healthy but has diarrhea

[laurelbrookhens]

My Campine hen is about a year old. She acts very healthy but has not laid any eggs and has very loose stool. Her pen mate is a Sexlink that is completely healthy and lays every day. What do you think it is and what should I do? I took them from the farm flock to the city about a month ago as I wanted a few for my sub division back yard. The diarrhea in the Campine does not seem to be "caught" by the other hen and they have been close together for a month. Should I treat them both with Corid ?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Can you post some photos of the poop?

 

[laurelbrookhens]

I'll try this evening to get a photo but the poop is small and quite watery and adsorbs into the ground rather quickly. Other info: the two birds are in an ample size caged in area with a little barn coop. The soil is dry except for hard rain and well scratched. I put biodegradables (only approved stuff) in the cage every day in only one spot which they pick at and distribute.They have Purina dry food and always have water altho I'm amazed how quickly they can dirty it. I'm pretty sure the food and water aren't the problem. Since only one hen has this condition and is otherwise healthy, I'm leaning towards tapeworm but that is a very uneducated guess. Also, I don't know what to do about tapeworm. I'm also concerned that she hasn't laid any eggs. Whatever she has, it appears to not be contagious. She has noticeably gained weight since being moved to the city from the farm and has had the diarrhea the whole time she has been here. With 50 chickens at the farm, no way of knowing when this started. She was the only small bird in the flock so was probably the last to eat.

 

[laurelbrookhens]

Forgot to say, I see no blood in the stool.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'll try this evening to get a photo but the poop is small and quite watery and adsorbs into the ground rather quickly. Other info: the two birds are in an ample size caged in area with a little barn coop. The soil is dry except for hard rain and well scratched. I put biodegradables (only approved stuff) in the cage every day in only one spot which they pick at and distribute.They have Purina dry food and always have water altho I'm amazed how quickly they can dirty it. I'm pretty sure the food and water aren't the problem. Since only one hen has this condition and is otherwise healthy, I'm leaning towards tapeworm but that is a very uneducated guess. Also, I don't know what to do about tapeworm. I'm also concerned that she hasn't laid any eggs. Whatever she has, it appears to not be contagious. She has noticeably gained weight since being moved to the city from the farm and has had the diarrhea the whole time she has been here. With 50 chickens at the farm, no way of knowing when this started. She was the only small bird in the flock so was probably the last to eat.

Is all of her poop watery or does she have normal poop, cecal poop and watery poop?
In hot weather they can drink quite a bit of water, this would make the poop watery.
Worms or cocci would also be a possibility as you suspect.

If you have a vet you can take a fecal sample to for a float test, that would help you determine which way to treat. They can check for both worms and cocci.

For a good all around de-wormer you can use Valbazen 1/2 ml orally and then repeated in 10 days for each chicken or Fenbendazole (Safeguard, Panacur) at 1/4 ml per pound for 5 days in a row.

Not all strain of Cocci have bloody poop, signs would be weakness (lethargy), diarrhea with blood or mucous, hunched/fluffed up appearance. Treatment for Cocci is Corid (dosage is 1 1/2 teaspoons Corid powder per gallon or 2 teaspoons of 9.6% Corid liquid per gallon).

They do dirty waterers quickly some people hang theirs. I have mine on a concrete block about 6-7 off the ground, but it still gets dirt in it. One of their favorite dust bathing spots is next to the water, so they can really make a mess, so I have to clean mine almost daily

Worms:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2015/11/control-treatment-of-worms-in-chickens.html
Poop Chart:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/02/whats-scoop-on-chicken-poop-digestive.html
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=17568.0

 

[laurelbrookhens]

Thank you for so much info! I carefully reviewed all the poop photos but am not sure which photo best identifies my girl's poop. I will attempt to isolate her to get a feces sample and hope my vet will test it or find another vet that does. I'm still leaning to worms being a possibility but I can see from the photos that she could also be a variety of normal. As an aside, my other chick should be brooding (she's not) as she can out do my 30 lb dog for poop size! Again, Thank you from Laurel Brooks Hens

 

[Wyorp Rock]

You're welcome

Keep us posted.

 

[Ballerina Bird]

Is it really hot where you are? Is she drinking a lot, like Wyorp Rock was wondering? One of my hens is doing something similar, and I asked a local chicken friend (ronott1) for help. He sent me to the same chart you looked at, and it seemed to look like the "high heat" poop, which was also Ron's suspicion. Like your hen, mine seems to be a good weight and active. I gave her probiotics for a couple of days, and I think the poop is getting a little better. Anyway, it sounds like I am keeping an eye on something similar to what you are, so I will update if I have more helpful info. I think probiotics can't hurt if you want to try -- good for stress, heat, new places. I used Sav-a-Chick probiotic, which is good because it doesn't color the water so they don't get scared of it. Other people love Big Ole Bird, but it dyes the water and my girls are terrified of it.

 

[laurelbrookhens]

Hurray! My Campine laid her first egg today. NOT in the approved nesting area but a pretty white egg in a scratched dirt nest. She still has loose stool. I'm having trouble getting a "sample". But maybe this is all much to do about nothing. I hope.

 

[Ballerina Bird]

Hurray! My Campine laid her first egg today. NOT in the approved nesting area but a pretty white egg in a scratched dirt nest. She still has loose stool. I'm having trouble getting a "sample". But maybe this is all much to do about nothing. I hope.

That is great news that she laid an egg! I sent in a not-very-good sample yesterday and will report back; I am still having the same issue -- loose stool but otherwise seems healthy. I'll let you know if I find out anything useful. Thanks for the update.