Bloody Eggs and chickens dying

[Stephanie_moss]

Hi all I will be calling my local vet today when they open but I wanted to post to get as much information as I can to help me figure out the problem.
I’m taking care of my friend’s 12 chickens and they seem to all have red swollen vents. The eggs these hens have been laying have been bloody. And not just a little blood, A LOT and every day. He has lost a total of 4 chickens now and lost another one last night. It looked like possible mites so we added vinegar to the water and Diatomaceous Earth to their feed but it doesn’t seem to be helping.
I’ve been reading everything I can but can’t seem to pinpoint the problem. Not all systems determine a certain cause. I just starting watching the hens when he went out of town and noticed that some of their feed had gotten wet and moldy (I obviously didn’t use it) but he may have been giving it to them not noticing the mold. Not sure if that could cause anything. They’ve been on new feed “super egg” ever since but are still having issues. And deaths. There are shells in the feed for extra calcium, I was reading that lack of calcium could be a problem.
I’m at a loss here and am new to caring for chickens so any advise would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you all in advance and hope to get some ideas. Thank again for reading.

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome!
You are obviously a very caring person, and good for you for trying to help your friend and these poor birds. There might be multiple issues here, including spoiled feed, parasites both external and internal, and things you aren't yet aware of.
Vinegar and DE in the food and water aren't going to do anything for these birds, as you've already noticed.
Mites and lice: at night when they are roosting, go out with a flashlight and look at the skin around their vents, neck, and under their wings. TINY moving specks are mites, larger moving critters are lice.
Take some fecal material to the vet's for having it checked for internal parasites.
Are they actually injured, as from pecking? Wounds anywhere?
How much room do they have in the coop? Is it smelly, as an ammonia smell from poor ventilation? Sneezing or snotty noses?
Mouse or rat poison any where around?
Old paint chips (lead) or anything else you've noticed?
Just a start, and if your vet can't see the birds, at least have that fecal run there.
Good luck!
Mary

 

[nuthatched]

vinegar and de wouldn't do diddly squat. have you noticed any pecking?
DE might help externally, because its a microabrasive, it cuts the exoskeleton and dries them out (in theory) but it won't do a single thing for in internal problems.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Can you get some photos of the hen's vents?
Are there any injuries where they are possibly picking at each other's vents?

 

[Eggcessive]

Swollen vents and bloody eggs could be vent pecking or a prolapsed vent. I would observe their behavior when you are there and look for possible vent pecking, which can lead to cannibalism and death. It can happen due to several possible issues. Here is a good article about possible causes:
https://poultry.extension.org/artic...ibalism-in-small-and-backyard-poultry-flocks/

 

[azygous]

With all that blood, I would suspect some sort of intestinal bacterial infection. Stop putting DE in the food. It is very abrasive and could aggravate the situation. Mold exposure would cause balance issues and lameness, and other neurological issues.

Glad you're consulting a vet. Ask about getting a sulfa antibiotic to treat enteritis.

Are these chickens confined? If so, do they have access to grit? If they don't have grit, they could be constipated and that could caused swollen, inflamed vents. I would mix some oil in with their feed to lubricate the digestive tract and maybe soften up any blockages.

 

[HappyDuckie]

@azygous @Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive
I really hope someone can help you. I'm sorry for your losses.

 

[Stephanie_moss]

Welcome!
You are obviously a very caring person, and good for you for trying to help your friend and these poor birds. There might be multiple issues here, including spoiled feed, parasites both external and internal, and things you aren't yet aware of.
Vinegar and DE in the food and water aren't going to do anything for these birds, as you've already noticed.
Mites and lice: at night when they are roosting, go out with a flashlight and look at the skin around their vents, neck, and under their wings. TINY moving specks are mites, larger moving critters are lice.
Take some fecal material to the vet's for having it checked for internal parasites.
Are they actually injured, as from pecking? Wounds anywhere?
How much room do they have in the coop? Is it smelly, as an ammonia smell from poor ventilation? Sneezing or snotty noses?
Mouse or rat poison any where around?
Old paint chips (lead) or anything else you've noticed?
Just a start, and if your vet can't see the birds, at least have that fecal run there.
Good luck!
Mary

Thank you, I will be stopping by this afternoon and will check again. The vent areas aren’t bloody and they don’t seem to be peeked at. There are new feathers coming in on most of the chickens. They don’t appear injured externally just missing feathers. The coop area is about 10x20’ for now 10 birds with 9 nesting boxes. I am not there at night (not my place) but I will pass the information on. Thank you so much for your help. Will definitely check into all the options.

 

[Stephanie_moss]

With all that blood, I would suspect some sort of intestinal bacterial infection. Stop putting DE in the food. It is very abrasive and could aggravate the situation. Mold exposure would cause balance issues and lameness, and other neurological issues.

Glad you're consulting a vet. Ask about getting a sulfa antibiotic to treat enteritis.

Are these chickens confined? If so, do they have access to grit? If they don't have grit, they could be constipated and that could caused swollen, inflamed vents. I would mix some oil in with their feed to lubricate the digestive tract and maybe soften up any blockages.

Thank you! Will try adding grit and oil