After the initial surge in keeping backyard chickens a couple of years back, many people have now progressed to actually breeding their chickens and hatching their own chicks.
Due to this, we have noticed an increasing number of people reaching out with each passing month about what they should be doing if they are breeding their chickens and hatching their own chicks in their coops.
We have already gone over how to help a lethargic chick and what to do if your chick hatches with its intestines hanging out but we have noticed a number of people reaching out about their newly hatched chick bleeding recently so we wanted to publish this article on the topic.
Our hope is that we will be able to provide our readers with some general advice on exactly what they should be doing when it comes to dealing with a chick that hatches and is bleeding but this article is not intended to replace advice from a vet.
Is It Normal For A Newly Hatched Chick To Be Bleeding?
Some chicks, especially late chicks can have some residual blood on them and late chicks tend to be weaker than other chicks too giving people the impression that there may be something seriously wrong with the chick.
If this is the case for your chick, then it can be normal for a small amount of residual blood to be on the chick after it is hatching and it is generally not something that you have to worry about.
Some chicks may accidentally cut themselves on their egg when hatching that can result in a wound that may bleed, although this is not considered “normal” it can happen surprisingly often.
Although rare, a number of chicks can be born with a range of issues and abnormalities on them that will result in them having an open wound similar to the intestines hanging out problem we mentioned back at the start of the article.
This is not normal and unfortunately, in many cases, it will be very difficult to help the chick after it has hatched if this is why it is bleeding.
The final reason that you may think that a chick is bleeding after hatching is due to its brood mates pecking at the chick after it hatches and causing a wound that bleeds, this is rare but can happen.
What Causes A Newly Hatched Chick To Bleed?
As we have already covered, there are a few reasons that can result in your newly hatched chick bleeding and the most common of these is going to be if the chick accidentally cuts itself on its egg as it hatches.
If this is the case for your chick then you may notice that there is a small cut on the chick’s head or body that is bleeding, this can be helped by using a little bit of mild antiseptic on the wound and then keeping an eye on it.
The second most common reason for your newly hatched chick to bleed is going to be if it hatches with an open wound or abnormality on its body, this is unfortunately something that you are not going to be able to do much about and the chick will likely not survive.
The third most common reason that your newly hatched chick could be bleeding is going to be due to pecking from its brood mates, as we have already covered this is rare but it can happen.
If you think that this may be the case then you should look to either remove the chick from the brooder or move it to a different brooder altogether.
What Should You Do If Your Newly Hatched Chick Is Bleeding?
If you have followed all of our advice so far and your newly hatched chick is still bleeding then you should look to take it to see a vet as soon as possible as it is likely that they will not be able to do much to help the chick if it is still bleeding.
Depending on the cause of the bleeding, it may not be possible to save the chick though such as bleeding from the anus due to internal bleeding in the chick due to an internal problem.
Thankfully, the more serious problems that are very difficult to treat that can cause your pet chick to bleed are very rare and the majority of people reaching this will usually be having problems with an easy to common issue causing the bleeding on their chick.
Should I Be Worried If A Newly Hatched Chick Is Bleeding?
Most causes of bleeding in a newly hatched chick are not serious and residual blood or capillary blood due to the chick cutting itself when hatching are more common than most people new to breeding chickens initially realize.
This is why the majority of people who notice that their newly hatched chick has blood on it have nothing to worry about for the most part.
As we mentioned above, the serious issues are very rare and the majority of people will never experience them.
If your chickens are consistently producing chicks that are bleeding then there is something wrong with your breeding system that needs to be investigated and corrected as soon as possible though as healthy chicks should not be bleeding after hatching.
