My chicken has a blood feather, what should I do?

[honeythechicken]

Hi all, I have a 7 month old bantam frizzle and one of the growing pin feathers from her tail feather area has a clump of pinkish blood. I need help about what to do. I only noticed the blood feather an hour ago and her behaviour seems normal, she's foraging and pecking around. But when I try to touch it with a tissue to get some of the tiny drops of blood off, she flinches. I think it is causing her pain right now. I've researched blood feathers online and people advise plucking it out.
Will she start bleeding out from the follicle if I do that? If I leave the blood feather alone, will it dry up and leave a scab or is it going to continue bleeding until the problem gets worse? I can't get her to a vet until the end of the week so I feel like I should deal with this myself.

 

[Nikkijo]

Is there still blood coming out?

 

[Nikkijo]

If it’s not bleeding I’d just leave it alone. You can put cornstarch or flour to help it stop bleeding. If you can’t get the bleeding to stop or if the chicken keeps messing with it then pluck it out.

 

[honeythechicken]

Is there still blood coming out?

The clump of blood has gotten smaller now and is less pink, more dark red in colour. I pressed a tissue on it and nothing is on the tissue so I think it might be drying up? She still makes a noise and squirms when I touch it though. Should I just wait and keep an eye on her?

 

[Nikkijo]

How is your hen?

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Blood feathers are painful to most chickens. Chicken keepers make more man fighting roosters and shy hens by handling chickens that are molting or growing in pen a.k.a. blood feathers. I highly recommend that NO chicken that is molting should be handled for any reason what so ever until the new feathers are fully grown and hardened off.

If the quill is damaged then it MAY be permissible to pluck the damaged quill out to make room for a new and hopefully a more perfect feather or quill.

 

[honeythechicken]

How is your hen?

The blood feather is 'gone', I think it stopped bleeding and just dried up a few hours after I noticed it. She's fine, behaving like her normal self. Because they were pin feathers on her tail, I can't see where the blood feather is anymore and the other feathers are growing out quite quickly. But I don't think a feather will grow from the damaged pin feather now.