My chicken's are dying and have bleeding cloacas!

[mjane1]

Last week we lost one chicken and two weeks before that we lost another one. (We have one RR rooster and now 6 RR hens.) Both had bleeding cloacas.
Yesterday another hen was suddenly bleeding from her cloaca and she kept trying to lay an egg, pushed, made a squeek, and couldn't. She was in a lot of pain from trying to lay. Now she looks very pale and can not get up. She has been separated from the others and is now laying in hay inside the house. I think she's about to die too Her cloaca looks extruded and has a whitish discharge excreting from it along with blood. I tried to wash it up, but I don't know what else to do

Could it be that she's laying eggs that are too big for her? She's about 12 months old and is very tiny compared to the other hens.

 

[Jenski]

So sorry about your hens.

If your hens have had bloody DROPPINGS along with bloody vents, this could be coccidiosis.

If they are having trouble passing eggs, they could be eggbound. Sounds like this is indeed the problem with your current hen, although there could be other factors involved.

For the short term, I would recommend a nice warm "sitz bath" - - if you have an old dishpan, or if you dearly love your gal and are willing to let her occupy your sink, run nice warm water in it -- enough to cover her bottom -- and gently hold her in it for 5 minutes or so. This can help relax the vent and help her pass the egg. [be sure to dry her off well afterward.]

What are you feeding your chickens?

What is your weather?

Are there other symptoms? Are they pecking each other's bottoms?


Hope that helps as a start. Good luck, and please keep us posted.

 

[dlhunicorn]

is the blood internal or are you saying that (damage to) the cloaca itself is the source of the blood.
Internal > could be from worms > cappilaria worms will cause this symptom and if you have never wormed I suggest you do so.
If from the cloaca itself then they are probably pecking each other... boredom and lack of vitamins/deficiency can be involved... separate the birds and give a general supplement (AviaCharge 2000 is a good one) if crowding is not a problem. Offer them something else to peck on like a watermelon or head of lettuce or something if you have them penned and boredom is a problem.

 

[mjane1]

Thank you!! Sorry my response was so late, I was expecting an email when I received responses.

They eat cracked corn and pellets. New England weather is always changing. I tried to put her in a warm bath for a while and it helped, but she still didn't pass her egg. Her cloaca was bleeding from the inside I believe. She passed away two days after the incident

All of my other chickens are ok though. None of them are bleeding THANK GOD. I think they do peck at each other sometimes. I noticed yesterday one of the eggs was slightly covered in dried blood, but I inspected all of their vents and everyone was ok. I hope this doesn't happen again. I believe the pellets we give them are packed with vitamins. What would you give them to protect them from worms? Thank you so much again!

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Sounds like the eggs are breaking during the process of laying.

You say you are feeding cracked corn and pellets...are you giving any extra calcium such as oyster shell to help maintain the shell hardness? The softer consistency of the shell could be what is causing the eggs to break and in essence...doing some major damage along the way.

 

[LynneP]

I agree, cut out the corn- not only is it depriving them of calcium and other balanced nutrients but it makes them too hot at this time of year and too fat which interferes with egg-laying. Your hens are possibly low in calcium and it deprives the muscles of strength to push as well as causing shell problems. Hens would benefit from a multivitamin in their water for a few days, even a baby vitamin without added iron.

 

[mjane1]

What kind of food would supply them with calcium? Can I just dissolve some regular calcium supplements into their water? Also, I have not noticed any broken egg shells; however, one egg yesterday was abnormally small. Thanks again!

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

If you could do a necropsy, you would be able to see the broken egg shells inside of the hens. The blood loss from the shells breaking the thin tissue inside of the vagina is what is causing their deaths. And no, it is not a happy death.

You can go to any feed store and request oyster shells. When you have them, get a small container...doesn't really matter what it is, then put the oyster shell in the container. Offer the oyster shell to the hens nonstop. Do not take it out. The hens will get what they need when they need it.

I have a 25 lb. sack of oyster shell and it has lasted me...oh..1 year now??

 

[mjane1]

oyster shell...ok thanks so much!

 

[BreadNButterFarm]

You can also feed yogurt for added calcium. They usually like it & gobble it up. Good luck!