Prolapsed Chicken Wasn’t on the Schedule
Owning chickens means being prepared for things and having knowledge about things that can happen when you least expect them. A prolapsed chicken can happen at any time, but you can treat your chicken at home without much difficulty.
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Prolapsed Chicken Wasn't on the Schedule
But this morning as we were getting ready to head out the door to homeschool group we had a wreck thrown in our plans. A chicken with a prolapse.
Like come on? Actually backing it up a little, the chickens ate our eggs this morning, which I wanted to collect to put in my new incubator. Which is when we found some blood and then a prolapse.
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The hen in question is a spicy little thing. She puts the big rooster in his place multiple times a day. Have you ever dealt with a prolapse? In case you haven't I'll tell you what has worked for us in the past and today. ( We have now dealt with it 3 times in the 3 years we have had chickens.)
Steps to Treating A Prolapsed Chicken:
- Grab her and sprinkle some white granular sugar on the prolapse and put her in a quiet, dark space. Leave her be for about 10 minutes.
- white granular sugar reduces swelling
- Warm Epsom salt soak for 10 minutes. Some birds are completely chill during this, this hen was not.
- Now comes trying to push it back in. Apply some Preparation H if you have it, the first time, we did not, so it is not necessary. Slowly, carefully apply pressure on the prolapse to move it back into her body.
- Once it is back in, hold your hand against her vent for a few minutes if possible. She is going to try and push it back out, it's natural and after a few minutes, it should stay put.
Leave your hen in a quiet, dark space. Give her some grower feed if possible, water for sure. You want a quiet dark place, because you want to discourage egg-laying.
She may prolapse again when she lays her next egg. She may prolapse again down the road, or never again. Just be sure to keep an eye on her, and the rest of your flock.
What Causes A Prolapsed Chicken?
Large eggs, similar to double-yolkers, have the potential to exert excessive strain on hens, leading to the expulsion of a greater amount of inner lining than usual. When hens consistently lay large eggs and experience strain, the muscles in their cloaca can become stretched, particularly as they age.
The occurrence of prolapse is more frequent during peak production periods and times when egg mass is at its highest, as these periods impose a significant metabolic burden on birds.
Our experience has been: newer layer, a hen that lays a larger egg, and this last one… I'm not sure. She was a very calm girl so it leads me to think she is only a couple years old.
Things like this are why I keep an eye on my birds. Responsible pet ownership is important. As well as a lack of veterinarian care in the area for cats and dogs let alone chickens.
