hen with prolapse?!

[loopyluna]

I've just spotted this page so thought I'd pop in to ask for advice on behalf of my mum. One of her hens appears to have developed a prolapse. My mother, ahem, pushed it back in last week but it is out again and the poor old hen looks quite uncomfortable...
Is this the end or is there anything that can be done for her?

I've had a occasional hen with a prolapse, where they aren't too bad you can push them back in - they need to be clean and moist though (tmi, Iknow). The vet can put a stitch in it to hold it in, so it might not be the end for her.

Aw, poor hen. You can apply honey or sugar to the prolapse. This will shrink the prolapse and enable easy insertion. Once back in, apply pressure (eg palm of your hand), over the vent for a while afterwards (10 minutes ish).

If the above doesn't work, take hen to a vets and they'll either add a stitch to hold it in, or recommend other options depending on the severity.

First thing, she needs to be isolated. Otherwise, the other hens will peck at (and eat) the protruding internal organs, and then it really will be curtains for her.

Next thing is probably to take her to the vets, as it's recurrent, although there may be a limit to what they can do for her. Make sure you use a farm vet - they are much more 'no-nonsense' than small animal vets, and will actually have seen a chicken before. You shouldn't have to go to far from the city - mine was only 7 miles from the city centre / 2 miles from the outskirts.

Hmm, best to kindly put her to sleep IMO. The other hens will peck her prolapse and that is horrible. She will not continue to lay well if it does stay in.