Help! Droopy wings and blood from cloaca

[ChickyChickyGirl]

(photo before bath)

I found my ~11 week old pullet with droopy wings and blood on one of her wings from being pecked on by the 6 eight month olds. The wing didn’t look bad enough for her sickly appearance, but then I noticed her vent was white and bloody. The hens needed water. Two days prior she was fine, and i didn’t notice anything odd yesterday, but I didn’t spend much time with them (thus the water issue).


I did the following:
1. Sprayed the area with Veterycin and put her in my shower with water, food and a “pee-pee” pad, bc I had to leave.

When I got back, there was a concerning amount of blood from the wound on the pad, so I sprayed again and some chunks of blood came out.

Next I read a little more online and:
2. Fed her baby bird food with a 30ml syringe and tube that was leftover from a hen that was attacked last summer, to ensure she had both food/water.
3. Bathed her with soapy warm water to clean the vent. Blow dryed her and afterwards wrapped her in a towel for 30 mins, while I read online.
4. Put neosporin On a q-tip inside and in the outside of her vent. The photo below is post-bath.

Thoughts?

The only other strange thing is I found a “fairy” egg on 2/26. Is this Americauna pullet laying already?!? (I haven’t seen a blue egg.)

 

[Wyorp Rock]

How is she doing?
Is she able to poop?
What is her behavior like - alert, lethargic, can she eat/drink on her own?

She has quite a bit of damage to the vent. Is poop and blood just leaking out of her. Take time to observe her to see if she has any movement when she is pooping if that is not just leaking out.

Keep her clean the best you can and apply the Vetericyn.

No, I do not believe an 11week old laid a fairy egg.

Do you have other pullets this age with the older ones? How much space do you have in coop/run? It would be a good idea to evaluate your housing/space.

 

[ChickyChickyGirl]

How is she doing?

She was lethargic and died last night.

At least she got to snuggle with me and got good night kisses from my daughter and I.

Do you have other pullets this age with the older ones? How much space do you have in coop/run? It would be a good idea to evaluate your housing/space.

I have three more pullets her age. I got them from a local seller who had them in a deplorable setting - 50 chicks of each type crammed into every bin with barely any room to move.

The coop is about 6’ x 8’ and they free range most days. I’m predator proofing the larger stall, about 8’ x 15’ so I will have two coops soon.



Is there any chance this is something contagious?

 

[ChickyChickyGirl]

Oh, and my summer plan is to convert an old dog run (it was there when I bought this property last year) into a predator proof chicken run.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

View attachment 1689199
She was lethargic and died last night.
At least she got to snuggle with me and got good night kisses from my daughter and I.
I have three more pullets her age. I got them from a local seller who had them in a deplorable setting - 50 chicks of each type crammed into every bin with barely any room to move.
The coop is about 6’ x 8’ and they free range most days. I’m predator proofing the larger stall, about 8’ x 15’ so I will have two coops soon.
Is there any chance this is something contagious?

I'm sorry for your loss

So you have 9 all together? Just to clarify, that includes coop/run or is that just the coop (enclosed house).
I would monitor behavior very closely. No I do not feel that this was something contagious - it looks like Cannibalism. http://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/830/cannibalism-by-poultry/

 

[micstrachan]

Aww... I’m so sorry. I agree it was cannibalism.

 

[ChickyChickyGirl]

Cannibalism?

OMG.

Chicken rearing is more complex than I could have imagined. There was no prior pecking injuries before this. None. Nada. Zip. The one who died wasn’t the bottom of the pecking order, or so I thought.

Their 40 year old barn stall/coop is 6’x8’, then they normally free range during the day. I guess I need to get moving on my second barn stall/coop, in case I can’t get them outside every day.

Do you recommend that I separate the two age groups for awhile longer? They are not integrated when they are outside.

In the photo below, I removed the very temporary cage, so there are 2 roosting bars (and now a ladder for the pullets to climb), water and food, plus one nesting box (although they tend to lay eggs outside this “stall” in a large hay-filled area).

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Cannibalism?

OMG.

Chicken rearing is more complex than I could have imagined. There was no prior pecking injuries before this. None. Nada. Zip. The one who died wasn’t the bottom of the pecking order, or so I thought.

Their 40 year old barn stall/coop is 6’x8’, then they normally free range during the day. I guess I need to get moving on my second barn stall/coop, in case I can’t get them outside every day.

Do you recommend that I separate the two age groups for awhile longer? They are not integrated when they are outside.

In the photo below, I removed the very temporary cage, so there are 2 roosting bars (and now a ladder for the pullets to climb), water and food, plus one nesting box (although they tend to lay eggs outside this “stall” in a large hay-filled area).
View attachment 1690330

Do they have an outside run they can go into during the day if free ranging them is not possible?

 

[Eggcessive]

You also mentioned that they ran out of water earlier in the thread which could have added to the problem. That can be extremely stressful. I have had waterers that leak, and so I always make sure there are 2 waterers. In small coops there is always a danger in having younger chickens mixed with older ones. Here is a good article to read about vent pecking and cannibalism:
https://articles.extension.org/page...nibalism-in-small-and-backyard-poultry-flocks