Gouldian with insides coming out ???

[ac12]

I have a gouldian hen with what I think is part of her GI tract outside her, looking like a small bubble.
I "think" the egg might have stuck to the inside of the tract and when the egg came out, it pulled the tract inside-out.
This happened yesterday, and the bubble looked nice and red. Today, the bubble looks DARK red.
I discovered this when I went to feed them late yesterday.

I doubt that she can pull that bubble back in, nor do I want to try to push it back in, as I likely will burst it and cause her to bleed to death.
I have her in a hospital cage with a heat lamp, and she seems to be behaving normally. But we know how well they hide their illnesses.

Any hope, or is she going to die?

[Fraza]

What's a tract and can you add a picture

[lovezebs]

ac12

Oh Gary, that sounds similar to what happened to Freebe, my Budgie girl.

http://www.finchforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=37522

Sadly I lost her.

I hope your little girl pulls through

[ac12]

She died during the night

Fraser
It is the tube that the egg/poop goes through before exiting the bird.

[Fraza]

Oh no so sad that she's died rip

[lovezebs]

ac12

So sorry to hear that Gary.

[cindy]

sounds like prolapse... wrote this on another topic.... things to do....

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.

[cindy]

wash the area often in dextrose and apply ky jelly keep the organ moist, it you don't the tissue will die and infection can set in... if you have baytril start that also... doxy and tetracycline are not so broad spectrum. If no baytril...(mornigbird makes Enrotex) and you have amoxicillin you can use that... beak dose to the side of a closed beak, the drop should roll in... do a couple of drops 3 to 4 times a day if not drinking on her own.


cover the grate on the cage floor with clean paper towels, change out when you clean and coat the area with the water soluble jelly.

[cindy]

use a syringe (no needle) to wash the exposed organ, it can get coated in dropping so important to clean it, do the dextrose to reduce swelling and then use the KY

[ac12]

Thanks gals.
I did not think to wash it, really made me uncomfortable just looking at it. UGH. I hope I never see it happen again. But at least I know what to do, now.

thanks again

[Babs _Owner]

ac12

I'm sorry you lost her, Gary. Even us humans can die from such an illness.