Is this a clotting mass of broken blood feathers?

[KaseySnow]

Are you keeping a watch on this chicken's behavior? It is possible for a chicken to be weakened from loss of blood. In fact, I'm dealing with just that situation this very moment. An hour ago, I found my nearly thirteen-year old Brahma hen collapsed in the run after seeing gobs of blood spilled in the coop.

Oh gosh, I hope your hen feels better soon!

Yes, I've been keeping a close eye on her. She was very lethargic that first day I found her, I assume from blood loss and fighting the extreme cold. But every day since then she's been stronger and seeming very much like her usual flighty, anti-human self, haha. I haven't seen any fresh blood anywhere since that first night, the feathers definitely seem scabbed up.

Since it wont be warm enough to soak her again until Sunday, I'm going to have to hold off on messing with them anymore for a few days. Just gotta hope that the dry, coagulated blood clump protects her from further bleeding until I can get in there and loosen it from the feathers to see which ones are broken.

 

[aart]

I'm thinking of leaving her in isolation away from the others until then just in case they peck at it or she gets it caught on something and tears it open again.

Very good idea.
Best of cLuck!

 

[KaseySnow]

Just wanted to update everyone on Fancy Brown: She's doing great! There has been no more bleeding and I just checked her vent area again today. The scabby clot has fallen off and all the feathers that remain look good, save for one that is very small and dead looking. It seemed to have a bit of clot remaining inside the shaft, but not actively bleeding and it appears to be falling out on its own. It seems like plenty of new healthy feathers are growing in in place of the one(s) that bled and caused this mess. Thank you everyone for the advice and encouragement on this thread!

Fun side note, I ended up giving her a nail, beak, and hair trim while I was checking her since she was looking kind of scraggly. I can now see her eyes for the first time in ages and watched her eat her food without having to tip her head to the side. Yay for helping chickens!

 

[azygous]

Thank you for updating. It's wonderful to have a happy ending.

 

[KaseySnow]

Two months later and Fancy Brown is looking fabulous. Even her sister Fancy (the polish peeking out from behind her) is impressed with her new tail.

 

[azygous]

Strutting her sassy stuff!

 

[KaseySnow]

Haha, she really is!
She's also put on a lot of weight since the incident (probably also due in part to getting her beak trimmed so she could actually eat) so I don't think the others are getting to push her around quite as much anymore.