Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[RoyalChick]

It looks like she's contemplating what color to chose for her pedi!

I thought it was more like "Damn, what did I step in now!?"

 

[featherhead007]

Thanks, Alex! Looking @ that I'd say there is @ least 1, possibly 2, that might be boys. What do you think? You get to observe behaviour...

Girls so far

 

[BY Bob]

Like this?

No in a serpentine manner!

 

[Ribh]

Girls so far

Well, that's good news for you. Now we watch & wait...

 

[BY Bob]

Dual purpose (meaning, they can snuggle up and lay eggs)?

Exactly!

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Let me start with this. Nothing to worry about with this behavior. It's normal. Remember squatting is a precursor to mating.

Their blood should be similar in color to ours. The rosy tint means there is something else is mixed with it. Or it means it is not blood.

Is there any chance that melting snow picked up something to color it before it dripped down and froze?

Well, could there be prolapse in the making? On one of them I see a large-ish bulbous part come out. I am thinking that is their genitals, all ready for the rooster, but on only that hen do I see it. But it all goes back in, doesn't stay sticking out, and it looks normal if I can get her tail lifted without her going into a squat.

Blood color - that was my thought too. I wondered if the grey plastic roost was somehow tinting it, but it looks solid, I mean it doesn't appear thin. I'll look again, as now I'm doubting myself. It actually reminded me of kid's paint. Frankly menstrual blood came to mind. Could it be mixed with a thinner, such as the vent lubricating fluid, and would that make it lighter in color yet still appear thick? I even took the roost panel out and looked at it closely in the daylight. I didn't clean off the roost today and I will look again tomorrow. I'll ask my DH to look, squeamish as he is, he will help.

By the way, the multi-quotes is way easier on the eyes and navigating through now, each quote is in a blue box and smaller type.

New layers sometimes leave a bloody streak but it doesn't sound like there's been any blood on an egg. Coccidiosis comes to mind ~ & I'm no expert but I've just treated my flock on vet advice & none of my girls were showing the classic symptoms listed but some of my girls were infected.

A cracked or broken egg inside & I don't think you'd have a chicken any more. That tends to kill fast in my experience.

No eggs have ever had any blood on them. Sometimes a wet area if I get them soon after laying. Otherwise the most that's on them is some stuck nest material (hemp).

I wondered about coccidiosis too. If it persists I should get a test done if possible? Wouldn't there be blood on the poop though too, or is that when things get really bad?

I did read about an egg-bound hen getting the egg syringed out and shell crushed and she lived. The shell bits probably got encapsulated with scar tissue.

I am wondering if one of your girls has started laying but laying a thin shelled or membrane egg that the others have quickly eaten...? That might account for the blood but no visible sign of injury & 1st time layers often start with really gross eggs.

Wouldn't there be more mess then? I will photo what's there tomorrow. There were three thin-shelled eggs over the course of a couple of weeks, two that fell onto the poop tray and one collapsed and on the roost bars, uneaten. The egg that was in them looked totally normal, just the shell seemed like thin rubber. There's been a couple small eggs with interesting calcium squiggle shapes on the shells but otherwise normal. The poop tray is inaccessible to the chickens, anything that drops down in there stays there.

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.

No, I didn't really look at their wattles really closely; I will do that. Also their nails!

 

[BY Bob]

Girls so far

I'm thinking girls too. There is one that is questionable but it is not real defined. I would like to see posture. It will be fun to find out!

 

[Ribh]

I'm thinking girls too. There is one that is questionable but it is not real defined. I would like to see posture. It will be fun to find out!

My thoughts too, @BY Bob. I have no real idea. Just practising in case I ever [unlikely though it is] ever get the real thing.

 

[BY Bob]

Well, could there be prolapse in the making? On one of them I see a large-ish bulbous part come out. I am thinking that is their genitals, all ready for the rooster, but on only that hen do I see it. But it all goes back in, doesn't stay sticking out, and it looks normal if I can get her tail lifted without her going into a squat.

Blood color - that was my thought too. I wondered if the grey plastic roost was somehow tinting it, but it looks solid, I mean it doesn't appear thin. I'll look again, as now I'm doubting myself. It actually reminded me of kid's paint. Frankly menstrual blood came to mind. Could it be mixed with a thinner, such as the vent lubricating fluid, and would that make it lighter in color yet still appear thick? I even took the roost panel out and looked at it closely in the daylight. I didn't clean off the roost today and I will look again tomorrow. I'll ask my DH to look, squeamish as he is, he will help.

By the way, the multi-quotes is way easier on the eyes and navigating through now, each quote is in a blue box and smaller type.

No eggs have ever had any blood on them. Sometimes a wet area if I get them soon after laying. Otherwise the most that's on them is some stuck nest material (hemp).

I wondered about coccidiosis too. If it persists I should get a test done if possible? Wouldn't there be blood on the poop though too, or is that when things get really bad?

I did read about an egg-bound hen getting the egg syringed out and shell crushed and she lived. The shell bits probably got encapsulated with scar tissue.


Wouldn't there be more mess then? I will photo what's there tomorrow. There were three thin-shelled eggs over the course of a couple of weeks, two that fell onto the poop tray and one collapsed and on the roost bars, uneaten. The egg that was in them looked totally normal, just the shell seemed like thin rubber. There's been a couple small eggs with interesting calcium squiggle shapes on the shells but otherwise normal. The poop tray is inaccessible to the chickens, anything that drops down in there stays there.


No, I didn't really look at their wattles really closely; I will do that. Also their nails!

You've got a lot to look at here. Let's see what this brings.

 

[BY Bob]

My thoughts too, @BY Bob. I have no real idea. Just practising in case I ever [unlikely though it is] ever get the real thing.

I like this game.