blood in the coop

[Rettarain2]

I jus discovered blood in mY coup this evening..quite a bit all in one patch I don't understand what's going on and I'm a bit concerned I noticed one of my leg horn did not lay today...could it be caused from that? everyone was up on the rafters this evening so I'm assuming all wings and legs are okay any suggestions folks does this happen? I had them locked in there 9 by 16 Coup all day....they were not interested in going out in the pen even Though the door was ajar..it has been very cold here in Michigan 7 below at night they don't like hanging out in the snow.
please share some feedback if anyone has had this happen ??

 

[Dawns Funy Farm]

i also found evidence of blood smeared on the feeder inside the coop my hens also are not leaving the coop because of the snow . i checked them out and cannot find where the blood has come from . another unsolved mystery

 

[Rettarain2]

This morning everyone is fine but did notice around the leghorns long combs the skin seems red..maybe sores...doesnt seem to warrent the pool of blood i found but who knows.
ANY EXPERIENCED BIRD PEOPLE KNOW ANYTHING???
THANKS

 

[Ridgerunner]

We don’t know a lot about your specific situation or what you are seeing. All we can do is take blind shots that might help.

Have you examined each bird? Do you see any blood on any of them? If so, where? Blood should stain feathers. From what you posted you ASSUMED they didn’t have any wounds because they were on their perches.

Where was that pool of blood? Was it pure blood or did it have something else in it? On rare occasions a hen will pass some sloughed off intestines or such as that. I would not expect it to be pure blood but it can be bloody. It’s not a sign that she is about to die. She may be pretty healthy but for some reason just had a discharge.

You mentioned they may have sores on the combs, then the blood may have come from that. Is it an open wound that has scabbed over? It’s very possible one of them was pecked enough to draw blood or somehow scratched or cut itself on a sharp object. It’s even possible a predator raked the bird with a claw through a fence or an opening and the bird got away with just a minor wound. The red color of the combs and wattles comes from blood being very near the surface and the skin being very thin. They can bleed quite a bit from a minor comb or wattles wound. I’m guessing it is only one leghorn that has that appearance.

Do you know the symptoms of Coccidiosis? One possible symptom is blood in the stool. Coccidiosis does not always give bloody stools. You should see them puffed up and lethargic first but if you see bloody stools, it’s always a concern.

What have you been feeding them? Anything red? When I can beets I feed the chickens the cooked skins. First time I did that I thought they were pooping pure blood. Nope, just the beets.

A chicken will eat a mouse, frog, small snake, things like that. A lot of times they swallow them whole after pecking them to soften them up. If they are too big to swallow whole, they will peck them into pieces small enough to swallow. They don’t normally leave that carcass in one place long enough to form a pool of blood, more likely just a spot here and there. I doubt this is it but I’ll mention it.

As long as you cannot find any serious wounds and don’t see them acting strange, such as lethargic or losing weight, and it does not happen again, I would not worry about it all that much. If it is a wound that the others are pecking at (they can sometimes peck at a wound) I’d isolate the injured bird until it heals enough they stop pecking at it. It is a sign to maybe be on guard and observe their behaviors for a while.

A lot of shots in the dark. I don’t know if any of these fit your situation or if it is something else entirely.

 

[donrae]

I used to have an old bathtub in the coop they used as a nest box. On at least 2 occasions over a few years I went out and it looked like someone had been slaughtered in the tub--blood splashed up the sides, dripped on the ground, etc. Never found the cause either time, but didn't have any birds mysteriously die around those times either. You can only treat what you can see, if you've looked each bird over and they're all acting normal, chalk it up to just one of those things.

 

[Rettarain2]

Thanks...no blood in poop everybody active and happy this morning..I noticed to leghorns had a little bit of blood on their upper Back neck....I cannot see anything else they have been eating oatmeal lettuce cabbage broccoli sunflower seeds and celery along with some bread. I am only getting 3 white eggs from Leghorn so maybe one is not laying and has her period haha I don't know but all seems well they have plenty of room in both their house 16x9..and pen 16x9..however they don't seem to want to go out in the pen even with straw on the ground.
it happened in late afternoon because I do check them a few times a day and at 2 o'clock all was well at 7 o'clock I found the blood maybe they're bored and they're picking on each other anyway if you know anything else I'd appreciate it but they all seemed fine to me thank you so much I love my babies Lucy Eleanor Martha Rita Lady Jane Lady Anne brown sugar and mean Mr Mustard.