HELP!!!! Pullet with a bloody butt! Don't know what to do!

[AriadneCastro]

I don't know if the pullet has started laying yet. I noticed her being too lethargic today, so I picked her up and saw blood coming from her butt. I don't now what to do, not even where to begin with - and no vets around! Help, please!!!

 

[rebrascora]

First place to start is to bring her into a warm place and give her a nice warm bath with either Epsom salts or a teaspoon of salt in it to get her cleaned up, so that you can hopefully see what the problem is.... possibly a prolapse or maybe she has been badly pecked or maybe even fly strike if you have warm temperatures. Have a hair dryer ready to give her a warm blow dry afterwards and antiseptic ointment handy to put on any wounds you find. If it is a prolapse, apply some Preparation H haemorrhoid cream or honey and very gently push it back inside her with your finger. Keep her in a warm dark place (a cardboard box with plenty of clean bedding and ventilation holes for a couple of days, giving her food and water twice a day, checking her over and repeating treatment if necessary. The dark reduces the urge to produce more eggs which will hopefully give it a chance to heal.

Maybe take a photo once you have given her a bath so that we can see what the problem might be, before commencing treatment if you are unsure.

 

[AriadneCastro]

Hello rebrascora, and thank you so much for your reply! I did most of that by now: the warm bath with the salt in it, dried her up with the hairdryer and now she is sitting on a blanket, right next to the heater (it's winter here, not too cold but very wet!). I have inspected the butt during and after the bath (she even made me the favor of stepping out of the tub to poop) and there are no wounds outside. I saw that the blood comes from the inside. The vent is not protruding too much - it looks more like a bit swollen - meaning, there's not much for me to push back inside.

She's one of my sweetest babies, I'm really worried...

Is it ok if I use Betadine on her butt? And what do I do if she doesn't get better in a couple of days, is there anything a vet can do *IF* I manage to travel with her to find one?

 

[AriadneCastro]

... and still more questions: could this have been the result of the rooster mating with her before her time? I mean... it just crossed my mind! She should be laying by now, I guess, since all other girls have delivered their first eggs. Also, the rooster is usually a gentle one, never saw him going rough on them. Just trying to understand what could have happened...

Meanwhile, I made her a little box-nest in a cage, inside the house. She didn't go to sleep inside the nest but perched herself on the side of it - which I suppose is a good sign...

Tomorrow morning, what follows? Another warm bath (30 minutes of it, maybe?)

How can I determine if it is a bound egg or something else?

Sorry for being such a pain with so many questions but I'm pretty stressed... I got my flock in last May and half of the birds died, mostly with CRD but I also had some mysterious cases. I really care a lot for them. Being with them has helped me out of chronic depression and I consider them close friends. I don't want to see another of my babies go, not so soon anyway...

 

[rebrascora]

Hi again Ariadne. I too suffer from stress and depression on occasion and I also know how upsetting it is to lose birds you care for and love, so I do understand where you are at.

Well done for bathing and drying her and setting her up in a temporary home. It is a good sign that she wants to perch rather than lie in a nest. Is she interested in food.... try tempting her with a little scrambled egg.

It is extremely unlikely that the cockerel would cause damage to her vent during mating, as there is no penetration involved with chickens.

Does she look like she is straining to poop or lay an egg? Does the area below her vent feel swollen and if so, hard or soft and spongy. Make a note of any poop she does overnight. Take a photo of both her vent and any poop as it is easier to give advice if we can see what you see.
If you feel another bath tomorrow would be beneficial (sometimes it perks them up a bit) or she needs cleaning up again, try inserting a lubricated finger gently into her vent about an inch to feel for an egg once she is clean. If you can't feel one then it is unlikely she is egg bound.

If she has blood in her poop, then it could be coccidiosis, which is why you need to take note of her poop overnight.

Is she normally in a pen of r free range? Is it possible she laid an egg somewhere and you just haven't found it and she perhaps tore herself a little as she laid it? Was there any noticeable blood in the bath water....ie was she still bleeding during or after the bath? I'm afraid I'm not familiar with betadine, but if you have some honey in the house I would apply a little of that to her vent.

