This morning before my 12+ hour workday I checked in on my chickens. I have 9 (3 GLW, 3 Barred Rocks, and 3 Black Australorps) that are 9 weeks old and 3 rhode island reds that are 8 weeks old. This was about 4 in the morning. Upon entering the coop, I noticed blood on the 2x4 roost under my heat lamp.This wasn't a little blood in some poo, just about a 6 inch long by 4 inch wide smearing of blood. There were even some drops in the straw under the roosts and a few drops down the length of the roost board. None of the chickens looked lethargic and only one of my Barred Rocks had a sign of blood on it ( Red coloring on feet). I cleaned her feet in water to rinse the blood off and did a check of her with no blood to be found. I couldn't take the day off or go in later due to my job so I just let them be and hoped for the best. Well I just checked each and every one of them under a light, checked all over and even each vent area with no sign of blood. They all seem to be getting along just fine. This is my first year with birds of any kind and I tried to do my research. I have them in a brand new 8x10 coop (looks like a glorified shed) and was wondering if they might have gotten them a mouse or something. Would a meal like this cause this much blood or should I look for something else? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks- Ken
Mine has eaten mice before and it can be messy if there are a couple of them trying to grab pieces I wouldnt worry over-much as it sounds like you did a great job of looking for the problem on each bird. Maybe double check for sharp slivers or a nail that may have come loose in the coop somewhere. We have mystery blood from time to time and it always freaks me out! Check on them after work and I bet that all is well
Young birds growing new feathers can sometimes break a feather shaft. Since the new feathers have blood in the shaft early on, breakage can cause some bleeding. It would be hard to find the source since the birds clean and preen. I've had this happen a few times and had no health issues. But you do want to keep checking in case someone is getting picked on.
I usually find blood smears around the pump house and it is usually from an unlucky mouse becoming a snack. I don't have mice in the coops (knock on wood) but they are around the pump house. I still make it good practice to immediately check all my birds for any injuries no matter what. After I find everyone A-okay I can smile at my flock of mouse patrol eradicator's.
The bloodiest incident we have ever had in our coop was a broken toenail. Blood everywhere!! I was sure someone was dead, but no. It took me awhile to look everyone over and finally figure out what happened. I had no idea they could bleed that much from a broken nail!
Yep, I too had a broken toe nail on one and it took a while to track it down -- freaked me out to find blood spots around the coop and some smears, and not know why. Check them again tonight, maybe this will be your culprit. If so, it was an easy fix, we just washed her foot off and brought her inside for a couple days rest in the dog crate.
Thanks to you all. My Barred Rock did have a little blood near her nail. As of this evening, they seem to be getting along just fine. Its so nice to have a message board like this with people who will help coming from all parts. I'm glad I finally signed up to this site a few months back. Thanks Again!!!
