The hard stuff

A few days ago Big Dog's chicken Odile laid a giant egg. It was easily twice the size of a normal egg. More like a goose egg than chicken egg. At the time it was fascinating. It was even kind of funny. Unfortunately laying this giant egg may have actually injured her. She's continued to lay every day, but today I noticed she looked odd from behind. In other words, she has a prolapsed vent. Not good.
I consulted my online resources and it seems it can easily go either way. If you treat it, it can heal. Or it may not. Some people recommend treating it, some say don't bother. Some chickens recover, some don't. Not a lot of reassurance out there. But I'm trying to treat it, which oddly involves either honey, sugar or Preparation H. Doing the best I can and hoping for the best. I'm also preparing for the worst. And by that, I mean I had a serious talk with Big Dog about the real possibility that Odile may not get better. He was a trooper. He cried a bit, but we talked about what would happen if she did die. I told him we'd get another chicken for him. Another hen, not a baby chick because they need to be raised with other chicks. A grown hen would be easier to integrate with the flock, even if it was less cute than the fluffy baby chicks we got last time. Big Dog agreed it would be best because the other hens might pick on a fluffy little baby. He also told me he'd name it Odile. I guess that's ok. I'm certainly not going to argue with his potential grief. I also told him I'd do what I could and that it was possible she'd recover, I just couldn't promise anything and I didn't want to keep anything from him.
The talk went better than expected. Although he was sad, he seemed to brace himself for the worst while still hoping it would turn out ok. And I certainly hope it will.

P.S. We do have her isolated from the other hens. She spent last night in a small dog crate and the day in the enclosed run and coop. The other hens were in the outer yard locked away so they can't get at her. I've cleaned the inflamed area with a sterile wound wash, slathered it with Preparation H and antibiotic ointment. I've tried to re-insert it (ick) but it pops back out as soon as I set her down (double ick). I've ready just about every website, article and discussion board about this. I'm hoping for the best and really doing everything I can, no matter how crazy or disgusting it sounds. I'm also bracing myself should it come to the worst outcome. At this point I think I'm having a harder time accepting this than Big Dog is. I guess that's one of the advantages of youth, you don't feel the ultimate responsibility for the happiness and well being of others.