Chickens dying after laying

[chickens really]

We had mice in the coop so thought the chickens had mites because they lost all the feathers around their vents. Then they started dying. They lose the feathers around the vents, then get bloody and there seems to be bruising or blood under the skin just inside the vent, then they lay for a few days with blood on the eggs followed by the chicken dying. The dead chicken has a bloody open vent with no feathers. Can you please help us figure out what is happening? We only have a few chickens left.

Reread this post ......Not mice causing the issue...We who know the mechanics of Chickens will know it is picking......

 

[bobbi-j]

I did read it - several times - and quoted it in post #17. Still not seeing where it says the issue started when the hens started laying. That's why I asked you to point it out for me.

I have read that picking can be a terrible habit to break. I feel I have a pretty good understanding of "the mechanics of chickens", but again - in 30-some years of chicken keeping, I've not had to deal with this issue so without actually seeing the dead chickens (or a good, clear photo of the damage) I can only speculate.

 

[bobbi-j]

A question for the OP - when you say they "get bloody", does it look like the blood is coming out of the vent, or is the skin around the vent injured? That would help us to maybe understand better what's going on.

 

[chickens really]

I did read it - several times - and quoted it in post #17. Still not seeing where it says the issue started when the hens started laying. That's why I asked you to point it out for me.

I have read that picking can be a terrible habit to break.

Anyways....She never mentioned the poison as an issue.....Everyone else did ..........Her friend uses those traps without issue.........She said her birds arces are being pecked since laying.......

Sounds like a picking issue...Why always confront my intelligence ?.......I know Birds...Sorry Sometimes I wish I did not..........Chickens do and can develop picking issues...there are more factors to the picking if the OP will reply?.....If not?....I guess we are done.......


Also.....?...Dont we all have our own Birds to look after?...I reply to help....Not debate my reply or argue with other Chicken owners..

Happy Easter!...

 

[Cindy in PA]

Did yours all die shortly after the picking started? That's the thing here. The chickens are all dying. 

No they didn't but they would have bled out if the picking went on. I stopped it. A chicken will pick another's vent until they bleed out.

 

[bobbi-j]

No they didn't but they would have bled out if the picking went on. I stopped it. A chicken will pick another's vent until they bleed out.

The thing I don't get is, I would think that the OP would either notice if picking were happening, or at least see some signs of it before it was so bad they were dying from it. I'm not trying to say it's definitely NOT picking, just that there may be other things to consider. What did you notice that caused you to realize it was happening?

 

[Cindy in PA]

The thing I don't get is, I would think that the OP would either notice if picking were happening, or at least see some signs of it before it was so bad they were dying from it. I'm not trying to say it's definitely NOT picking, just that there may be other things to consider. What did you notice that caused you to realize it was happening?

I certainly get that & you may be right. With my flock, one day they seemed fine & the next most had blood dripping from their butts. Never saw anything like it. I quickly bought the pick no more & smeared it on all of them & they stopped. Can't explain it & never had the problem before or again over 24 years, but it did happen! It was a horrible sight, although thankfully none seemed too badly injured upon closer inspection. These birds actually had clipped beaks, which was equally baffling. I had heard of birds being picked to death at the vent & acted quickly. I would love to know what is going on here.

 

[centrarchid]

Based on account provided by OP, actual cause not really known. OP, follow link below to see if anything you have is causing problem.

http://extension.psu.edu/animals/poultry/small-poultry-flocks/cannibalism

My nutritional approach suggested is shotgun in that it can address more than one possibility including the warfarin issue related to rodent control measures you have in place. Unless actual flesh removed from vent area by other birds, I am not able to say definitively that vent picking / cannibalism is going on. Simply not enough information to base an good argument.

 

[Bluechick2u]

We had mice in the coop so thought the chickens had mites because they lost all the feathers around their vents. Then they started dying. They lose the feathers around the vents, then get bloody and there seems to be bruising or blood under the skin just inside the vent, then they lay for a few days with blood on the eggs followed by the chicken dying. The dead chicken has a bloody open vent with no feathers. Can you please help us figure out what is happening? We only have a few chickens left.

I am having the same issue, but we never use poison on our property, I have found 3 hens now days or weeks apart dead in the yard suddenly with no prior sign of problem, no feathers around vent and vent wide open, chickens picking at the corpse and bloody eggs found in the nesting box. I am treating with Corrid in case its coccidosis, but we did change their feed up recently and I'm worried they may not be getting enough protein, as it also sounds like it could be vent picking turning into canabalism. I will be feeding them scrambled eggs today, to see if that helps. I initially thought that the problem was that ome died from being egg bound and the others ate the egg out of the vent, thus the open vent, but it's happened 2 other times since in the very same spot in their run, same scenario of the corpse being pecked on, and each time it has been preceded with blood found in the nestimg box on an egg, so I am wondering if its a combination of coccidosis and vent picking due to blood triggering the predation?

 

[chickens really]

I am having the same issue, but we never use poison on our property, I have found 3 hens now days or weeks apart dead in the yard suddenly with no prior sign of problem, no feathers around vent and vent wide open, chickens picking at the corpse and bloody eggs found in the nesting box. I am treating with Corrid in case its coccidosis, but we did change their feed up recently and I'm worried they may not be getting enough protein, as it also sounds like it could be vent picking turning into canabalism. I will be feeding them scrambled eggs today, to see if that helps. I initially thought that the problem was that ome died from being egg bound and the others ate the egg out of the vent, thus the open vent, but it's happened 2 other times since in the very same spot in their run, same scenario of the corpse being pecked on, and each time it has been preceded with blood found in the nestimg box on an egg, so I am wondering if its a combination of coccidosis and vent picking due to blood triggering the predation?

Cover nest boxes with curtain..Darken the coop...Up the protein to 18%...Over crowding depending on the breed...