Help...What's killing my Chickens??

We have Red Sex Links. They are great little friendly girls who lay a nice amount of eggs for us. About 5 weeks ago we found one dead inside the totally fenced run. No sign of trauma, just a really messy and bloody backside. Now this week we found another one of our girls dead, this time inside the coop in the same condition. Anyone have any thoughts about this for me? I sure would appreciate it.

Thanks

Could be a weasel they will get in through the smallest places and they mutilate the body and rarely eat alot.
I had one chew the heads off my doves and only eat the breast part i lost 6 doves.

He never came back after the last one my neighbors have chickens and they may have trapped him and i say Good Ridence.
The only way to catch them is a hav-a-hart trap and bait it with a bloody chicken liver or beef.

Thanks Harmonyplace, for your input, I do appreciate it. The hens never had one injury or wound on them just that bloody back end. Is it true what I've heard, that the weasels sometimes only want the blood? Yet you had your poor doves beheaded.
If I set a trap, I guess the best place would be at the back of the coop next to my back fence so, no children could get near. I've heard something about Fly bait and cola. Do you know anything about it? Thanks again.

I am a little confused about the symptoms--could it be a disease or parasite rather than an attack?

How long have you had your hens? Have they always been housed as they are? What size coop and run do you have? How many birds in it? Is the coop completely enclosed? Is the run covered? Were there any signs of entry (chewed wood, bent or torn wire)? If so could you describe it. Have you added new members to your flock? Do you have a rooster? You didn't mention one. If so is he young or a new member? I would like to help but Im afraid I need more info.

Seth so glad to see you are OK, Did you get ever5tything in order, how much longer do you need?

Do you mean the Goats?

by all means!

I got the buckeyes here now.

Yes! There here!
Gosh how long have they been here? How long have I been gone?
They love the paddock. they climb all over thier boulders. I staggered them so they can get from one to other. I have a mound of them about 15 feet high with progressivley smaller boulders fanning out. Then here and there I added huge free standing boulders. I also have tree stumps and wine barrels for them to jump onto. I have scattered the hay all over the boulders occasionally. They get to pretend thier mountain goats. they spend most of their time on somthing.
Im pleased to have them. Hiedi and Grettle.

Henlady,

With human population spread out up in the Great White North... I'd say you'd ought button up your chickens. Hen house run panels made of large gauge hardware cloth. 1/2"X1" rectangular holes is the BEST hardware cloth money can buy. The killer looks to be something in the weasel family but then it hardly matters exactly what it is. Whatever it is ... seems to have almost unfettered access to your hens. Chicken wire keeps the hens in ... and next to nothing out. I'd also venture a guess that you don't want to have to kill all the predators nearby. I had the same trouble last summer for 2 weeks when the mink got extra hungry along my stream and moved outward about 300 ft to the north and found my hen house.

Kelly

This message was edited Nov 1, 2008 9:16 AM

Thats why i said weasel they can go through the chicken wire with no problem and leave no trace but the dead bird and will only eat a portion of what they kill and yes it's for the blood.

When you say a "messy and bloody backside" are you saying that they were injured and that there was blood on their back, or are you saying that they had a lot of poop mixed with blood and that was matted around their vent? Because I agree with Catscan that if it is the latter, it could be medical. If it is the former, it is probably predator related. I think we need clarification, but you said they have no injury or wound on them, so is the blood coming from inside - i.e. they are pooping blood?

If so, does everybody still think that's a predator, and if so, why?

How neat you have a Heidi, So do I but mine is a chicken.

Yes i agree with Cat and Claire what is the backside you speak of.

Hi Henlady,
I might suspect coccidiosis. That can leave a bloody and messy backside. I would take a fecal float sample to your vet and get it checked out. It does not sound like a predator to me. HTH.

Is it possible they were vent pecked?

That is a good call. Sometimes with lots of discharge from the vents (as with coccidiosis, which can be bloody too), vent pecking can insue because of "stuff" hanging from the backside. Chickens are notorious for pecking at anything out of the ordinary, including anything on themselves or other birds. That's why, with injuries and and discharges, it is best to separate chickens from each other.

Hi henlady!
Just mesaging because i like your name! A little like chickengrl dont you think! Any way sorry a bout you chickens, but I live in Australia so we have different predators so i cant tell what is killing them. ):
Any way I hope you get that problem fixed right up!
-Chickengrl

Hello to you all
Thank you for all the input on my hen situation. We have pretty much narrowed down the fact that it isn't a predator, that did in the 2 girls. Now with the extra information from you good folks, we realize it is the hens themselves. I never heard of vent pecking until reading your notes. But that is whats happening. If one of the girls has a bloody, messy vent, the others will go after her. Have you ever tried to clean off your chickens backside???? lol Not funny that we lost them, but at least know who did the deed. We're really new to this, so this may seem like a foolish question...(although my professor once said there are no foolish questions)
is there a particular reason why some of them bleed from there and others don't seem to? Is there something wrong when that happens? Looking forward to hearing from you. Hey Chickengrl, nice handle, I must be the old one.lol

if they are bleeding from the vent, there is definately something wrong. Chickens should have no blood coming from the vent. is it a prolapse? Have your hens been laying eggs that are unusually large?

The following is from "The Chicken Health Handbook" by Gail Damerow

"Prolapsed Oviduct, also called "blowout" or "pickout" is a condition in which the lower part of the hen's oviduct turns inside out and protrudes through the vent. Prolapse occurs most often when a hen starts laying at too young an age, is too fat, or lays unusually large eggs. Caught in time, the prolapse can sometimes be reversed by applying a hemorrhoidal cream (such as Preparation H) and isolating the hen until she approves. Otherwise, the other chickens will pick at her vent, eventually pulling out her oviduct and intestines and causing the hen to die from hemorrhage and shock. Not all vent picking is due to prolapse, but instead may result from faulty management - feeders, waterers and roosts may be positioned in such a way that birds below can pick on the vents of birds above."


i would also think cocci but i don't think it would cause the amount of blood you are talking about.

Let us know if the vent looks prolapsed.

Sheila

i 100% agree with kns, i had the probs u r describeing a few mths ago and i lost about 4 to it before we figured out what it was causeing it. cocci was our first thought but it was definatelly not that.

henlady, sometime you have chickens in a pen that will eat one another, that is where they will start, on the back side

Thanks for all your input. I really appreciate it. Our girls are laying ex-large eggs for the most part. The girls are all fine now but after doing some research it would appear that cocci can't survive in cold temperatures, and so we have had no problem or signs of blood since it turned cold here. I haven't noticed any abnormalities with any of the hens vents. Good old Canadian winters. I have a new issue, does anyone know at what temperature an egg will freeze? We have the infrared brooder lamp set up in the coop and the girls are happy and laying well. But some of the smaller eggs are freezing and cracking open. We have added more straw to the nests and thought for the most part it was quite cozy in there.Any feedback would be appreciated.

We've had it happen from the mid 20's.

shoot i can't remember about 30 degrees here mabe. in winter i collect more often it will cut down on finding them frozen swince less time out in the cold.