Mysterious injuries and strange amount of blood?????

[angela56124]

So this morning my brother,Nick and I go out to the coop, he gives them pellets and I gave them greens and vegatables. I notice one Buff orpington and she has blood on her head, and I start to freak out. So my brother gets one of our dogs cages puts in pine chips(we were out of straw), food and water and I grab her and stick her in the cage. Then me and my brother go check the other chickens , some have blood splatters on there backs and wings, but none on there beaks??????(and no other chickens have injuries) Confused we go into the coop looking for blood and we FOUND it! So our coop has 9 boxes and 2 roosting poles(also 1 infront of the middle boxes) the feedder and waterer are by the door and an electric heater that was plugged in. Blood EVERYWHER, im NOT kidding, the floor had a little blood and , the rossting poles andthe nest boxes had a little bloood. But the wall and the top right and middle right nesting boxes wrer covered in blood. The wall looked like a giant splatter paint and the nesting boxes looked splattered too, except the top of the top right box it had a very concentrated line of blood. The blood wasn't new, it was dry but not crusted. Like this is WWWWAAAYYYY too much blood for 1 chicken, and I know the head bleeds alot but still way ttooooo much. Like the equivalent would be a person standing next to a wall about 6 ft by 6 ft covered in SPLATTERED blood. My brother and I were beyond ourselves, I went to go look at my chickens injuries and she has i cut on her comb( and alittle right between her comb and her head) But that was it. There was blood around it and it got around her eyes beak and earlodes, because it dripped and alittle got on the back of her head. What think is she was sitting on the end of the nest box and she tried to fly, either something scared her,I don t know, but then she hit her head, right on her comb on the top of the box where that concentrated line of blood is. But I dont know how that huge splatter got on the wall. She is in the other cage and isnt bleeding and I tried to wipe of the blood with a baby wipe but she didnt appreciate it(the baby wipe was cold) and the door to the coop was open about an inch- inch and a half and the latch was open,( my brother closed the latch and turned the little lock thing that keeps in place yesterday ,the last time we were out there). Now the squirrels here learned to open these latches, but the thing it there is an opening in the top fence that even a racoon could fit through and it could go through their door to get in the coop. I dont get it???????? Its veryy cold here and we just got over a huge snowstore where we had over 2 feet. Im sorry for writing alot I just really want to know what you think happened and if you have any advice. Thank you so much!

 

[angela56124]

Sorry again but, if you have any medicine that you think could help our hurt Chicken please let me knoe(to stop infection or make it scabb???) And my brother thinks it was some kids who wanted to mess with them, but I dont thinks so??? Thanks so much!

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

First, are you missing any chickens? Were there any tracks in the snow outside the coop (especially near where you said there was an opening that a racoon could fit through).

If you don't have a styptic pencil or quick stop, you can use corn starch, DE, spider web or instant glue to stop bleeding.

Does your hen act at all ill? Open her beak and look inside--do you see blood? How about any of the others--do any of them act ill?

 

[angela56124]

Well most snow is gone now but didn't see any tracks, she isn't bleeding anymore and she acts fine and the rest do too, when I threw in the veggies they all reaced over and grabbed a piece even her???? This is confusing!!!?????

 

[PortageGirl]

Well, if she banged her head as you suspect she could have, then shook her head several times, that could be the spatter and all. You can daub neosporin on her woulds, but make sure it is NOT the kind with pain reliever in it. THAT would make her very ill. Just the plain Neosporin ointment. Just keep her quiet and in the dog box and the ointment will loosen the dirt and all and protect from infection.

It does sound like there's more blood than there should be, but if she's done bleeding and the others are ok, I'd just keep a close eye on her/them.

 

[ivan3]

You say it has been very cold at your location. Combs, even though there is no frostbite, can become pretty `brittle' when the temps drop to 0-10 °F. If the hen struck her comb hard enough on the edge of something that could have done it. As to all the blood, a little can go a long way...

The only time our hens worry our roo's comb is when it is very cold (will pick at until he bleeds). We clean it with a little diluted betadine, then rub on a mixture of plain neosporin and pine tar.

If this was not a pred (like a rat), then it was probably and accident (no blood on the other chook's beaks).

Observe them closely to make sure the others aren't picking at her comb (don't want them to get a taste for blood), if they are keep her separated (can use blue-kote or pine tar for the `bad' taste effect).

 

[angela56124]

Yes this morning at like 5 it was 15 degrees and when my mom gets home I'll put some Neosporum or something on her Thankyou, I'll keep ya posted.

 

[OhMyItsAndyy]

You said squrrels can open the latch.. maybe one bit her? just a thought

 

[angela56124]

Thank you all for your advice!!!!! It really helped

 

[magentamomma]

I second the idea that she shook her head a bunch to clear the blood and it kept it bleeding longer that it should have I have seen animals make an awful mess doing that. Good Luck!