4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[debs3013]

Let my chooks (3) out this morning before I went to work as normal - their behaviour was perfectly normal, marched straight out to devour a lettuce that I'd hung up for them.

 

Every morning my next job is head in the house with my rubber glove and remove all the poop but this morning I was shocked to see what can only be described as a big 'splat' of bright red blood, it's all over the perch and soaked up in their wood shavings. I ran my glove over the perch and the blood was still wet.

 

I gave the girls a quick check over and can't see anything obvious, their back ends look fine. I'll be leaving work this afternoon and nipping straight down to Scats to get some of the purple spray stuff and then give them a thorough checking over when I get in and let them out of their run.

 

In the meantime, any ideas? I've never seen any signs of obvious fighting or bullying between them, they seem to rub along pretty well together. Am I right in the belief that bright red blood is usually a wound rather than something internal? Not sure where I got that idea but have always been under the impression that dark red means internal and bright red is a cut or similar.

 

Like I said earlier, they're behaviour this morning was perfectly normal, all boisterous and ready to get out of the house.

[Egluntyne]

Posibly connected to laying....but if they all seem OK, probably no need to worry.

 

Could they have demolished a mouse do you think?

[Plum]

When I had blood on the perch and then in the woodchip, I found it came from my chickens nail she must have torn but I found it hard to find. Perhaps it could be that. Bright blood is fresh and dark means its been hanging around a bit so deoxygenated.