Bloody poo and feather picking

[SlatyGapSis]

My chicks are two weeks old today, I think. Have two separate bloody bums and not sure if these two things are related.

I found a few dark poo’s and a chick with what appears to be blood on the edges of her fuzz around her vent. Pics of poo and booty below.

And another chick who appears to be getting picked at around her vent. She’s bloody and a bit of a mess back there. Last pic.

Do I need to dose for cocci?
Do i need to separate the picked at chick until she heals up a little?

What other info should I provide?

 

[SlatyGapSis]

Picked at booty pic

 

[SlatyGapSis]

Bumping in hopes of reply

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I think in this case the blood is coming from the vent picking.
Yes, separate out the chicks with the injuries before the vents get damaged more.

Wash the vent and apply coconut oil or triple antibiotic ointment. Keep watch that the chicks can poop and the vents don't get pasted over.

Do you have a mixed age group of chicks in the same brooder or is space very tight? What type of heat source are you using?
If you have photos of your brooder set-up that would be good.

Keep an eye out on the picking, if you see more, those need to be addressed too.

 

[danceswithronin]

You need to put some antibiotic ointment on their vents, and then put some Peck-No-More lotion on top of the ointment (you can get it at Tractor Supply). Peck-No-More is purple and nasty and smells bad and it trains the chicks to not peck at each other because they get a mouth full of it and decide it's a bad idea.

I had an issue with my chicks vent-picking in my first group last year and determined the cause to be a combination of two things - a) lack of proper ventilation because I had the birds in a large Tupperware bin with no adequate airflow across the bottom of the bin, and b) excessive temperatures in the brooder.

Once I moved my chicks into a portable pet playpen for a brooder (with mesh ventilation all the way around) and removed their brooder lamp (it was in the 90s, they didn't need it and the bin was getting overheated) they stopped vent picking and were fine.

Another way to prevent picking is to give the chicks something else to do with their time. Throw some small crickets in the brooder and chopped up bits of dried strawberries to give the chicks something to chase and pick at. You can also paint red dots on the inside of the brooder that will attract the chicks to peck the dots, rather than each other.

 

[SlatyGapSis]

I think in this case the blood is coming from the vent picking.
Yes, separate out the chicks with the injuries before the vents get damaged more.

Wash the vent and apply coconut oil or triple antibiotic ointment. Keep watch that the chicks can poop and the vents don't get pasted over.

Do you have a mixed age group of chicks in the same brooder or is space very tight? What type of heat source are you using?
If you have photos of your brooder set-up that would be good.

Keep an eye out on the picking, if you see more, those need to be addressed too.

I have 17 chicks, all 2 weeks old, in a 4 ft x 4 ft outdoor brooder coop with an MHP. They rarely go under the MHP and prefer to sit on top during the day and snuggle up in a puddle at night. (It’s been that way since they were three days old.)

 

[SlatyGapSis]

You need to put some antibiotic ointment on their vents, and then put some Peck-No-More lotion on top of the ointment (you can get it at Tractor Supply). Peck-No-More is purple and nasty and smells bad and it trains the chicks to not peck at each other because they get a mouth full of it and decide it's a bad idea.

I had an issue with my chicks vent-picking in my first group last year and determined the cause to be a combination of two things - a) lack of proper ventilation because I had the birds in a large Tupperware bin with no adequate airflow across the bottom of the bin, and b) excessive temperatures in the brooder.

Once I moved my chicks into a portable pet playpen for a brooder (with mesh ventilation all the way around) and removed their brooder lamp (it was in the 90s, they didn't need it and the bin was getting overheated) they stopped vent picking and were fine.

Another way to prevent picking is to give the chicks something else to do with their time. Throw some small crickets in the brooder and chopped up bits of dried strawberries to give the chicks something to chase and pick at. You can also paint red dots on the inside of the brooder that will attract the chicks to peck the dots, rather than each other.

I have 17 chicks, all 2 weeks old, in a 4 ft x 4 ft outdoor brooder coop with an MHP. They rarely go under the MHP and prefer to sit on top during the day and snuggle up in a puddle at night. (It’s been that way since they were three days old.)

Thanks for the ideas to beat boredom. I threw a clump of grass with some dirt in the coop this morning. Here are pics from the outside. I have the windows partially covered to avoid drafts, but the eaves are open air also.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have 17 chicks, all 2 weeks old, in a 4 ft x 4 ft outdoor brooder coop with an MHP. They rarely go under the MHP and prefer to sit on top during the day and snuggle up in a puddle at night. (It’s been that way since they were three days old.)

Well it looks like they have enough space. I would still keep the ones that are injured behind a barrier until they heal. Can you make a wire barrier in that brooder so they can be next to the other chicks?

How are the vents are they healing?

 

[SlatyGapSis]

Well it looks like they have enough space. I would still keep the ones that are injured behind a barrier until they heal. Can you make a wire barrier in that brooder so they can be next to the other chicks?

How are the vents are they healing?

I’m sure I can figure out a way to separate them. I cleaned them up and used some blue kote on them last night. I’ll add some neosporin this evening when I get home but they didn’t seem nearly as swollen this morning.

 

[SlatyGapSis]

Well it looks like they have enough space. I would still keep the ones that are injured behind a barrier until they heal. Can you make a wire barrier in that brooder so they can be next to the other chicks?

How are the vents are they healing?

Things Looked better yesterday. But today it appears that this chick is picking out her own feathers and has pulled them out from the original spot to down under her belly. Her cloaca seems crusted with something white and there is an odd smell. I am no chicken but that seems like a yeast infection? Can chickens get those? And how do I treat it?