Dripping blood from rear and acting lethargic, no clear cause

[xiggystardust]

Hi all! We are new chicken owners of 3 ISA browns that lay nearly daily in the morning. They are about 15 months old, and we got them 2 months ago. Today we found only one egg in the morning and in the late afternoon, we found one bird squatting and struggling with blood and some possibly other clear fluid dripping from her rear. She eventually laid an egg there in the run, and it was pale and rough (different from their usual smooth brown eggs). Another chicken also laid an egg in the run of the same rough quality, but no blood or issues.

The other chooks were pecking at her so I separated her, rinsed the area and had a look. I trimmed off minimal feathers as the area already seemed somewhat bare. I couldn’t see a prolapse or clear injury, just clotty-looking blood chunks that I had to pull off. The vent did look swollen and irritated, but this is the only vent I’ve ever seen outside of internet photos!

Before today I didn’t even know that chicken had “vents” so I’d appreciate a double look at this one to reassure me there’s no prolapse. Also if it’s not prolapse and there’s no sign of pecking injury, where’s all this blood coming from?

note: after the egg she didn’t want to eat or move, just stood a long time, drank a bit of water, then sat. After the bath she was in a small area in my garage, but just sat down and closed her eyes, seemingly for the night (about two hours earlier than the usual).

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Welcome To BYC

How is she doing?
It's good that she laid the egg, did you notice if there was also blood on the egg?

Speculation on my part that she was having difficulty laying the egg and there was some exposed tissue and the others pecked at the tissue (this can happen). When she laid the egg, the tissue went back in, but of course there was some injury/damage - this may be where the blood is/was coming from.
The vent in the photos is not prolapsed, but I agree, it does look a bit swollen. Soaking in a warm epsom salts bath may help reduce the swelling, but only do this if she's not lethargic. Soaking a bird in poor shape can put them over the edge.

Sounds like she's not feeling that well, but IF tissue was pecked and she's since withdrawn is back in (I do see a small injury below the vent likely a peck wound) then she may be in a bit of pain. I would see how she's doing in the morning. Do your best to get her eating/drinking. I would also consider giving an antibiotic to help with any infection - Amoxicillin can be ordered online. Watch the cut/wound on the outside, it's probably fine but if you wish, you can dab on a little neosporin.

Is she pooping o.k.?

Now. You mention rough/pale egg shells from her and another. That in itself one time is not too alarming. But let's take a look at what you feed along with how they are housed? Have you noticed them stressed or picking at one another? Looked them over for lice/mites? Do you provide oyster shell?

Hopefully you find her much better in the morning.

 

[xiggystardust]

Thanks so much for the response and wisdom. It really helped guide me! She was definitely much better this morning and I’ve seen her eating, drinking, and escaping from her temporary enclosure today .... so back to business as usual! She did have blood and a very soft egg come out this morning (we found it on the floor deflated and empty). I’ve always fed them purina layer feed that seems to have oyster shells integrated into the feed, but today I went out to get some extra oyster shells to add to the feed... they spend a lot of time foraging the yard these days, so possibly they’re just not getting enough of the purina and related calcium!

I’m planning to keep her isolated at least another day since the top of her vent looks red and irritated. Will return her I think when her eggs and vent start looking closer to normal.

it has been cute to see the hens calling to one another across the yard. One in particular seems to miss her... since we separated them she has barely left the fence-side, and has cooed and bocked often!

 

[xiggystardust]

Welcome To BYC

How is she doing?
It's good that she laid the egg, did you notice if there was also blood on the egg?

Speculation on my part that she was having difficulty laying the egg and there was some exposed tissue and the others pecked at the tissue (this can happen). When she laid the egg, the tissue went back in, but of course there was some injury/damage - this may be where the blood is/was coming from.
The vent in the photos is not prolapsed, but I agree, it does look a bit swollen. Soaking in a warm epsom salts bath may help reduce the swelling, but only do this if she's not lethargic. Soaking a bird in poor shape can put them over the edge.

Sounds like she's not feeling that well, but IF tissue was pecked and she's since withdrawn is back in (I do see a small injury below the vent likely a peck wound) then she may be in a bit of pain. I would see how she's doing in the morning. Do your best to get her eating/drinking. I would also consider giving an antibiotic to help with any infection - Amoxicillin can be ordered online. Watch the cut/wound on the outside, it's probably fine but if you wish, you can dab on a little neosporin.

Is she pooping o.k.?

Now. You mention rough/pale egg shells from her and another. That in itself one time is not too alarming. But let's take a look at what you feed along with how they are housed? Have you noticed them stressed or picking at one another? Looked them over for lice/mites? Do you provide oyster shell?

Hopefully you find her much better in the morning.

Another update... I was transporting her from one spot to another today and an egg fell out of her! Now she’s back to acting ill and has a whitish fluid dripping from her vent. Her poops are small and wet.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Was the egg intact and hard shelled?

It doesn't sound very good that she is acting ill after the egg came out.
I would check to make sure her crop is emptying. If she did prolapse and that was damaged, then she may have infection. You may want to see if she responds to antibiotics.