Blood splattered on food server

[dominiques]

I went into the coop to check on the girls midday and found their plastic food server covered with splattered blood. Usually food hangs in the run but with a snow storm going on they we confined too coop which is 9x12 and I have 6 pullerts about 8 mos old and in very good health, Dominique's. I noticed that my son hung the food too low so the trays wew full of pine shavings from the floor. I checked them over carefully...no blood on any of them. Cleaned off container and rehung. Monitored them closely and didn't find blood again. But this morning noticed one has some watery stool stuck to her bum feathers. They are acting normal. Glad to be back out in the run and eating the oatmeal and scratch. Any ideas? Thanks!

 

[willowbranchfarm]

It could be poop which would lead me to think coccidiosis, but its splattered. I'm guessing someone got their comb pecked or wattle. Those bleed a lot.

 

[dominiques]

Thank you WillowBranch. When I went out and looked closer I noticed tiny black dots on the tips of one of my hen's comb. Frostbite I'm guessing. So I think yoy are right. It fits the location of the blood ehile she was eating.I put vaseline on all their combs last eve. Hope this helps.

 

[TehLizardKing]

That happened to me too. I found blood all over the feeder, but it wasn't just splattered, it was everywhere. I thought the sparrowhawk that one of my birds had nearly killed had come back for revenge

. I checked all of the chickens, and the quail that they share a run with, but they were all fine. It was at that point that I noticed one of the birds crouching behind the coop. I thought she had been attacked. But, on closer inspection, I saw that she was holding a field mouse in her beak! She was hiding her prize from the others, and slowly gulping it down. Turns out that she had caught the mouse and whacked it on the feeder to kill it... Poultry never cease to amaze!

 

[dominiques]

I too thought a mouse might have been killed by the girls. But didn't find any bones or fur. It's been 2 days since and no blood. Thank you for replying your thoughts to this question.