[featherhead]

I've had my very first chickens for 3 weeks now, so I'm still learning about my little hens.

Today I noticed my wyandotte bantam (12 weeks old) sneezing and shaking her head regularly and scratching at her beak with her feet occasionally. Just before I put her to bed I noticed a small amount of blood coming from one of her nostrils.

Should I be worried, or is this just a cold?

[bantam novice]

Hello Featherhead and welcome to the forum. 
We are a friendly bunch and you can ask any question relating to your chickens.  There are some very experienced people on here who can advise you. 
I am not that experienced but I don't like the sound of the blood on the beak.  I would be inclined to take your hen to a vet asap and maybe isolate her in the meantime so that she does not pass on anything infectious. 
It is always a good idea to identify a local chicken-friendly vet.  Not all of them are and some even refuse to treat chickens.
I am sure someone more experienced will be along.  In the meantime good luck and keep us posted.

[joyfull]

sorry but I think she needs to see a vet as soon as possible. the nose bleed could be caused by violently shaking her head or sneezing, which in turn sounds like she has a respiritory infection and will need to be treated with antibiotics. Get enough antibiotics to treat them all and also ask the vet how long the egg withdrawal period for the type of antibiotics is.

[featherhead]

Thanks for the replies, bantam novice and joyfull.

I've looked up a vet for tomorrow. I hope everything will be ok but thanks for the tip on getting enough medicine for them all. They aren't at pol yet and unfortunately I don't have somewhere to keep her isolated yet.. (I didn't consider that when I was getting my chicken housing :/ ). In the meantime I have given them some chicken tonic in their water.

One more thing, if I wake up and my chicken is miraculously ok, should I still go to the vet?

[joyfull]

if she is ok this morning then keep a very close eye on her fo the next couple of days, but please don't delay treatment if she is still the same (often by the time we notice a problem they can be very ill as they mask illness very well).

[featherhead]

This morning she seemed fine

My wonderful Mummy looked after my chickens for me today while I was at work. We suspect the blood was from a scratch rather than a nostril.. Hopefully!!

Thanks very much for the advice again, I was really worried. I'll continue to watch them closely over the next couple of days.

XX

[neenyneen]

i thought one of my chooks had dried blood round her nostrils, so i wiped it off and put it on damp tissue to see if it turned red.....................and it was mud - she had been digging ! the worry i felt though, glad your lady seems ok now! Janina

[Madrat]

I don't know if its the same in chickens but mucus in some animal's can look like blood.

[featherhead]

I'm absolutely gutted  
My wyandotte has turned out to be just fine but a couple days ago my little orpington died. It was a little upsetting (as I'm lucky enough to never have known any person or animal to die) and I wondered if it was something that I was doing wrong, but speaking with the breeder and reading things on here I was pretty certain it wasn't my fault.
However, reading through helpful things on here I just looked up flubenvet--- and on that website it said that a sign of worms is scraggly or rough feathers.. which my little orpington had!! Since I've never had chickens before and have no other orpingtons to compare it to so I assumed (stupidly!) it was just the breed, still young and growing through new adult feathers
I feel like it's my fault the poor little thing died. I bought de-mite powder just in case but hadn't seen de-wormer and am only just looking to buy some. I feel dreadful. I thought they needed deworming every few months but now I feel like I wasn't prepared enough to have chickens. I feel so guilty!!

[bantam novice]

Hello Featherhead,
So sorry to hear about your Orpington 
I am sure that you don't need to feel guilty.  Hens are very good at hiding when they are feeling unwell.  We are all learning here.
Flubenvet is a very good idea for worms and internal parasites and Frontline for things like lice on the outside.  For redmite you will need Diatom (Diatomaceous Earth) powder mixed into a paste or slurry with a little washing up liquid or Poultry guard and water.  You then paint this on all the cracks and crevices in your house not forgetting the ends of the perch.
I don't know how many hens you have.  They are flock animals and don't thrive on their own so if you only have one left you may want to consider getting two more.
Good Luck.

[featherhead]

Thank you bantam novice x
silly moment of despair there, I've never had a pet that's died before.. and I've wanted chickens for yeaaaars so I was rather crushed.
I now have 4 chickens, I had two left and now have two more - please see my upcoming post on that though - check out my white chicken's mutant feet!!
Feather xx