck with the new youngsters & enjoy your meal! Wink

Bhindi · Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 7:06 pm Post subject:

Despite being a vegetarian, I love your ability to see through the full cycle as you say.. I don't remotely object to people eating meat that has been looked after well right up to the end. Saying that, I could never do it myself, but Ive had 40 + years as a veggie.

Christine · Joined: 29 Mar 2008 Posts: 64 Location: somerset

Bhindi I fully understand just where you're coming from, I never thought I could do it myself.....when my first girl died it took me ages to get over her, and the thought of eating them was just proposterous!

Anyway, we did have her at tea time, her legs were a bit tough as she was a year old, but her breast meat was very succulent and tasty, and afterwards we both said a little thank you to her.
I could never kill a bird purely for my dinner, as primarily they are my babies, we only ate this one because it seemed the logical step after the necessity to cull.

When it happens again I think we will complete the cycle with her fertilising the ground.

Bhindi, do you eat the eggs? I get so confused with some peoples versions of veggies, some say they eat nothing at all from an animal, some say its just the flesh they dont eat. I'm not a big meat eater at all, but I love my cheese, nuts and seeds., and of course my babies eggs!

Bhindi · Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 11:30 pm Post subject:

Yes I eat eggs, as they are a bi product, and milk, however I find the process of that one uncomfortable, I have toyed with the idea of being a vegan, but know that would limit my options even more. I am constantly embarrassed when dining out about the awkwardness of being a veggie, I couldn't cope with going even more extreme.

Teasal · Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 11:40 pm Post subject:

Sorry about your hen, but why waste it, when it was perfectly good to eat, and as you say, you knew exactly how it had lived.