Complete Uterine Prolapse

[lovezebs]

ann

Thanks Ann,

This was unexpected and very sad, as Freebee was young, and should have had many years ahead of her.

She really didn't deserve to go like this.....

[Babs _Owner]

lovezebs

[lovezebs]

Babs

Thanks hon.

[Babs _Owner]

lovezebs

[andiok]

lovezebs
poor little FreeBee! You have done great with her Elana!
Im confident she will make it, reason being is I had this happening to one of my canaries once. An older female that was not even paired.I broke the egg as well and holded her on top of a vegetable steamer with lots of olive oil. Did actually give her some antibiotics because she also had some bleeding and she recovered in a couple of weeks.
Hopefully FreeBee will make it in no time!!

[lovezebs]

andiok

You must have missed mu other post further up.

My little Freebee, didn't make it. She died yesterday evening.

I'm glad that your girl made it. How on earth did you get all of this swollen, rather large mass of uterine tissue back inside of your hen, and how did you get it to stay inside?

[andiok]

lovezebs
im really sorry for your loss Elana!
i must have missed that post.
Rest In Peace FreeBee!

After i pulled out the egg the uterus started to stretch out on its own and almost half of it went inside but rest of it was out. My concern was that probably from breaking the egg, she got some wounds and was bleeding a little so I kept it on the steamer for quite some time and used betadine cream on the whole area. Started general antibiotics (tetracyclin)and probiotics with electrolytes right away and put her in hospital cage.I hand fed the antibiotics with supplements and the next day she was already on the perch. She recovered fast actually, i remember in a couple of weeks i put her in a single cage.
Maybe i caught my canary early when it just happend but the whole uterus with the egg was out and she was freaking out in the cage, thats how i saw her. This usually happens when the egg is too big, poor things.

[Nerine]

lovezebs

I'm so sorry Elana for you and Freebee....it must've been a terrible, horrible experience for you both

You did what you could for her; be at peace.

[lovezebs]

andiok

Thanks for the i formation.
It's ways good to know what other people do under similar circumstances, just in case it happens again with another bird.

[lovezebs]

Nerine

Thanks Nerine,

Yes, it was a pretty awful experience, something I don't wish to see again ever.

[Sally]

lovezebs So sorry you lost her. I know how awful an experience it can be.

[lovezebs]

Sally

Thanks Sally,

Sadly it was one of those situations where I knew that the odds of her survival were not good at all.

I mean I had hoped that maybe she would survive, but there must have been a massive infection raging through her whole body, poor baby.....her first egg ever.

[Fraza]

They are both extremely nice looking birds aswell so sad

[lovezebs]

Fraza

Thanks Frazer,

Yes, they were both lovely birds....

[cindy]

Sorry this happened.

This happened to me not long ago, shared it with others on my group:

I have several pairs of scarlet chested parakeets. One hen, a little over 2 had a great first year so after two nice clutches last year and a good rest the pair was showing interest in wanting to nest, so I set them up with a box. Tuesday night I heard a sound like a hen scolding the male, went to go look and she had come out of the box, something was definitely wrong. Right away I knew what was wrong, the uterine lining came out along with the egg. The egg was still encased in the lining, a transparent veined sac, the very tip of the egg was exposed at the end. It was evident she was not going to pass the egg without help. We took her to the sink, I held the hen upright and with the other hand held the egg in the sac still while my husband pierced the bottom of the egg that was exposed. Doing this drained the egg allowing it to collapse inside itself and it then fell into the sink, part of the lining went back up inside her, a small portion about the size of the end of my pinkie was exposed.

I had antibiotic here so I gave her some (which was exactly the same med the vet later prescribed for her, Baytril to the beak) and I applied an antibiotic ointment (do not use Vaseline or oil) to the prolapse exposed to keep it moist, her belly was very swollen and inflamed. She was placed in a small hospital cage with heat at about 85 degrees. She was in a bit of pain.

The next morning I took her to our avian vet, our daughter works with. She said we did the right thing by draining the egg, if we had not done that she would have died. She was prescribed an antibiotic, dextrose solution wash and a water soluble lube (KY Jelly) applied right after the wash. The prolapse was not placed back in her at that time, she was to inflamed. We were to wait and see if the meds and dextrose washes 4 times a day would reduce the swelling then try to put the prolapse back. We did this for a few days, the swelling went down and the prolapse was pushed back in three times but later it came back out. She also was given a calcium supplement in her water to help the muscles.

I took her back to the vet on Friday to discuss what to do since she started to bleed (going in I knew all the possibilities).... we could put her under, stitch the lining back in with two tiny sutures, give the muscles time to strengthen, remove the stitches and see how she does, there was no guarantee with this, the procedure may need to be done multiple times, she would lead a solitary life, possibly a short life. The prolapse was starting to darken but not necrotic and she bled. She was active, eating but very thin.

The one thing we had to think about was if she went back into egg laying mode, it would kill her, that would be a very painful death. My daughter was the vet assistant in the room, she and I and the vet discussed what to do for her. It was very difficult. I did not want her to suffer, to have to go through multiple surgeries but I did not want to loose her.

I had to put my feelings aside and think what would be best for her. The vet recommended based on her evaluation and the fact she was starting to lay a few too many eggs (hormonal issue) and the fact she was bleeding it was best to spare her any more pain. Trust me it was not an easy thing to do, the vet went into the other room with my hen, my daughter stayed with me a bit... it saddened me to loose her, she was a very sweet hen.

I am writing this not for sympathy but share with you a few things to do and what I learned from this. Prolapse is not a calcium issue, it can happen to chronic egg layers, it can happen if the egg is to big to pass (which is what happened here). There are other factors that can cause this.

The vet told me we did the right thing for her the first night, it was also good we did not force the prolapse back in since her belly was so inflamed and swollen, it would have be very painful and may have complicated things for her. She said most would try to put it back right away but when there is abdominal swelling it is best to allow it to go down before pushing the prolapse back in... meanwhile doing dextrose washes, antibiotics and lubricant to the area to keep the air from drying the prolapse out. Heat to keep her warm.

The water soluble KY Jelly is advised if breeding, keep it in your first aid kit... do not use petroleum based ointments or Vaseline, they trap bacteria to the organ and make it difficult for the dextrose washes to clean and help take the swelling down.