Can you advise me. I am new to keeping hens. I have 4 and poppy (sussex white) is the cause for my concern. I went to hang washing on the line to find blood all over the path. All I could find was poppy with a bloody beak. The rest of the girls are OK. Have cleaned poppy down - she is tame! Thought she may have poss harmed another animal.. but that doesn't seem right.. her beak seems sore. My worry is that she is hurting! Any advise? Ta jo

You should probably contact a farm vet. She may have bruised her beak while defending herself. Beaks are like finger nails, there is the tip that needs to stay filed down, the quick and the soft tissue. She can very easily become bruised in the soft tissue part of the beak... maybe compare it to when you got you finger stuck in a door or something.. no visible bruise, but very tender.

Good luck