This afternoon I noticed one of my EEs (about three years old) had all kinds of stuff caked in her beard, then I noticed her face was covered with blood and she had large amounts of foam in her eyes (see pic). She was perched on the roost, presumably to get away from the rest of the flock. This EE is at the bottom of the pecking order, so I suspected she was just victim to her peers, who've unfortunately been snowed into their 8x8 coop all winter, but I noticed another hen had similar symptoms. My barred rock (also about three years) also had a lot of blood on her face and in her hackles with one eye swollen shut, she seems more sluggish than usual so I put her on the roost as well.
None of the other chickens have blood on them at all, though one (another three-year old EE) has a small amount of foam in her eyes. A few chickens have actually been exhibiting these foamy eyes since the summer, but they've been acting normally so I ignored it for the most part. Though now I am more concerned about their respiratory systems since they have been confined so much to their coop. Normally they get to go into their spacious run, and while the door is open for them to go out, they have been in the coop almost all winter. The coop normally doesn't have any kind of smell attached to it, there is plenty of ventilation, though it wasn't designed for the chickens to stay in it all the time.
What should I do with the birds, and any ideas as to what happened? I thought it was just a bad fight at first, but the foam has me worried. They were both normal this morning.
Thanks!
None of the other chickens have blood on them at all, though one (another three-year old EE) has a small amount of foam in her eyes. A few chickens have actually been exhibiting these foamy eyes since the summer, but they've been acting normally so I ignored it for the most part. Though now I am more concerned about their respiratory systems since they have been confined so much to their coop. Normally they get to go into their spacious run, and while the door is open for them to go out, they have been in the coop almost all winter. The coop normally doesn't have any kind of smell attached to it, there is plenty of ventilation, though it wasn't designed for the chickens to stay in it all the time.
What should I do with the birds, and any ideas as to what happened? I thought it was just a bad fight at first, but the foam has me worried. They were both normal this morning.
Thanks!
