Treating a Prolapse Vent

 I'll include the story at the bottom. I know when facing an emergency with our chickens we need the information immediately.

Penguin Stance from PoultryDVM.com

Prolapse Symptoms:

• Penguin Stance
• Puffed Up
• Visible Prolapse from vent
• Bleeding from Vent
  
• Lethargic Behavior
• Poop stuck in prolapse

Supplies

• Tub
• Epsom Salts
• Preparation H
• Vetercyin
• Gloves
• Vaseline
• Tums

Fill your tub up with warm water. Add Epsom salts.

You want your hen to be able to float so that the prolapse can stay moist.

Soak about 30 minutes.

If poop stuck in prolapse, soak and get the poop out. This is painful to the hen, it's better to soak with the poop so it breaks up.

Once out of tub, cover hen's head with a towel. You want her to be quiet.

Clean prolapse with Vetercyin or an antibiotic ointment (do not use the pain relief types). Use the Vaseline to push the prolapse back in. 

Cover the vent with Preparation H to help with swelling.

Keep the vent moist with Preparation H/Vaseline.

Keep the hen in a dark and quiet place. 

Feed 1/4 Tums to help with contractions in case hen is egg bound. 

This might have to be done several times. If the prolapse isn't staying in, you may need a vet to put a stitch in the vent to hold it in. 

Prolapse after she pooped

Story:

I walked out to Camilla being very quiet in the run. She's normally cussing up a storm. It was a nice and warm day, around 70 F. Camilla was standing weird in a corner of the run. Lethargic and looking like a penguin, she refused any treats. I said a few swears and prayers in my head and instantly thought egg bound. When she turned slightly, that's when I saw the vent prolapse. 

I immediately called my husband who began to gather all of the supplies and run a bath. I was shaking and terrified. Camilla is my smallest hen. When she was a baby she was almost a failure to thrive. She's the size of a bantam hen and lays large eggs. 

We soaked her in a tub. Her vent had a large hard poop in it. Which is not uncommon. I had to soak her to get that soft enough for her to pass it. Touching her vent was painful to her and I avoided touching it as much as possible. Sometimes chickens poop out parts of a soft shelled egg or an egg that broke inside. 

Needless to say,  I was terrified and thank God for Mel (@wilmathewonderhen ) and Shalane (@chickennoodleandco). While my husband was working hard to keep me calm, he didn't have the experience. However, he trusted my research and my friends from the chicken community. 

Soaking in Epsom Salt Bath

Camilla passed her poop and we moved her to another tub that had warm water and Epsom salts in it. We covered the top of the tub with a towel and she floated for about 30 minutes. When we got her out, we kept her head covered and kept the lights off. I cleaned her vent with Vetercyin. After that I put the preparation H on her. Using gloves and being VERY gentle, I pushed her prolapse back in. Let me tell you...if you had asked me a year ago if I would be sticking a finger into my chicken's hole...I just never thought I'd be getting this personal with my birds. 

Camilla enjoyed getting her feathers blow dried. After she was dry, I reapplied the preparation h and had to push the prolapse back in again, as it had started to

Enjoying a blow dry on BC's lap

come back out. The swelling had gone down though. We took Camilla into our living room and watched Star Trek The Next Generation. Now, obviously you don't have to watch TNG with your chook to help with a prolapse. Camilla wanted to walk around and started not only eating and drinking, but pooped a huge healthy poop.

After all of these positive signs, she sat quietly on my lap and then started nesting. She really wanted to lay an egg. I crushed up a 1/4 of a tums and she pecked at it. I had my med tent up and put her in. She laid an egg that was covered in calcium after about an hour. She went back to eating and drinking. I brought in a friend who had broke her beak earlier in the day. (I swear these girls are out to give me a heart attack!) The next day I saw that she was still protruding a bit, so more preparation H on her vent. 

The big thing is to keep your hen quiet, away from the flock (they will peck and then have a cannibalistic moment when they see blood). Keep the vent moist and keep giving calcium to help with contractions. It may take a day, it may take a few days. I hope my story helps. 

Left: normal egg
Right: Egg after prolapse

Resources:

Gail Damerow's Chicken Health Handbook

PoultryDVM

Got Chicks? Simple Advice for the New Chicken Tender!

 When I first considered the idea of chickens, I put in so much research. Hours upon hours of searching google, reading books, reading blogs, reading Facebook groups. It was too much. 

There is so much to learn about chicks and chickens and everyone has an opinion. Here's a fact for you. Until you actually have the chicks in front of you, you honestly will know nothing. So here's a few things to keep in mind.

1.Laws and Regulations-

Know your laws and ordinances. Don't have contraband chickens. It wrecks it for the law abiding citizen. Check your HOA, your city, your county, and your state laws. Ignorance will be no excuse in the long run. If you aren't allowed roosters, this will help you pick your chicken breeds. If you aren't allowed roosters, you need a plan for them if you choose to get a breed that might risk having one.

2. The Brooder- 

I used a dog crate. Some people use boxes, some people use plastic tubs (be careful with these as they can bother a chick's respiratory functions with hot plastic). If I was to do it again I would definitely change some things. I'd get a bigger brooder. When the girls were 8 weeks...they were too big for the space they were in. I'm lucky, they got along great! But bigger is better. 

Heat Source-I used a heat lamp. I know shame shame. There's nothing wrong with using a heat lamp as long as you are aware of it and pay attention to it at all times. I was home due to covid. I was in the bathroom where the chicks were growing all the time, just staring at the chicks. I was well aware of the heat lamp. I would probably do a brooder plate next go around though. 

Bedding- I used pine shavings. I highly recommend this. They stay warm, the chicks can dig and play in them and have enough traction to avoid splay legs. I don't recommend sand for chicks. They will need to be cleaned constantly and sand is a real hassle to clean inside. Please don't use newspaper or paper towels. You can get leg issues this way due to lack of traction. Also newspaper is gross when pooped on and paper towels are so expensive (and hard to find still!)

2. Feed

Medicated feed verses Unmedicated feed- 

If your chicks were vaccinated for coccidiosis, you don't need to feed them medicated feed. Medicated feed can cause them to lose the immunity from their vaccine. If they weren't vaccinated, you can go for medicated feed. If you have a hen with your chicks, you will want to use a flock raiser or all flock feed with oyster shells on the side. Hens should not have medicated chick feed. 

Grit-chicks don't need grit if being fed chick starter. You don't really need grit until they are starting to peck at grass and eating things other than their feed. 

3. Vaccines and Biosecurity

    Please if you have the option, get your chicks vaccinated for Marek's. They have to be vaccinated for     this in the first 48 hours of life. 

    Everyone, and I mean everyone, will want to come by and see those tiny peeps. Be aware of                 biosecurity. Be paranoid. Don't allow people to wear the clothes and shoes they've had on in a farm        store around your chicks. Make sure there is plenty of handwashing. 

    

4. Resources

    Buy the following books (I've included links to our Amazon Storefront)

    Gail Damerow's Chicken Health Handbook

    The Chicken Chick's Guide to Backyard Chickens

    Wilma The Wonder Hen's Podcast 

    Join our Instagram Chicken Community. There are a lot of us out there willing to help and give solid advice.