Another chicken problem

[kathyd]

Hi again. I think I should rent space on here...

My maran's bottom is in a very bloody looking state this morning. She seems fine in herself on the whole, apart from she's turning round to have a peck at it now and again. I can't see any swellings, or anything that looks like insides coming out at the moment.

There have been small signs of slight bleeding over the past week or two, as you might expect from a pecked feather or maybe a cut on a foot. She did have a small trickle of blood on her bum on one occasion, but she does tend to get her bottom pecked at times so that's not unknown. However, the bird who did the pecking is the one who died recently, and I'm not sure which of the others might get away with it... And the amount of blood on her today looks like much more than pecking.

She's been off lay for a while because she had a chest infection and was on antibiotics. She's been showing signs of coming into lay again over the past few days - hungrier, redder, squatting - but hasn't laid anything yet.

Do I need to take her to the vet? Is this another horrible situation like the other one I posted recently...

Please advise. Thx.

[RichmondHens]

Hi Kathy - The blood looks very fresh. There is also a lot of white discharge gathered on the feather below the bare skin, has this been happening for a while?

If she were mine I would get her into a warm bath and get off all the blood and gunk so you can see what you are dealing with, eg a surface wound (which can be covered with a purple antiseptic spray) or a discharge direct from the vent, in which case I would get her to the vet. Without cleaning her up you can't be sure what you are dealing with.

By the way why is she so bald? Is it pecking from the other hens or have you removed some claggy feathers?

[kathyd]

Hi RH. Yes, the blood was fresh this morning. I had to go out, but I've just checked her again and it's dried on, with no sign of any fresh as far as I can see.

I hadn't taken particular note of a white discharge to be honest - I've been clearing some brassicas out over the past couple of weeks, and all the birds have been feasting on them on the compost heap - with the inevitable results. So there've been quite a few mucky bums and I hadn't noticed her's being any worse than the others... but I'll have a proper look later after I've tried bathing her.

Ah, the bath! That should be fun. Gauntlets and waterproofs for me I think! Lol .

She's been bald pretty much since her first moult with us, around 18 months ago. She lost almost all her feathers overnight, and although the others grew back the ones around her bum didn't really. They tried a bit last year, but then her best friend Custard ripped them out as fast as they grew, which is when I bought the gentian violet. They looked as if they might be trying to grow again recently, so maybe one of the others has been tempted to have a go at her.. although Custard died a couple of weeks ago, and I can't think which of the others would get away with molesting her like that.

Anway, will try to wash her down later and see if I can see anything. Thanks for your advice .

[kathyd]

Update: tried bathing her, and she was as good as gold, amazingly. However, trying to get congealed blood off from around feather stubble was nigh impossible, but it did convince me that the problem isn't from her vent, thank goodness. I'm as sure as I can be that the problem is right up under her tail, above where the 2 sides sort of join, if you know where I mean. There's a lot of congealed blood amongst the big feathers there, and it hurt her when I pushed them around trying to wash between them. It also started to bleed from in there somewhere, dribbling down like the rest of it. In the end I gave up trying to clean the blood off - the bird's breathing has gone all rattly again like it does when she gets stressed, so we're now on the way to yet another respiratory infection at a guess.. and I didn't want to make her any worse. But I did tip gentian violet all down her, followed by a spraying with anti-peck spray.

My best guess would be that her other friend, the little disabled one, is doing the damage. Only a guess at the moment, but there's a tiny red mark on top of her head, and they're also the only 2 who sleep inside the coop together, and she's probably the only one Dotty might allow to groom her. And she does like to groom the others...

I assume that if the problem persists I'll have to isolate one or both of them? This would, of course, make both of them as miserable as sin, so I hope my sacrificial purple hands were worth it, and the colour and spray do their job.

Unless you have any other concerns / ideas / suggestions?

[wizzbang]

It sounds like stressful hard work this keeping chickens malarkey!
Poor little mite, I hope she soon feels better. Its horrible that they peck each other isn't it. I know its nature but its still a shame.
Lynne x

[RichmondHens]

Well does sound like a bad pecking problem. Yes you will have to isolate the injured one till she recovers, and possibly the culprit if she starts on someone else.

[kathyd]

OK RH, thanks.