heggis Posted Monday at 01:01 PM Share Posted Monday at 01:01 PM Hello! My two-year-old hybrid Harriet has a prolapsed vent. I am trying to treat it but I think I'm getting it wrong. I have separated her from the other hens, although she is still outside. I have been washing her vent with salty water and rubbing Manuka honey into the prolapse and around the vent, this is quite messy... I've also given her the odd squirt with Gentian Violet. The prolapse is about the size of a walnut, pink and not bloody. Harriet is very happy and eating and drinking normally. She doesn't like the washing and the honey though. I have been doing this for seven days now. Today I tried pushing the prolapse back in but it came out again after a few minutes so I left it. My husband thinks I should leave her alone now and her body will heal itself if it can. Is he right? Is there something else I should be doing? I am in Belgium and there aren't any vets near me who seem to know much about treating chickens (they are kept here for their eggs not for pets). Thank you for any advice you can give me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted Tuesday at 05:46 AM Share Posted Tuesday at 05:46 AM The Manuka honey acts as a lubricant and an anti-bacterial and that's what we use. I wouldn't bother with the salt water now because it may wash the honey off. The most important thing is to push the prolapse back in and hold it there for as long as you can. This means leaving your finger in the vent for a while, moving it around to get the prolapse back into its original position. It may come out again, usually when she poos, so repeat the process. Success is most likely if the prolapse is returned quickly. I have assumed she isn't laying at the moment? If she is, the way to stop her is to feed a low protein diet of wheat only and keep her on that for several weeks. She certainly won't recover on her own. We have successfully treat one hen who was quite young and she went on to lay again and live for many years, but an older hen or one left untreated for too long may not be so lucky. We have had two other 'apparent prolapses' which were actually large tumours pushed out of the vent, so no cure there unfortunately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heggis Posted Tuesday at 07:01 AM Author Share Posted Tuesday at 07:01 AM Thank you so much for your reply @Beantree! And for your advice. I'm really grateful, I am really stressed out about it and it's such a relief to hear from someone who knows what they're talking about. The prolapse came out about a week ago. That's a long time, I think. However, I will try doing as you say and holding it in. She is on a low protein diet and I thought she'd stopped laying but then she did lay again yesterday which was a disappointment. Anyway, I will do what I can and maybe, maybe, she will be OK. I hope so. Thank you again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
