Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Prolapsed Oviduct

Slightly prolapsed vent
So yesterday I went out to the coop to do my daily egg collecting and checking over of the flock. As I was collecting the eggs I seen one of the hens was acting a little strange and when I picked her up I realized why. She had a prolapsed oviduct! When a hen gets a prolapsed oviduct she has done one of a few things that would make it so the lower part of her oviduct turns inside out and protrudes
  1. hens that begin laying too young and or are underweight
  2. eggs that are too large
  3. older hens that may be obese
  4. a calcium deficiency
  5. not pooping for a long period of time, causing stress and stretching of the cloaca 

Treatment:

Healthy Vent
A prolapsed oviduct is not lethal to the hen if it is treated fast otherwise it could be very deadly. When treating this condition you should always be wearing proper gear. This means you will need:
  1. Rubber gloves
  2. Safety goggles 
  3. safety mask
You will also need some Preparation H hemorrhoid cream to reduce swelling inside the vent. When you first notice that a hen has a prolapsed oviduct then you should:
  1. SEPARATE HER FROM THE FLOCK
  2. put her in a dark crate with food and water
  3. Put on your safety gear and get your cream ready
To cure the condition she has follow the following steps:
  1. Have a clock or stopwatch handy
  2. Hold her securely and slowly and gently slide the prolapsed tissue that is outside of the vent back inside the vent.
  3. After the tissue is inside the vent hold it there for about 5 minutes to make sure it is in place (this is what the clock is for)
  4. After the 5 minutes are up put the Preparation H hemorrhoid cream gently around the outside and just inside the vent to relax the tissue.
  5. Put the hen back in the dark crate for 24 hours to discourage laying.

What to do if it keeps sliding out:

If the tissue is still protruding from the vent after a few tries of the treatment above then you should resort to the chicken diaper. This is meant to keep the tissue in and have it so the hemorrhoid cream has time to do its job. You should have the following supplies on hand for this:
  1. A helper
  2. Preparation H hemorrhoid cream
  3. A dressing pad (gauze pad)
  4. Self adhesive tape (NO GLUE!)
  5. Rubber gloves

How to make the chicken diaper:

  1. have your helper hold the bird securely (if you don't have a helper don't freak out you can do it by yourself)
  2. Take the dressing pad (gauze pad) and put some Preparation H cream on it
  3. Take the gauze and hold it firmly against the vent while the protruding tissue is in the vent
  4. Take the self Adhesive tape and wrap it around the hens body but under the wings.
  5. Wrap around the middle of the body 2 times and then wrap up under the butt area and without including tail feathers wrap to the top of body.
  6. Do 2-3 times
Only put the diaper on at night and take it off as soon as you possibly can in the morning incase she lays an egg! I will add photos to this post as soon as I get some.

Good luck!

Cookie


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