Prolapsed cloaca

[MLaRue]

Sally I'm so sorry this is a horrible loss My deepest sympathies. ((hugs))

[finchmix22]

Sally
I'm so sorry about the hen! What a tragic and sad series of events. I had one finch with a prolapse cloaca and I was not aware of the problem, but took her to the avian vet because I thought she was eggbound. The vet told me she had the prolapse and was eggbound because of that problem. The vet was able to replace the cloaca and gave her medicine, I believe it was antibiotic and pain meds. She went on to raise two clutches so far. I lost another hen, with a similar problem because I found her too late. It's never easy with these finches. I pray you're feeling better soon.

[CandoAviary]

Just catching up on the post... what a shame. Sometimes as much as we try, things just don't work out. Sorry.
Hopefully the young pair that you and Misty are pairing will reward you with some young for many years to come.

[annague]

Hi Sally,

Oh so sorry to hear about your little hen and her prolapse. Please accept my deepest sympathies.

Personally, I remain frustrated with the little information available to finch breeders to deal competently with such problems. So much of the time any significant health problems end up being a death sentence for the bird. And, of course, taking them to the vet every time is often way too expensive.

I'm excited that Misty is getting the extra hen; hopefully you guys can really get them going.

[nixity]

I'm so sorry Sally
I lost a Society hen to a prolapse and it was pretty much the most awful looking thing ever. I think my hen prolapsed from an egg laying malfunction as well.
What you describe sounds almost identical to what my hen looked like, and I couldn't bear it.. I euthanized her because to be honest I had absolutely no idea how to save her and with as awful as it looked I didn't think it was even possible

[Sally]

Tiffany, when I first caught her up and realized how bad it was, my first thought was to euthanize her. I think I would have with another bird, but since she was a domestic Purple Grenadier, I just hated to lose her. Hindsight, I wish I had euthanized her right away. The one thing that gave me hope was that when I checked her late that night, she was on the perch, sitting in front of the heat lamp, and her eyes looked alert, not squinty. I even thought she might make it. Amazing how I can convince myself of something beyond all reason, just because I wanted it so.

[cindy]

Sally, that is exactly how my shaft tail was, she seemed to improve and the prolapse became a bit smaller...I to thought I should put her down but she seemed almost normal. She went downhill and passed quickly after that. It is a difficult call sometimes, you do the best we can for them

[Raleighwheels]

I'm so sorry to hear about your little hen. I can't imagine seeing a bird like that. I'd probably freeze up. One thing I was wondering about, and maybe this was answered and I missed it, but how exactly does an egg become enlarged inside a finch? Is it a genetic thing or does it have to do with their diet?

[cindy]

here are a few explanations

http://www.lbah.com/avian/prolapsed_cloaca.htm
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http://www.avianweb.com/Prolapse.htm
This has the best explanation in regards to why. Low blood calcium causing muscle to become weak and not able to contract properly. It can also be attributed to infection. It also talks a bit about what to do for it.

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http://blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatbirdb ... -concerns/
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This is a good clinical article

http://veterinarycalendar.dvm360.com/av ... ail/648161

[finchmix22]

Cindy
You are always full of good references. Thanks for keeping us updated on articles that can help us with our sick finches.

[cindy]

Deborah, since I have seen this first hand and others like Sally have recently experienced this I see it is not uncommon.

Thank you for your kind words.