Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

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I discovered the Macro setting on my phone...
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I thought this might be enjoyed by many here!❤
 
ChicoryBlue said:
:( Found blood on a part of the roosting bars today. The roosting bars (which is basically a barred floor) are next to the nestbox with a doorway between them.

Two days ago right after I had let them out for a bit I noticed a tiny bit of blood tracked onto the snow near the door of their run. I looked as best I could at everyone's feet and vent. Nothing found, but the foot inspection wasn't great, I had trouble looking at their feet bottoms, it was windy and they were flighty. It also was just that one bit of blood, not a series of spots like a bleeding foot. No blood on or near anyone's vents. Butters had had a frozen poop on her which I was about to deal with when I saw she had pulled it off while roosting (a featherball found in the poop tray). She's missing the small feathers that were there but there's no sign of injury.

Today's find was a big drip on the side of one bar, intact and frozen, and a couple smaller drops on top looking the same, then a few smeared prints from being walked on. It doesn't look like a foot injury unless it bled while she was holding it up, because of the lack of smear. Is chicken blood lighter in color than human blood? This has a rosy hue to it.

So I looked again at everyone's vents and faces today, and didn't see anything. I notice Hazel's vent, and I think Peanut's too, evert somewhat when they squat and I'm petting them. Could this be concerning?

I felt all their crops. Seemed fine. I felt three hens' keels and abdomens and noticed Queenie's abdomen feels more plump than the others, also wider, but her body is wider. I don't have a good reference for her usual abdomen because I haven't been inspecting that regularly (unfortunately). One Buckeye has just started laying, I don't know who for sure, though I suspect Butters.

Of course they all act fine otherwise. There's been a lot of ruckus the last two days as they wait for the nest boxes to free up. They call and hop up onto the perch and go into the coop and come out again. Peanut was in there a very long time yesterday. Two Buckeyes will share the long area sometimes, one in each end. Yesterday Queenie wanted to go in and share but was prevented, and another Buckeye jumped the line and went in ahead of her and got to share. Queenie eventually got in. But today it seemed they wanted to be in there one-by-one and everyone was not happy. When I checked Hazel today in there she was sitting almost in the middle, partly blocking the doorway.

I relate this because I wonder if the blood may have happened during this time. Because it's hard to imagine the blood not getting smeared and tracked around if it happened during roosting.

No poop has had any signs of blood, old or new. Everyone's poop looked darker yesterday, due I think to the extra soldier worms and a different scratch they got the day before, but there was no visible blood on any of it; today's poop looked more like usual - light green & white, dark green and white, & small brown poops. In the run there was one fresh poop with a bit of bubbles in it yesterday.

I've been researching this and so far am finding that it could be a cracked egg inside somebody, to a bleeding comb or a nail injury. From bad news, to nothing to get too excited about. Does anyone have any specific instructions on what to look for in checking everyone again tomorrow? Thank you everyone! :(
Click to expand...
As Bob says later (I read ahead) chicken blood is like our blood so would expect it to be dark unless mixed with water or snow or whatever.
Have you examined their wattles? About a year ago I was horrified to find blood. Turned out that Maggie had scratched her wattles and one of the scratches bled (like a human scalp there is a lot of blood flow in a wattle). In her case most of it was deep red venous blood as you would expect, but the first few drops were paler because she had a good swig of water before roosting and she is not a tidy drinker.
I hope it turns out to be nothing serious.
:fl :fl :love
 
RoyalChick said:
As Bob says later (I read ahead) chicken blood is like our blood so would expect it to be dark unless mixed with water or snow or whatever.
Have you examined their wattles? About a year ago I was horrified to find blood. Turned out that Maggie had scratched her wattles and one of the scratches bled (like a human scalp there is a lot of blood flow in a wattle). In her case most of it was deep red venous blood as you would expect, but the first few drops were paler because she had a good swig of water before roosting and she is not a tidy drinker.
I hope it turns out to be nothing serious.
:fl :fl :love
Click to expand...
This is a good possibility as well.
 

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