Diarrhea, no other symptoms, causes?

[allameraucana]

Hi everyone,

I have 6 backyard hens that are about 9 months old and have been laying for about 3 months already. They're laying really reliably, eat well, none look lethargic or sick, seem to be keeping their weight, laying reliably. I bought them all as day old from Murray and they are all vaccinated against coccidosis and Mareks.

However, for the past few weeks... or maybe month or so (I've lost track), a few of them have had diarrhea on and off. I have started giving them scratch grain recently but I am 90% sure the diarrhea started before that. At least 3 of them have had watery diarrhea but otherwise no other symptoms. I've felt their crops in the morning and they seem like they've emptied normally. Like I said, they're eating, drinking. Their coop is clean. One of them does squawk pretty incessantly though but some days she hardly does and other days it can go on for hours. Today she was the one I found with diarrhea but not much squawking.

What do you recommend I do?? I attached a picture of the diarrhea from today and then a close up of some solid thing in there... thought for a min it might be a parasite but I believe it is just some of the grain. I also saw a couple seeds in her poo but I think that was from some snacks I gave them a few days ago. I'm surprised they are barely coming out, is that normal? Btw the poo is on top of a tree stump in their coop in case that matters.

So... any thoughts on treatment of this? I'm getting worried for them and not sure. This is my first time having chickens so I'm treading new water everyday.

Thank you!

 

[MysteryChicken]

What's their diet? Treats included, plus how often?

 

[allameraucana]

What's their diet? Treats included, plus how often?

They get access to layer pellets 24/7 which they've been on for quite a while. I even did gradual transitions from their chick feed to layer crumble to layer pellets. They also get 5 grain scratch daily (maybe like 1 cup a day?), and then a variety of other food scraps like cuts of vegetables and fruits, not really daily though. They have access to water 24/7 and I rinse out the waterer daily and clean the whole thing like 1-2x/week.

 

[MysteryChicken]

They get access to layer pellets 24/7 which they've been on for quite a while. I even did gradual transitions from their chick feed to layer crumble to layer pellets. They also get 5 grain scratch daily (maybe like 1 cup a day?), and then a variety of other food scraps like cuts of vegetables and fruits, not really daily though. They have access to water 24/7 and I rinse out the waterer daily and clean the whole thing like 1-2x/week.

Cut the scratch feed down to maybe once, or twice every 1-2 weeks, or longer.

What's the protein content of the Layer?

 

[allameraucana]

Cut the scratch feed down to maybe once, or twice every 1-2 weeks, or longer.

What's the protein content of the Layer?

Protein content is 16% for their pellets, same for the crumble they were getting. They've They've getting this protein content since 4 mo old, so it has been like 5 months of this kind of feed. I will try cutting back on the scratch feed. Do you think that has been problematic? If so, how come? Only asking since this is all new to me and I would love to learn.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Protein content is 16% for their pellets, same for the crumble they were getting. They've They've getting this protein content since 4 mo old, so it has been like 5 months of this kind of feed. I will try cutting back on the scratch feed. Do you think that has been problematic? If so, how come? Only asking since this is all new to me and I would love to learn.

Scratch feed is a treat, & is full of fat, & carbs that will interfere with their main diet by diluting the nutrients within their feed. The extra fat content also dilutes the small amount of protein they're getting down to even less then what they're receiving. Scratch also has some good amino acids, but fat is very high as well, so due to fat, it should be offered less frequently.

 

[MysteryChicken]

I feed my birds 20% protein/All flock, or Flock Raiser type feed with Oyster shells on the side in a separate feeder. Occasionally my birds will get some type of treat.

 

[allameraucana]

Scratch feed is a treat, & is full of fat, & carbs that will interfere with their main diet by diluting the nutrients within their feed. The extra fat content also dilutes the small amount of protein they're getting down to even less then what they're receiving. Scratch also has some good amino acids, but fat is very high as well, so due to fat, it should be offered less frequently.

Thank you so much for that info. Any thoughts on how I should go about treating the diarrhea or do you think just limiting the scratch should help?

 

[MysteryChicken]

Thank you so much for that info. Any thoughts on how I should go about treating the diarrhea or do you think just limiting the scratch should help?

Try limiting the scratch first, & see if it's actually the cause.

 

[MysteryChicken]

What veggies do you offer as treats? Certain ones contain alot of water, & may cause birds to have wet poops. Some examples are Lettuce, cabbage, & tomatoes.