sugarspice Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 we currentley have a broody chicken (1st experience of this) she is stopping the 3 other chickens from getting on the nest to lay. 2 of the chickens eggs today have blood on them. could this be caused by them not being able to lay on the nest when they want to. from tomorrow i am going to segregate the broody hen from the others so that they can lay when they want to. what else could be the cause of the blood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 It could well be. The may have been hanging on to them and caused a little tear in an internal vessel. Article on managing your broody **here** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sugarspice Posted June 2, 2009 Author Share Posted June 2, 2009 thanks for that. there was blood on the eggs again today. how long will this continue if they have torn a blood vessel. could it be anything else that is wrong with them. they are all eating and drinking and behaving as normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budgies Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 It could be that you have a red mite infestation too. Bloody smears on the eggs as they come out of the vent can be caused by red mite. Rub a piece of kitchen paper on their roosting bars, especially in the nooks and crannies, which is where the mites hide during the day. At night they come out and feed on the chickens, so an alternative is to shine a light into the house at night - you'll see them as tiny dots moving around. They are grey when they haven't fed and red once they have fed on the chooks Broodies in particular are a magnet for the little beasties. Dust all your girls or spray them with a red mite powder, and clean the house if you can when the broody gets off the nest, putting diatomaceous earth into all the crevices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sugarspice Posted June 2, 2009 Author Share Posted June 2, 2009 they are all sleeping outside on branches in the run. they only go into the eglu to lay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budgies Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 Perhaps the eglu has redmite in it, or their run. They're incredibly tenacious little creatures - they can survive for 6 months with no host to feed from and are carried by wild birds. Your hens can still be infected with them, I'm afraid, despite roosting in the trees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
