kearly2015
In the Brooder
Hello,
We are about 3 months into our chicken experience. They just started laying eggs July 31. We are up to getting 3 eggs per day now.
This morning we let the girls out of their coop (they free-range during the the day in a fenced garden-type area) and we had 2 unusual occurrences.
1) our Plymouth Rock had some blood in her feathers around her neck and next to her her right ear area. I held her and wiped her feathers with a wet paper towel (to confirm it was blood and not my eyes playing tricks on me). I looked as I wiped and saw a small wound on her skin with dried blood. She seems fine otherwise, but I am completely clueless as to what caused this. Could it have been one of the other hens? There is no evidence of a predator getting into the coop.
2) we found what appeared to be a remnants of a broken, very soft egg. We have never seen this before. We are not sure whose eggs are coming from whom, but we get mostly medium-sized brown eggs. We have gotten some paler colored eggs too, and the last 2 days, we have had 2 very small, pale eggs. We have not cracked them open, but my spouse thinks they may be thinner shelled than the others.
My questions are:
Could these issues be related? Could a rodent have caused both these things?
Or maybe they are mere coincidence?
Other information that may be of use: We lost 1 bird about a month ago to what we suspect was a raptor (only a head was found and other chickens were unharmed). Our neighbors lost their entire flock (about 10-12 birds) last week to what they believe was a racoon (or skunk?). We do not have foxes, coyotes or big wild cats, but we do have skunks, racoons, rabbits, and lots of various birds of prey in our area. We are planning to surround our chicken area in sand this weekend in an effort to help detect predators.
Thanks for your advice.
We are about 3 months into our chicken experience. They just started laying eggs July 31. We are up to getting 3 eggs per day now.
This morning we let the girls out of their coop (they free-range during the the day in a fenced garden-type area) and we had 2 unusual occurrences.
1) our Plymouth Rock had some blood in her feathers around her neck and next to her her right ear area. I held her and wiped her feathers with a wet paper towel (to confirm it was blood and not my eyes playing tricks on me). I looked as I wiped and saw a small wound on her skin with dried blood. She seems fine otherwise, but I am completely clueless as to what caused this. Could it have been one of the other hens? There is no evidence of a predator getting into the coop.
2) we found what appeared to be a remnants of a broken, very soft egg. We have never seen this before. We are not sure whose eggs are coming from whom, but we get mostly medium-sized brown eggs. We have gotten some paler colored eggs too, and the last 2 days, we have had 2 very small, pale eggs. We have not cracked them open, but my spouse thinks they may be thinner shelled than the others.
My questions are:
Could these issues be related? Could a rodent have caused both these things?
Or maybe they are mere coincidence?
Other information that may be of use: We lost 1 bird about a month ago to what we suspect was a raptor (only a head was found and other chickens were unharmed). Our neighbors lost their entire flock (about 10-12 birds) last week to what they believe was a racoon (or skunk?). We do not have foxes, coyotes or big wild cats, but we do have skunks, racoons, rabbits, and lots of various birds of prey in our area. We are planning to surround our chicken area in sand this weekend in an effort to help detect predators.
Thanks for your advice.
