Neighbour making formal noise complaint.

[graceandmay]

Hello

 

One of our hens has developed a very hard and inflamed area directly ABOVE her vent. Initial thoughts are a prolapse.

 

upon further reading, i found this interesting article (apologies to anyone who's already seen it).

 

http://www.thefarm.org/charities/i4at/lib2/chickens.htm

 

near the bottom it has the following explanation of how the vent works when laying an egg

 

"...common chamber called the cloaca. This is a rather dirty place, whereas the egg is always clean and almost sterile when laid. The hen turns part of the cloaca and the last segment of the oviduct inside out, "like a glove." The described red membrane is then everted inside of these organs. The egg emerges far outside, at the end of the bulge. So it cannot contact the walls of the cloaca and get contaminated by stools or urine. Moreover, the intestine and inner part of the cloaca are kept shut by the emerging egg..."

 

to get to the point (sorry). the hen in question laid, as either her very first or one of her first, a VERY large egg. since then she's had this hard, red, inflamed area, and has not laid since. upon reading the explanation above and looking at the accompanying images (below), it's clear that this area that is turned inside out has remained so (it's the area directly above the egg in the image below).

 

the hen is clearly unwell - very listless and seeks isolation - but will eat and drink, and is not being bothered by the rest of the (small) flock. her stools are runny and green. we have tried pushing the area back inside the vent, but it just won't stay there, not even for a moment - it just pops straight back out.

 

any advice/comment would be gratefully received. apologies for the over long explanation

 

[moochoo]

I think you've tried all the usual things so you could go one of two ways. If she's eating and drinking ok you could give her a few days inside to recouperate and see if she improves.

You're obviously worried so it could be worth showing her to a vet to put your mind at rest.

Sorry if this seems a little vague but I've no similar experiance to draw from.

I hope she perks up soon.