Bloody vent and trouble walking

[SeaSea47]

Hi, I have an 8-month-old hen who was fine one moment and then seemed to be having trouble walking the next — almost like she couldn't hold her backside up. She was eating/drinking/getting around okay, so I left her with the flock, but the next day, she laid an egg, and when I cracked it, it had some blood in it (maybe a dime to nickel-size amount). After that, she laid around a bit more in the pen. I brought her in, and have her in a small dog crate. I examined her, and the only thing I could find wrong is a little bit of blood around her vent, and she had a good bit of poop matted up just below her vent (I cut and cleaned as much of that as I could - I'm planning to give her a warm bath tomorrow to get the rest off). She is eating/drinking/pooping normally, though while I was cleaning her up, she had a bit of loose poop, but it looks/smells normal. Her tail was pointing down, but it's perked back up today. Any ideas?

I also gave her some yogurt, and that seemed to perk her up a bit. I see nothing discolored that would indicate gleet. No signs of mites or worms. All my other chickens are fine. I was in the middle of an over-mating situation when this happened, but I don't know if that could cause it. (I moved that rooster out of my flock today into his own little bachelor pad. I have two roosters and 17 hens, but one of my boys is over-zealous.) She has electrolytes in her water, and I gave her some oyster shells and feed mixed with olive oil.

Should I put Neosporin or Vetericyn on her vent? Any suggestions are welcome! Thanks.

Edited to add - could it be a slight prolapse?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Is her vent bloody or damaged? Do you see any exposed tissue?

If you found a bit of blood inside the egg, this is likely from a tiny ruptured blood vessel in the oviduct. It's not that uncommon to find a blood spot here and there in eggs.

She's perked back up today? Eating/drinking/pooping/walking normal, no exposed tissue, no bloody vent? If she is, then I would put her back with the flock and observe. Likely she was having difficulties laying and egg or you may be right that the extra rooster was stressing her out. Sometime roosters need to be managed and removed from the hens to give them a break.

 

[SeaSea47]

Is her vent bloody or damaged? Do you see any exposed tissue?

If you found a bit of blood inside the egg, this is likely from a tiny ruptured blood vessel in the oviduct. It's not that uncommon to find a blood spot here and there in eggs.

She's perked back up today? Eating/drinking/pooping/walking normal, no exposed tissue, no bloody vent? If she is, then I would put her back with the flock and observe. Likely she was having difficulties laying and egg or you may be right that the extra rooster was stressing her out. Sometime roosters need to be managed and removed from the hens to give them a break.

Her vent was a little bloody last night, but it's not this morning. She's still having trouble walking, but she seems okay otherwise. This wasn't a blood spot in the egg - it was a good bit of blood. She is eating/drinking/pooping normally, but she has issues walking and standing I am going to take her out this evening while they get their couple of hours of free-range time and see how she does. It's hard to tell with her in the small cage. I've removed the rooster who was causing all the issues, so it'll just be one rooster and 17 hens now.

 

[SeaSea47]

I brought her out for some fresh air and to maybe try to let her rejoin the group, but she’s not moving. Her appetite is fine/she tries to clean herself, and she’s pooping normally, but she can’t get up, just kind of shifts around on her wings. If no one has any suggestions, I guess I’m off to the vet tomorrow.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Can you feel inside her vent for an egg? Any bloat or swelling in the abdomen?

I would keep her hydrated, get some Calcium into her (1 Calcium tablet a day for 3-5 days).
She may have been injured by the rooster, but with the blood and probably prolapse(?) she may be having difficulty with a soft shelled egg or laid internally. Sometimes this can make it hard to walk if there's some swelling or inflammation in the nerves.

If you have access to and can afford vet care, then it may be a good idea to have her checked out.

 

[SeaSea47]

Can you feel inside her vent for an egg? Any bloat or swelling in the abdomen?

I would keep her hydrated, get some Calcium into her (1 Calcium tablet a day for 3-5 days).
She may have been injured by the rooster, but with the blood and probably prolapse(?) she may be having difficulty with a soft shelled egg or laid internally. Sometimes this can make it hard to walk if there's some swelling or inflammation in the nerves.

If you have access to and can afford vet care, then it may be a good idea to have her checked out.

I don't feel an egg or swelling, but I'm going to go out tomorrow and get her some calcium and Poultry Cell if she lasts through the night, and I'm going to call my vet. I brought her back in tonight, and she ate some yogurt from a spoon and drank a ton of water. I put her back in the quiet dark kitchen, and I'm in the next room working and all the sudden, I heard a bunch of noise like wings flapping. I went to check her, and she was lying on her side. I sat her back up, and she was breathing really hard and loud. But suddenly, that stopped and she's drinking water again. So, I'm not sure if she's near-death or not. I've got her comfortable for the night, so we'll see what the morning brings. Thanks!

 

[SeaSea47]

Can you feel inside her vent for an egg? Any bloat or swelling in the abdomen?

I would keep her hydrated, get some Calcium into her (1 Calcium tablet a day for 3-5 days).
She may have been injured by the rooster, but with the blood and probably prolapse(?) she may be having difficulty with a soft shelled egg or laid internally. Sometimes this can make it hard to walk if there's some swelling or inflammation in the nerves.

If you have access to and can afford vet care, then it may be a good idea to have her checked out.

Oh, and no blood or prolapse today.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Drinking a bunch of water. What's her crop like? Is it emptying overnight?
I would take out food/water overnight, then check to see if the crop is empty/flat before she eats/drinks in the morning.

I'm sorry that she's not doing well.

 

[SeaSea47]

Drinking a bunch of water. What's her crop like? Is it emptying overnight?
I would take out food/water overnight, then check to see if the crop is empty/flat before she eats/drinks in the morning.

I'm sorry that she's not doing well.

Her crop feels empty. I don't think she has eaten much in the last 24 hours aside from a few bites of yogurt and grass. She drank a lot of water last night, and she would try to move and start flapping her wings and fall over and then breathe really hard/loud. I really didn't expect to find her alive this morning, but she actually seems like she's doing a little better - she's preening and pecking at things around her and sitting up a little bit more. I put some rooster booster in her water and gave her some more yogurt with a little in it. I don't think I can see my vet until Monday, so I am just trying to keep her comfortable right now. I actually just moved her into a new crate, and she hasn't pooped much, though there was some dampness where she was laying. I thought about trying a warm bath/soak, but I'm not sure if that would help or hurt things at this point.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

If she's not lethargic and stressed, a soak may be o.k. Sometimes a soak can send an unwell hen over the edge, so you want to make sure she's pretty stable.