Cocci?

[Lelilamom]

One of my younger (2+ yrs old) hens pooped water and blood in front of me this afternoon. She doesn't appear ill in any way but when I grabbed her I could see she had dried yolk around her vent.
We have no new chicks in our flock.
Nothing new introduced to the environment, same coop, run and yard for 6 years.
Free ranged with plenty of fresh water which makes no difference because the hens drink out of the dirtiest of mud puddles when they get the chance.
Stupid me didn't get a picture. I quickly buried the blood out of fear of it attracting flies.

I've had plenty of hens over the years poop out bits of egg and some sustained minor scratches that bled. This is different in that there was a lot of blood in the watery stool. Cocci or injured by the broken egg?

 

[The Coop Crew]

I would keep an eye on the poop. Watch for other symptoms.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

One of my younger (2+ yrs old) hens pooped water and blood in front of me this afternoon. She doesn't appear ill in any way but when I grabbed her I could see she had dried yolk around her vent.

Cocci or injured by the broken egg?

I would lean more towards something reproductive than Coccidiosis.

You mention there was dried yolk around the vent. Do you know when her last hard shelled egg was?

I'd be inclined to give Extra Calcium asap to see if she is having trouble expelling an egg or material.
You can find Calcium Citrate with D3 in the vitamin aisle of stores like Walmart, CVS, etc. Give 1 tablet daily for a week, just pull down on her wattles, pop the tablet into the beak and let her swallow.

 

[Lelilamom]

Do you know when her last hard shelled egg was?

Unfortunately no. I have ~50 chickens and this hen as well as 6 others are whats left of large clutch of barnyard Sussex/Easter egger/Barnevelder/Barred rock mix hatched 2 years ago. I rarely see any of them in the nesting box, but then again, most of my hens are geriatric charity cases.

I'm running into the nearest town tonight (a rare event in my rural area) so I'll pick up the calcium. Thanks!

*Edit* What is the difference between Cocci, Coccidiosis and Cecal? I'm reading articles and I'm finding the terms interchanged so I can't even find a valid symptom list.

***another edit***
Finally remembered to get a poop Pic.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Unfortunately no. I have ~50 chickens and this hen as well as 6 others are whats left of large clutch of barnyard Sussex/Easter egger/Barnevelder/Barred rock mix hatched 2 years ago. I rarely see any of them in the nesting box, but then again, most of my hens are geriatric charity cases.

I'm running into the nearest town tonight (a rare event in my rural area) so I'll pick up the calcium. Thanks!

*Edit* What is the difference between Cocci, Coccidiosis and Cecal? I'm reading articles and I'm finding the terms interchanged so I can't even find a valid symptom list.

***another edit***
Finally remembered to get a poop Pic.

View attachment 3900664

Oh, the poor dear!
The poop is not normal at all.

Do you happen to have any antibiotics on hand? If so, I would start her on medication. Amoxicillin or Baytril would probably be best if you have one of those.

Calcium can be helpful, but I fear she may have infection or something more serious going on than just having trouble expelling an egg.

Have you dewormed recently?

O.K.

"Cocci" is actually a bacterial infection like a Staph infection. "Cocci" or "Coccus" refers to the shape of the organism.

Some folks have shortened Coccidiosis to "Cocci" which can be confusing. A Cocci infection would require an antibiotic.

Coccidiosis is caused by Coccidia which is a protozoa, there are 9 strains of Coccidia that can affect Chickens. Treament is usually with a Coccidiostat like Amproilium (Corid), Toltrazuril or Sulfa Antibiotics.

Cecal is the type of poop that comes from the Ceca (you can see the Ceca in the photo below). This poop is the pudding-like stinky sticky poop that you see about once out of every 8-10 normal formed poop.
Hope those explanations help a bit.

*Edit* What is the difference between Cocci, Coccidiosis and Cecal? I'm reading articles and I'm finding the terms interchanged so I can't even find a valid symptom list.

 

[Lelilamom]

Do you happen to have any antibiotics on hand? If so, I would start her on medication. Amoxicillin or Baytril would probably be best if you have one of those.

Ugh, I was worried about that. I'm in NYS and I'll have an easier time getting weed than antibiotics. This is not a hobby farm friendly state.

