Blood under perches, what could it be?

[aart]

The other day when Matilda was laying an egg I noticed a couple drops of blood dripping from the nesting box before the egg came out.

I'm no expert but .....
Dripping from the nesting box...or dripping into the nest from her as she was laying?
Was the blood coming from her hind end....was there blood on the egg?
'Dripping' as in multiple drips..2-8-20 drips?
Did you check out her vent after she laid?

That's quite a bit of blood on the board and I would assume quite a few hours after she laid. Get a hold of her and take a really good look.

Might even want to isolate her in a wire cage within the coop for a day or two....so you can closely monitor their intake of food and water, crop function(checking at night and in morning before providing more feed), and their poops. Feel their abdomen, from below vent to between legs, for squishy or hard swelling.

Best to put crate right in coop or run so bird is still 'with' the flock.
I like to use a fold-able wire dog crate (24"L x 18"W x 21"H) with smaller mesh(1x2) on bottom of crate under tray.
Then you can put tray underneath crate to better observe droppings without it being stepped in. If smaller mesh is carefully installed, tray can still be used inside crate.

 

[Eggcessive]

The two things that seem to cause bleeding around my coop have been a broken blood feather on feather-footed birds, and pecks to the comb, both of which can look like a massacre has taken place. I would think if there was internal bleeding from cancer or a liver hemorrhage, the chicken would have been found dead after. I hope you figure out the mystery.

 

[Henriettamom919]

Let us know what, if anything you find today!

(I'm hoping you find a fat lot of nothing other than your eggs!)

 

[Courtney Jane]

Thanks for all your replies guys I have been reading but haven’t had time to reply! Everything seems okay today, everyone’s still alive and I haven’t found any more blood.
@aart I meant dripping from the nesting box as in the box is attached to the outside of coop and sort of floats above the ground. 1 drop of blood dropped through the nesting box on to the bricks below it. I picked her up as soon as I saw the blood drip and her vent was opening as if she was about to pop an egg out (no sign of blood on the vent though) so I put her straight back down. Afterwards there was no blood on the egg and a bit of smeered blood under her but not much at all. I examined that same chickens vent yesterday and it looked completely normal.
I think I’m just going to wait it out and if it happens again I’ll think about a trip to the vet. They’re only about 9 months old so they shouldn’t have cancer should they?! The only thing I’ve been doing differently is using a crap tonne of diatomaceous earth in and around the coop so that shouldn’t be harming them should it? I heard that people shouldn’t breath it in as it damages our lungs, would it not be the same for chickens?

 

[aart]

1 drop of blood dropped through the nesting box on to the bricks below it. I picked her up as soon as I saw the blood drip and her vent was opening as if she was about to pop an egg out (no sign of blood on the vent though) so I put her straight back down. Afterwards there was no blood on the egg and a bit of smeered blood under her but not much at all. I examined that same chickens vent yesterday and it looked completely normal.

Huh....did you remove nest bedding to look for blood in bottom of nest?
What is the bottom of nest made of?
Maybe a foot injury.

 

[Courtney Jane]

Huh....did you remove nest bedding to look for blood in bottom of nest?
What is the bottom of nest made of?
Maybe a foot injury.

It’s got a wooden base with straw as bedding. I did wonder about possible foot injury but I couldn’t see anything. The main concern now is the puddle of blood on the news paper in the photo.

 

[aart]

It’s got a wooden base with straw as bedding. I did wonder about possible foot injury but I couldn’t see anything. The main concern now is the puddle of blood on the news paper in the photo.

Amazing that there would be a drop of blood coming out of bottom of nest and not a significant puddle inside of it.
I would be too, that more that I've seen from a comb or foot injury.
I guess just keep a close eye on things....hopefully it was a one-two off.

 

[Courtney Jane]

Amazing that there would be a drop of blood coming out of bottom of nest and not a significant puddle inside of it.
I would be too, that more that I've seen from a comb or foot injury.
I guess just keep a close eye on things....hopefully it was a one-two off.

There are small gaps between the wooden panels so I’m thinking the drop just happened to miss the straw, and drop straight down a crack. No blood on the straw just a bit smeered on the wooden panels. But yes I will be keeping a very close eye on things. I can’t find any information online about bleeding from the vent except from prolapse and that’s not the problem so it’s quite strange. Pets are so stressful! Thanks everyone for your suggestions. If anything else happens I will send an update.

 

[micstrachan]

I'm glad things seem to be back to normal (right?), but am puzzled myself! I hope that was the end of it.