Thursday, October 6, 2016

Prolapse in laying chickens, causes and controls


layer affected by prolapse
jaspafarm
Prolapse in laying hens is one, among the common diseases affecting laying chicken in the poultry farm that give concern to the poultry farmers or so called poultry keepers. 

By definition, prolapse is a slipping forward or down of a part or organ of the body, this definition if according to oxford dictionary. Now that we talking about laying chicken the organ here is the eggs, so the improper position of eggs in laying chickens are term prolapse.

During the process of laying egg, the lower part of the chicken’s (layer(s)) reproductive track is temporarily turn inside out which lets the hen lay a very clean egg. Sometimes the tissue does not retract after the egg has been laid and this condition is referred to as a prolapse. 

Hope now that you clearly know what is mean by prolapse in laying chickens. This issue may occur as a result of :

Prolapse in laying hens in reproductive age of the flock of birds: 
Prolapse occurs likely at the peak of birds’ production and period of peak egg mass, as a result of large demand placed on the birds’ metabolism.

Overweight or underweight of birds may cause prolapse in laying hens:
Overweight birds are more susceptible to prolapse as a result of general larger eggs laying tendency and muscle weakness.Too much deposition of fat around reproductive organs exposes birds to prolapse.

Unbalanced feed rations leads to prolapse in laying chickens: 
Insufficient calcium in the diet will bring challenges with eggshell formation but can also lead to muscle tone.

Cloacal prolapse is also contributed to by uterine or cloacal infection that makes the area irritated and causes straining, resulting in expulsion of the cloaca. Therefore, it is standard to give these birds antibiotics in case of infection. 

If a prolapse in laying birds is exposed to the air for any length of time, infection is almost certain to develop, and with time the tissue dries out which causes further irritation and more straining end result bigger prolapse.

Prolapse in laying hens as a result of high light intensity: 
Under high light intensity conditions, birds are more likely to see and be attracted to the averted oviduct and thus pecking occurs and cause damage.

Double yolked eggs laying by laying hens may cause prolapse in laying hens: 

The excessive size of these eggs will stretch and possibly weaken cloacal muscles.

layer showing prolapse
thechicken.com
Now that you are familiars with prolapse and some of the situation that warrant the occurrence of this issue in a poultry, it is time to throw light on what to do. 

Till date, no effective treatment of prolapse is available but the best thing to do is to use preventive measure. These preventive measures are:

 Only photostimulate your pullets when they have reached the right body weight and age. This will vary from breed to breed but is typically around 17 weeks of age.

 If the tissue looks healthy (prolapse in laying birds), that is important, if it looks dried and dying, things are probably too late. 

Mineral oil is not a good idea, either in this situation or in egg binding. It is part of the common misconception that egg binding, or straining equals constipation. There is no physical obstruction in either case, so mineral oil will only cause diarrhea at best. 

At worse, prolapse in laying hens can cause a GI tract upset that can make the bird even more unwell. I have always been amazed at the number of people who think oral oil will lubricate the reproductive tract.

It is possible that under the right conditions the prolapse can retract and heal on its own but for this to work your hen will need to be isolated, kept inactive and need regular attention.

Feed only balanced feed rations specifically formulated for pullets and then layers.

Consider a very low wattage red-colored bulb. If birds cannot differentiate the color of the everted shell gland from the background of colors, they won’t be susceptible to cause damage.

Conclusively, I think you are at peace as you read through this article, and I believed you find it helpful in case you come across any of this issue (prolapse in laying hens) in your farm. 

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