I certainly would not consider myself as knowledgeable as a vet, so if no one else comes along with other advice and she doesn't improve, then I would certainly make enquiries about finding one that knows something about chickens.

I hope you both have a restful night and that she is looking a lot perkier in the morning.

Best wishes

Barbara

 

[AriadneCastro]

Hi again Ariadne. I too suffer from stress and depression on occasion and I also know how upsetting it is to lose birds you care for and love, so I do understand where you are at.

Hello again, Barbara, and thank you so much! It helps a lot not to feel alone!

Well done for bathing and drying her and setting her up in a temporary home. It is a good sign that she wants to perch rather than lie in a nest. Is she interested in food.... try tempting her with a little scrambled egg.

I tempted her with strawberries and sunflower seeds - which she loves - and she had them with pleasure, even though she didn't have much. I'll give her the scrambled egg tomorrow, at breakfast, maybe adding a bit of vitamins and more seeds...

It is extremely unlikely that the cockerel would cause damage to her vent during mating, as there is no penetration involved with chickens.

I thought it would be unlikely, but I still had to ask...

Does she look like she is straining to poop or lay an egg? Does the area below her vent feel swollen and if so, hard or soft and spongy. Make a note of any poop she does overnight. Take a photo of both her vent and any poop as it is easier to give advice if we can see what you see.
If you feel another bath tomorrow would be beneficial (sometimes it perks them up a bit) or she needs cleaning up again, try inserting a lubricated finger gently into her vent about an inch to feel for an egg once she is clean. If you can't feel one then it is unlikely she is egg bound.

If she has blood in her poop, then it could be coccidiosis, which is why you need to take note of her poop overnight.

As I mentioned, she made me the favor of wanting to poop during the bath. She stepped out and released the little poop into a bit of toilet paper in my hand. I saw perfectly that the poop was not bloody. Instead, I saw that the swollen, bloody part, is on the top side of the butt - I reckon that's where the eggs come from. Photos, yes, second thing tomorrow in the morning!

Is she normally in a pen of r free range? Is it possible she laid an egg somewhere and you just haven't found it and she perhaps tore herself a little as she laid it? Was there any noticeable blood in the bath water....ie was she still bleeding during or after the bath? I'm afraid I'm not familiar with betadine, but if you have some honey in the house I would apply a little of that to her vent.

They have a spacious pen. Plus, I let them come out and join me in the garden, once in a while. I cannot let them free range because my garden is in the middle of a town and they would get themselves into trouble... It's possible that she has laid an egg by now, but I'm pretty sure that I find *all* of them. Today, after noticing the problem, I immediately inspected all the eggs in the nests for spots of blood - found none.

About Betadine, it's just a basic anti-septic: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Povidone-iodine

I certainly would not consider myself as knowledgeable as a vet, so if no one else comes along with other advice and she doesn't improve, then I would certainly make enquiries about finding one that knows something about chickens.

Meanwhile, I'm storming the internet for clues & treatments. My problem is that most vets here have no idea of chickens. Anyway, I suspect this has something to do with eggs and egg-laying, especially because I saw the blood coming from *up there*... I've watched a few videos with people recommending the insertion of a bit of olive oil, via syringe, into the chicken's vent, to loosen up a bound egg. Then, I've read somewhere else that olive oil is not adequate, I should use something else... Any ideas on this?

I hope you both have a restful night and that she is looking a lot perkier in the morning.

Thanks again, and a restful night to you, too <3

Best wishes

Barbara

 

[rebrascora]

Hi Ariadne

How is she doing this morning? Better I hope.

Best wishes

Barbara

 

[AriadneCastro]

Hi Ariadne

How is she doing this morning? Better I hope.

Best wishes

Barbara

Hello Barbara! I'm relieved to say that she is looking better! I stayed with her for most of the time, these last two days, looking for any sign of anything... I was a bit reluctant to do the manual inspection, since she appeared to feel better. I'd rather not take the risk of hurting her and start that bleeding again. I *suppose* whatever was wrong is gone by now because today she was acting as her old self, scratching around and hunting flies. My only concern now is the fact that I still haven't found any egg of hers... I mean, an egg bound chicken does not simply feel better, so I should presume this is not the case, right?