[rd1]

I have been keeping chickens for around 4 years and recently returned from a fortnights holiday. My uncle who was looking after the chickens, found 1 of them dead in the coop and said there was a lot of blood around the vent area. Can anyone give me any advice on what this might have been and what I should do to prevent it happening to my other chickens?
Thanks

[joyfull]

it sounds like an egg had broken inside her on the way out - the other chickens will have eaten the dripping egg and then caught her skin which would have produced blood. Chickens love blood and will have carried on pecking.
Often when a hen has an egg break inside them they get infections internally and this will cause their death.
Make sure your hens have access to crushed oyster shell at all times but when they get older their eggs do become fragile.

[nerdle]

How awful!

[rd1]

thanks
-I have got oyster shell and grit available at all times and the chicken was about  30 months old.

[joyfull]

Depending upon her breed she could have been coming to the end of her laying and then you can get very weak shells, which very often does lead to eggs breaking internally which is what it sounds like has happened in this case.
Commercial egg laying breeds such as warrens etc. are only expected to live a couple of years and the farmers tend to dispose of them at 72 weeks because the egg quality starts to go downhill after that each.