Is it normal to see some blood from your chickens every now and then?

[citychicks99]

It seems that sometimes I'll see some blood from one of my hens, Sammy. We have a rat proof feeder where they stick their head in to eat. I cleaned it once and after Sammy ate, I saw some blood smeared on the front. This doesn't always happen though. I wormed them this morning, and I saw a speck of blood on the towel after. I also noticed black, diarrhea looking poo most mornings under where Sammy roosts. She loves treats and I wonder if I overfeed her sometimes. Her eggs tend mlto be more oblong. The one on the left is hers. The one in the middle is from my other hen and the one on the right is from the store. Sometimes I'll see a few specks of blood in her eggs too. Is this all normal?

 

[aart]

Is this all normal?

Yes....probably.
Good to find out where the blood is coming from.

The poop maybe a problem.....pics would help here.
Black poop is probably cecal poop, it's often rather soft/liquidy.

Feeding too many treats is not good.
What all and how exactly are you feeding?

Why and with what did you worm them?

 

[Brooks_]

Good to find out where the blood is coming from

I would start by checking the ports for sharp edges.

 

[Ridgerunner]

We have a rat proof feeder where they stick their head in to eat.

I don't know what that specific feeder looks like but it sounds like a razor edge or sharp point. Head wounds bleed really easily.

Sometimes I'll see a few specks of blood in her eggs too. Is this all normal?

In her eggs? Are you talking about between the yolk and the egg whites? Those are called blood spots and are pretty normal. Supposedly about 3% of all eggs contain blood but some hens are more prone to that than others. Usually they occur when in the mechanics of the yolk being released to start an egg a small blood vessel breaks and leaks a little blood. Other things can be in our eggs, not just blood spots. That's why I suggest always opening them in a separate bowl before we use them.

 

[citychicks99]

Yes....probably.
Good to find out where the blood is coming from.

The poop maybe a problem.....pics would help here.
Black poop is probably cecal poop, it's often rather soft/liquidy.

Feeding too many treats is not good.
What all and how exactly are you feeding?

Why and with what did you worm them?

The poo didn't look too bad this morning. If I see it again tomorrow I'll take a picture.

I feed them feather fixer. They were getting a lot of watermelon peels in the summer but I haven't been feeding them too many treats lately. I gave them a little bit of pumpkin seeds today. My brother will give them strawberry tops or leftover carrots and rice. I tell him not to feed them rice but he won't stop but at least he doesn't do it too often. I also give them yogurt every other day and sometimes cucumbers, lettuce or spinach.

I wormed them with Valbazen because I saw a long thin looking like thing in their poo the other day. I'm glad I did it today because after this hen let out a big poo with some liquid, I looked and saw a small white squiggly thing about two inches long swimming in it and moving around.

We have five two-week old baby chicks so I didn't worm them. I couldn't decide on whether to worm the mom or not so I didn't since I figured her body must be stressed from brooding and she didn't really hang around the other chickens for a while.

 

[citychicks99]

I would start by checking the ports for sharp edges.

What are ports?

 

[citychicks99]

I don't know what that specific feeder looks like but it sounds like a razor edge or sharp point. Head wounds bleed really easily.


In her eggs? Are you talking about between the yolk and the egg whites? Those are called blood spots and are pretty normal. Supposedly about 3% of all eggs contain blood but some hens are more prone to that than others. Usually they occur when in the mechanics of the yolk being released to start an egg a small blood vessel breaks and leaks a little blood. Other things can be in our eggs, not just blood spots. That's why I suggest always opening them in a separate bowl before we use them.

This is their feeder. I don't think that caused the head wound. We have a rooster and I think he gets aggressive with her. I think it could be from him. I think I will get rid of him by next summer.

Yes, that. I figured they were normal. I haven't seen anything that looked like worms in their eggs but I did see some in their poo.