Calcium can be helpful, but I fear she may have infection or something more serious going on than just having trouble expelling an egg.

So many of my home hatched birds end up with weird innards. Most of them are poor layers and have weird ailments. I had one that pooped out her entire ovuduct/uterus. On the flip side, I have heritage breeds going on 7, 8 and 9 years old now.

Have you dewormed recently?

I haven't dewormed in years. I have not seen any evidence of worms in about 10 years. Are there some worm infestations that don't manifest themselves with worms in the poop?

Thank you for the incredible explanation of the differences between Cecal, Cocci and Coccidiosis. How confusing, as if chicken keeping wasn't hard enough!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Ugh, I was worried about that. I'm in NYS and I'll have an easier time getting weed than antibiotics. This is not a hobby farm friendly state.

So many of my home hatched birds end up with weird innards. Most of them are poor layers and have weird ailments. I had one that pooped out her entire ovuduct/uterus. On the flip side, I have heritage breeds going on 7, 8 and 9 years old now.

I haven't dewormed in years. I have not seen any evidence of worms in about 10 years. Are there some worm infestations that don't manifest themselves with worms in the poop?

Thank you for the incredible explanation of the differences between Cecal, Cocci and Coccidiosis. How confusing, as if chicken keeping wasn't hard enough!

Most medications were pulled last year, so it's nationwide. You can still order some medications online. But it will take a few days to get it.
https://jedds.com/products/enrofloxacin-10?_pos=1&_sid=9aafd2b33&_ss=r
https://jedds.com/products/amoxicillin-10-powder?_pos=1&_sid=1627e2ab2&_ss=r

Do you have a vet that sees any other animals? Would they be willing to prescribe medication for your hen?

Hard to know what's going on with her. I would suspect Enteritis, but that poop might be a sign of cancer. Worms can cause blood in the poop too and most of the time you will not see worms in the poop unless there's an infestation.

I'd see that she's eating/drinking o.k. Giving her a small amount white cooked rice with buttermilk may help sooth the gut, it's not going to cure anything, but it may help with the looseness of the poop.

 

[Lelilamom]

One farm vet nearby but I can't afford him. She's eating and drinking and I gave her calcium after chasing her around the chicken yard for 15 min. If she does show signs of decline I will euthanize her. I love my hens but after 10+ years of losing sleep and crying over dying chickens I just can't do it anymore.

My biggest concern is something contagious that will wipe out my flock. I lose enough sleep over that pretty much every night.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

One farm vet nearby but I can't afford him. She's eating and drinking and I gave her calcium after chasing her around the chicken yard for 15 min. If she does show signs of decline I will euthanize her. I love my hens but after 10+ years of losing sleep and crying over dying chickens I just can't do it anymore.

My biggest concern is something contagious that will wipe out my flock. I lose enough sleep over that pretty much every night

Wait until roosting to get the Calcium into her, much easier to catch.
Sounds like she's still got some moxy if you had to chase her around the yard LOL

I've cried over some too, they have a way of working into your heart, it's always sad to lose them.

Hard to know if it's something contagious. You've not added new birds in years, so the chances are low, but there's always an off chance of something that can spread. I know that may make you worry, but let's look at this in a practical way. She's been with the flock all this time, she's still going-even if there's some concern. You aren't seeing any signs of illness/symptoms in the others. Very likely whatever is happening with her is just her, her body is slowly in decline. Whether it's cancer or some type of reproductive problem, you wouldn't know unless you lose her and have a necropsy or do an informal investigation yourself.

 

[Lelilamom]

Hard to know if it's something contagious. You've not added new birds in years, so the chances are low, but there's always an off chance of something that can spread. I know that may make you worry, but let's look at this in a practical way. She's been with the flock all this time, she's still going-even if there's some concern. You aren't seeing any signs of illness/symptoms in the others. Very likely whatever is happening with her is just her, her body is slowly in decline. Whether it's cancer or some type of reproductive problem, you wouldn't know unless you lose her and have a necropsy or do an informal investigation yourself.

No irregular poop this morning and she's eating and drinking with the rest of the flock. Thank you again for your excellent advice and knowledge.