Something white hanging out of chicken's butt (parasite?)....not eating or drinking

Hi, I'm very new to owning chickens. I recently (last month) got a flock of 9 hens and one rooster (all about 1 year old). My chickens free range 24/7 on 10 acres (we have guard dogs) and are on a healthy diet (organic layer, oyster shells, organic vegi/fruit scraps, any bugs they can scratch up, occasional thorvin kelp & additional Vit C). A few days ago I wormed all my animals (sheep, dogs & chickens) with a multi-species animal herbal wormer (black walnut, wormwood, etc - 3 day procedure) All my chickens drank the herbal water and seem very healthy except for one. She has something white hanging out of her butt a couple inches long and maybe 1/4" or less wide - there is also gunk/poop coated on her feathers under her butt. Since they were just wormed I assumed this was a tapeworm/parasite hanging partially out? I noticed this yesterday, but figured she was just passing a parasite since she was on her third day of the wormer? Is this possible? Is it more likely something else? It is now dried up (It doesn't seem like a prolapse from what I've read on the internet). She was drinking yesterday, but I haven't seen her drink or eat this morning or evening. She seems to just be laying low with feathers fluffed - not looking too good. I really want to save her, if at all possible. But, we do plan on eating our chickens when they mature and are no longer laying well. However, since this chicken isn't doing well health wise, would butchering her even be an option? Please help, I'm very concerned about her.

Welcome to BYC. It sounds like she may have partially passed a shell-less egg that broke, and the object is the egg membrane hanging out. I would pull it out, unless the other chickens haven't beat you to it. Make sure they are getting layer feed with a source of extra calcium available such as crushed oyster shell, or feed them back their crushed egg shells. Vitamins D3 can also be beneficial.

Thank you so much for your reply. Checked her this morning and she is at least walking around, white thing is gone & looks like she's feeling a little bit better. So, maybe she is on the mend? However, I'm still worried, because she isn't eating yet. How long can chickens go without eating?

Yes, they do have oyster shells available. However, I haven't had them that long, so not sure if they were provided this before me owning them. If this was an eggless shell and she has access to oyster shells, will this continue to be a problem with her?

Is it better to wash & lightly cook their egg shells to feed as a calcium source or are oyster shells a better calcium source?

hammy123 said:

Thank you so much for your reply.  Checked her this morning and she is at least walking around, white thing is gone & looks like she's feeling a little bit better.  So, maybe she is on the mend?  However, I'm still worried, because she isn't eating yet.  How long can chickens go without eating?

Yes, they do have oyster shells available.  However, I haven't had them that long, so not sure if they were provided this before me owning them.  If this was an eggless shell and she has access to oyster shells, will this continue to be a problem with her?  

Is it better to wash & lightly cook their egg shells to feed as a calcium source or are oyster shells a better calcium source?

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I seem to always have one or two hens that won't eat oyster shell. Then they free range on top of that so don't eat much layer feed. As a result I see thin shelled or broken eggs. I've taken to giving the stubborn ones calcium pills every few days to keep their shells hard. I would give them both, oyster shell and crushed shell so they have a choice.

Washing them is a good idea, imo. I find shells from boiled eggs are best. Just make sure there isn't any raw egg left in the shell. Could start a taste for raw egg.

What is your natural worming formula if I may ask? Can you give the recipe? Do you know what worms it treats? I'm always open to trying natural cures especially when it comes to worming. Hate the withdrawel times on the other stuff.

I'll definitely start feeding the shells....I sure have enough of them

We just started our farm, so this is actually my first time worming all my animals with this natural wormer. However, the ingredients are very similar to natural human parasite cleanses. So, I figure I should give it a try. My ram is the only animal that looked like he needed it, so I plan on taking a sample into the vet to see how the wormer performed. The dogs ate it right up in a small peanut butter sandwich. The sheep unfortunately had to be drenched. However, I was surprised the chickens drank it so easily mixed in their normal waterer. They also had access to clean water - but further away from their roosting place. The wormer is from Molly's herbals at fiascofarm dot com the ingredients are listed there.

Do you feed regular people calcium pills?

hammy123 said:

I'll definitely start feeding the shells....I sure have enough of them  

We just started our farm, so this is actually my first time worming all my animals with this natural wormer.  However, the ingredients are very similar to natural human parasite cleanses.  So, I figure I should give it a try.  My ram is the only animal that looked like he needed it, so I plan on taking a sample into the vet to see how the wormer performed.  The dogs ate it right up in a small peanut butter sandwich.  The sheep unfortunately had to be drenched.  However, I was surprised the chickens drank it so easily mixed in their normal waterer.  They also had access to clean water - but further away from their roosting place.  The wormer is from Molly's herbals at fiascofarm dot com the ingredients are listed there.  

Do you feed regular people calcium pills?

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Thanks. Will check it out.

Yes, people pills. I had some citracal with D here so I cut it in half and put them in their throat when shells start looking thin. It worked really fast on one hen who was smashing the egg in the nest box for three days straight. Gave her half that pill and got a perfect egg next day. But, that can get expensive, so best to find the cheaper sources of calcium that they will eat.

hammy123 said:

I'll definitely start feeding the shells....I sure have enough of them

We just started our farm, so this is actually my first time worming all my animals with this natural wormer. However, the ingredients are very similar to natural human parasite cleanses. So, I figure I should give it a try. My ram is the only animal that looked like he needed it, so I plan on taking a sample into the vet to see how the wormer performed. The dogs ate it right up in a small peanut butter sandwich. The sheep unfortunately had to be drenched. However, I was surprised the chickens drank it so easily mixed in their normal waterer. They also had access to clean water - but further away from their roosting place. The wormer is from Molly's herbals at fiascofarm dot com the ingredients are listed there.

Do you feed regular people calcium pills?

Click to expand...

"Since herbs are not drugs" I disagree with this statement on her site. Anyone using herbal remedies needs to inform their doctor as these "herbs" could interact with other medications.

"Most herbal wormers, dewormers and worm products also contain laxative herbs; " This statement caught my eye. I recently started using Backyard Chicken "Zfend A" ( don't know that it's related to BYC, I doubt it) I came here because the coop that I used it for all have white butts that I hadn't noticed before. I started using it because this particular coop, consisting of 6 Maran and 2 EE's has not laid in quite a while. My other coops ( I have 5) are laying. Not a great deal since it's been cold here (NYS) Also they've had white butts before and I can't figure out why.

The other coops seem fine. All get fed the same thing.

Anyhow now I wonder if the problem is this new wormer. I will be discontinuing it tomorrow. I don't think most of us would know what herbs act as laxatives.

Zyfend, contains. Liquid Yucca Schidigera, A. oryzae fermentation extract, A niger fermentation extract, Essential oil of lemon, Essential oil of grapefruit, Essential oil of fennel and Anise.

I will continue my research, but won't be using this Zyfend for a while.