chicken droppings/blood on eggs question

16 years ago

Our chickens free range during day; mostly they hang around our front stoop, near their coop/pen and between. Some choose to stay in the coop. Our temps are finally above freezing but it has been a long, cold winter for them.

For the last week or so I have noticed some dark, runny droppings where the free rangers go.

Then today two of the eggs (both greenish so I can somewhat narrow down who laid them) had a little blood on them. This happened a couple of months ago (blue eggs, another hen), then nothing.

Is there a connection between the runny droppings and the blood on the eggs? Could one chicken have laid two (ones with blood) eggs in one day (I collect eggs every evening)? This time of year I am at work from early to evening so canÂt observe whoÂs doing what. They are all acting fine. But IÂm worried that one may be sick and that the others may catch it.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

velvet_sparrow
16 years ago
This happens every so often in the Spring with some of my hens, too, when their egg laying apparatus is gearing up. Now is their big push to lay eggs, holler about it and go broody. It doesn't necessarily mean they are ill. It's also not unheard of for a hen, especially a young one, to lay an egg followed by another the next day, so I suppose it's possible for her to lay two in one day...are you positive it was her?

Watch them closely for any signs of illness--listlessness, not eating, drinking or carrying on normally, losing weight, etc. Check their bottoms for soiled or bloody feathers, and make sure they aren't bleeding from their vents. If an egg has rough calcium deposits on the outside, it might have torn them a bit on the way out (this happened to one of my hens about a week ago, now she's fine). Check their poops for worms and their feathers for mites, and make sure their water and food is fresh and not musty or moldy--same for their foraging area. Nesting material needs to be fresh and dry.

If they look healthy and carry on normally, I'd say watch and wait. Check for any more bloody eggs, and bloody bottoms. If they are bleeding from their vent, isolate them to keep other birds from pecking at the blood, treat the bleeding with Kwik-Stop (a powdered styptic, get it at the pet store) or corn starch will staunch bleeding in a pinch.

I've got a chicken info site here that may help more, here is the page on 'Health':

http://jackshenhouse.com/VSChickHealth.htm

Velvet ~:>
sheryl_ontario
14 years ago
I am getting a bloody egg every few days now and have a hen with a bloody vent. What causes the damage to the vent? Why is it bloody?

I know the other chickens peck at the bloody vents but why was it bloody in the first place? The eggs with blood on them are smooth and normal.

