19-Week pullet has diarrhoea...stress??

[LozzyR]

Hello friends

We got two pullets three weeks ago at 16 weeks. They have been in quarantine all this time as we have two Isa Brown hens. We discovered that the Isas had coccidiosis so they are being treated for that. There was diarrhoea in the quarantine pen so the vet said to treat them as well, which I have been doing.

Yesterday I let them out to free-range for the first time. They are still pretty freaked out and I saw a stream of brown liquid fall out of the Australorp’s bum. The vet had previously tested for worms and coccidiosis but was negative for both. The food I am giving them is slightly different to the commercial grade the breeders were feeding them, plus they have access to grass. Is the combination of grass, new food and stress is what’s causing the diarrhoea? Should I wait until they’re all in together and settled before I go back to the vet?

The other thing that concerned me yesterday was that both pullets started munching on various bits of vegetation. My Isas usually completely ignore all plants except grass and the occasional dandelion; they’re too busy digging for worms. The pullets got stuck into daisies and another plant and a weed that I have no idea what they are. I found the comprehensive list on this site of poisonous plants and Google image-searched almost all of them; the daisies and other plant didn’t seem to be there although I worried the weed might be a type of oxalis. I do also have a few plants on the list, like rhubarb, tomatoes and Japanese Box. I’ve also got Murraya Paniculata (and I asked at the time of purchase if it was toxic to chickens and the response was “we don’t think so”), will they try to eat it or do chickens instinctively know what to avoid? Should I not let them free-range again until I find out more?

Sorry for the lengthy post! I’m just really anxious about keeping my girls healthy and I’m new to very young chooks, so I don’t know what their behaviour is like. I was very sad when I lost one of my Isas to egg-peritonitis so I was looking for longer-lived breeds that aren’t as susceptible.

Thank you for your time!

 

[azygous]

The runny brown poop may have simply been due to eating things high in moisture content. If the new chickens are behaving normally in every other respect, try not to worry.

Generally, chickens will ignore poisonous plants. I've had larkspur growing in proximity to my flock for several years and none showed any interest in it. But, there always can be the exception.

A chicken that has eaten a toxic plant can be treated with activated charcoal, found on the vitamin shelf at the store, and it can neutralize the toxin if given right away.

In case you don't know the behavior of a sick chicken, they go mute and become inactive, often standing around on the edge of the flock with their head hunched into their shoulders and fluff up their feathers and act drowzy. Often they hold their tail low and flat. A chicken exposed to a toxin will have balance issues first, then trouble standing, and then will fall over.

 

[LozzyR]

Thanks for your response. They seem to be ok; I limited their free-range area this morning and went and cleared the area with the unknown plants. I dug up quite a few worms, which the Isas were really pleased about! I don’t think I’m quite ready for them to be moved into the run just yet; I need to set up a second feed station. But I’m hoping to do it sometime this week, and give them all a little more time to get used to each other.