Help! Chicken bled and I don't know why???

[byudawn]

I just took my 7 week old black austrolorp to my son's class for Show and Tell.
I transported her in a box carefully and when I opened it up to show the class (only I held her) she started spotting BLOOD onto cardboard box beneath!!! I picked her up gently and there were no bumps on the quick 3 minute drive to the school or carrying inside. There are 5 LARGE spots and I set her down and just talked about her instead, hoping that she wasn't bleeding MORE or that she would die right there.......she hasn't bled more since I brought her home, and I tried turning her upside down to see WHAT was bleeding, but I see NOTHING! Could it have been out her bum??? She pooped twice and they were normal-ish, so I don't understand what happened??? Any ideas??? Truly, could she have bled from stress??? But I just barely held her out for a few seconds and I've carried/held her many times before!

 

[TeamChaos]

Did you check her toenails? Sometimes there is a split that only bleeds when the toe is in a certain position- like flexed for balance in a moving car. Best of luck!

 

[hennyannie]

Did you check her toenails? She could have been hanging on tight in the box and injured a nail, even if it seemed like an easy ride to you.

 

[byudawn]

WOW. you guys are GOOD. Yes, her middle toe had a hairline crack in it and I feel absolutely horrible that I didn't even THINK of watching out for that! Next time I transport, I'll put the pine shavings at the bottom like I was thinking I should do vs. just newspaper. Thank you! I'm so glad it wasn't something more serious, although that was quite a bit of blood and freaked me out! (Luckily I was far enough away that I don't think the kids even saw!) Thanks for this forum for "city" folks like me still learning!