Here is a link that might be useful: My Country DIY Blog
Related Discussions
question on missing egg/chick and broodies
Q
Comments (1)
One of my broodies last hatches needed help. I think it was due to the heat that the shells were dried out and some of the chicks had a problem getting out. Once they pipped I very carefully pulled small pieces of shell away from their heads so they could get their heads out of the shell. You need to be careful and stop when you see blood. Check the eggs often and help them pull back some of the inside membrane if it is dried out. I would leave them with the broodies and keep an eye on them and help them some. Good Luck!
...See More
3 New Chicken-Mom Questions
Q
Comments (6)
Hi Jill, 1. If the red streaks of blood are only a little, I don't think you need be alarmed. When pullets begin laying eggs, a tiny capillary can be broken by the strain of passing the egg. If, on the other hand, they have bloody poops or their vents have flesh protruding or they are actually bleeding from the vent, then that could indicate a problem. But I am almost certain what you are seeing is normal. 2. I don't know for sure about the white specks on the eggs, but I have seen lots of variations. Sometimes you can even tell, after a while, whose egg it is by little peculiarities of the shell. 3. The reason Agway tells you not to feed scratch is that 16% protein is about as low as you can go and expect lots of eggs. If you feed scratch as part of the ration, the 16% is diluted down to maybe 12 or 14% and egg production will drop off. A bit of scratch just before roosting time in the cold weather is likely okay and it helps to keep them warm. If you are feeding back some of their eggs, raising earthworms in bins or feeding alfalfa hay (all good protein sources) then you can likely feed some scratch as well and still maintain the protein content of their diet. If you are interested in learning more about chicken nutrition, the link below is a good place to start. Hope this helps! It sounds to me like you are doing just fine. Here is a link that might be useful: Feeding chickens
...See More
winter chicken question
Q
Comments (6)
Some good ideas there! Sounds like I'll need to close up the window and deepen the litter on the floor. The heating pad is covered with heavy vinyl and wrapped in plastic with a thick pad of newspapers for insulation underneath. I have it on a timer. It's off all night then comes on for an hour on high at 5 am to thaw it out. If it's not a really cold day, I turn it down to Med first thing in the morning, then it's on for 1/2 hour once every 1.5 hours through the day. It has worked like this so far, but it hasn't been below zero F yet. I can leave it on HIGH and on more often if needed. It's not really made for that purpose. So far it seems to be fine. I don't know if it will last with that much wear. Time will tell. I can always buy one of those electric water heater things that it sits on if necessary. I have a friend who bought some short roof heating cables and wraps one around the tall metal top of the waterer and that works for him. I'm more concerned about the chickens themselves. I will put about a foot of litter on the floor for them, but most snuggle together up on the roost. There are four new ones who sleep on the floor, two together in a nest and two together in a corner. The coop is insulated but has a high ceiling. This is their first winter and they don't like the snow on their feet, so don't venture out if it has snowed. I've been shovelling an area out for them. I even shovelled a path through the deep snow so they could go under the deck, but it snowed another 8" or so yesterday so they're stuck inside until I have time to do more shovelling. They have learned that they can fly over drifts and snow to get to a spot where they want to be. Here's a couple of pictures of the shovelled path for them from the chicken house with a couple of chickens on their way: Here they are under the deck where the snow doesn't fall, surrounded by 2' of snow. They love it under there!: I wish I had the time to keep it shovelled for them.
...See More
Question about egg drop soup
Q
Comments (21)
To add info given by Lars, fish sauce originated in Vietnam from 2 areas, Phu Quoc and Phan Thiet. Although, they continued to produce fish sauce, most fish sauce imported to the US are from Thailand. Since the end of the Vietnam war in 1975, many Vietnamese took refuge and reside also in Thailand, Phillipines and China. That's why today, there are various version of the fish sauce (ie, fish or squid made products). One example is the popular "Three Crabs" brand fish sauce. It is a product of Thailand and processed in Hong Kong but the manufacturer, Viet Huong, is of Vietnamese origin. Beverly, unlike many other international food restaurants, the majority of food served in Vietnamese restaurants that you go to are quite authentic. As for seasoning, like any cook and chef, it is to his/her own taste. If you ever visit our common noodle restaurants that serve Pho, you'd see that everyone makes it a bit differently. Sort of like hamburger places in the US. The stock is the most important ingredient in this soup and it is somewhat time consuming to make a good stock. That's why the pot tends to sit warmed up pretty much most of the day. And which constitutes in losing some of its juice via the steam. Perhaps, that's why the soup you had ended up a bit salty. You're right about most asians use limes and that's because it is what normally grow in our asian countries. However, lemons are a bit sweeter, is it not? And many asian dishes have a sweet & sour flavor to it. Perhaps, lemons would be more suitable in the Vietnamese cuisine. It is also readily available here in the US. There's really no rules whether we use lemons or limes in the Vietnamese cuisine. It's just what is in season and available in the market. Personally, my favorite is Meyer Lemons. It's the only lemon/lime family that my stomach would tolerate because of its low acidity content.
...See More
luke_oh
14 years ago
I think that Velvet gave some excellent advise. The only other possibility that I might add is if they or she could be dehydrated? This will cause blood on eggs.
Alundd_hotmail_com
13 years ago
I found a bloody egg this morning. I checked the girls bottoms for blood and none showed any. The egg was a normal size, not a large one.
Luke O said dehydration could also cause bloody eggs. It is freezing here and the girls go several hours, several times in 24 hours with frozen drinking water. I replace with fresh several times a day. Maybe they are slightly dehydrated. Also I've been giving them salad mix to suplement the feed for the lack of plants this time of year. They only go into the yrd about an hour a few times a week. It's been -0 to 20 lately. I try to let them out when it's 20ish and sunny.
Any ideas on the cause of the blood?
velvet_sparrow
13 years ago
A few thoughts...

Was the blood very red and fresh-looking, or brownish and clotted? Fresh blood would indicate it was deposited on the egg lower down in her tract, just prior to being laid and nearer her vent, while older, brownish blood would indicate it happened higher up in her tract. A previous egg could have broken inside her and the shell edges could have cut her, or possibly it was a mating injury if you have a rooster.

Was she a young hen, just coming into lay? Sometimes this happens to girls who are just starting out.

If you live in an area where the frozen water is a yearly issue, you might want to invest in a heated water dish. It would save you lots of toing and froing to change their water numerous times a day. :)

Velvet ~:>

chicken droppings/blood on eggs question

Comments (5)

velvet_sparrow

sheryl_ontario

Related Discussions

luke_oh

Alundd_hotmail_com

velvet_sparrow

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US