Hen with Bloody Mouth

[mtnhomechick]

My EE hasn't laid an egg for about three weeks now so I've been observing her to see if she is sick or moulting. She is one of 40 I have that I got in spring. None of the others are moulting and she doesn't appear to have many feathers missing. Since I do the light thing they are all laying well in winter.

Yesterday I picked her up to look at her eyes and check vent.....all appeared ok to me.

Today while the rest were free ranging for awhile I noticed her alone in the run so I brought her in to check her again. I noticed some blood on her beak and opened her mouth and it was bloody. I have coincidently had two recent episodes of egg eating. I wonder if she might have cut her mouth on an egg shell. But that still doesn't explain why she hasn't laid for so long.

Yesterday I took a human treat out that was warm and soft and I observed her eating it but today her crop feels almost empty.

Right now I have her in the house in a large rabbit hutch in case she is sick.

Any ideas or advice?

Thanks,

Mary

 

[mtnhomechick]

Anybody?

 

[KellyHM]

Does she have any other respiratory symptoms? Trouble breathing, etc?

 

[mtnhomechick]

No........no other bad symptoms. Just a bloody mouth and not laying.

 

[crazyhen]

I so hope it is not a resp. problem. there is one that they have blood coming when they cough or sneeze. Good luck . You did great by isolating her. Watch carefully and give us an update please Jean

 

[KellyHM]

It could have just been trauma or it could be something more serious, like Infectious Laryngotracheitis...which you do NOT want b/c it's reportable and you have to put the whole flock down. The only way to tell is wait and see. If she doesn't have any other respiratory signs it's probably less likely to be ILT.

 

[mtnhomechick]

Her eyes are very clear. She's in the house right now and I'm observing her. No sneezing and she looks comfortable.

DH reminded me that a few days ago, we had a broken light bulb in the run and he couldn't find a small portion of it. It was due to a storm.

Wonder if she got some glass...........but still........no eggs in three weeks.

BTW.......she has eaten ( some ) since being in the house.

Could this be a combo of a cut in mouth/Moult?

Thanks Guys,

Mary

 

[allisojo]

I'm no veterinarian, and I'm also no chicken expert, but a cut in her mouth could certainly reduce her desire to eat. So would the ingestion of a small piece of glass, however. If its the former, it should clear up on its own in a few days, right? If it's the latter, though, it could be more problematic. I assume you would see some blood in her stool at some point - dark black if the cut were somewhere high up in the digestive tract (and the blood was being digested) and redder if it were closer to the vent. Who knows, though. It sounds like it's only a cut in her mouth, but as others have pointed out, it could be something more serious. Good luck and keep us posted. Thanks.

 

[mtnhomechick]

Still observing her........seems fine accept still wiping her beak on straw. Bloody mouth.

Hmmmm..............

 

[crazyhen]

Have you held her down and looked really well in her throat and mouth? She may have a piece of glass stuck in there and it keeps bleeding. Jean