Poop ID, Please....Well, maybe poop

speckledhen

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Found this on the ramp in the old hens' coop, where my older ladies live with three 17 week old youngsters and on 16 week old Delaware pullet. The other day I saw this and dismissed it as intestinal lining, but now, I'm not so sure. The old ladies have been here for years so they are definitely immune to the oocycsts in my soil, meaning I wouldn't suspect coccidiosis. The younger ones have been living here for about a month as well.

They've been wormed about six months ago, too, except for the youngsters, of course. If these little balls/pellets were white, I'd suspect tapeworms, but a couple almost look like undeveloped ova--see the yellowish tinge to a couple? My Delaware pullets, who is really only 16 weeks old, laid two pullet eggs a couple weeks ago, two days in a row, way too early. Could these be ova she's shedding without them forming eggs? I wouldn't normally even go there, but with a young pullet laying way too early, makes me wonder. I need some help from old time chicken folks so I know if I need to worm, give Corid for cocci or worry that Tasha is having a reproductive malfunction.

What do you think?

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I'm no expert, but, I would separate them to start narrowing down who it is coming from.
Good luck.
Dale-Ann
 
Dale-Ann, I can't separate them, nowhere to put 11 birds in separate locations, or even to separate the younger ones from the old hens. All coops, including the Firetower, are occupied. My Delaware pullet, after laying those tiny eggs two days in a row, keeps going back to a nest and sitting and panting, but no other eggs have been laid by her, so I'm wondering if she has some issue. That yellowish ball with what looks like veins to me on the lower right looks exactly like the undeveloped ova we find inside hens when we do necropsies. It's so odd!
 
Ahem.... shouldn't this have "Graphic Pic" in the title?
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Can't help much on the ID, but boy I'd be twitchy after finding that. Do you still have a rescue cage set up somewhere? Because I agree with Dale-Ann, separation is going to be needed, starting with the Del pullet.

Bummer, Cyn, sorry another hen is having trouble.
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I think you might be right one the undeveloped ova looks like at least one there. Can you put the del pullet in a different area for a few day and see if it stops might help narrow it down some. I hope this is just a freak thing and the del pullet does not have any more problems. Good luck and sorry you are having this problem.
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For poop? It says Poop ID so figure someone would know they're going to be looking at something along those lines.
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Can't imagine anyone keeping chickens would be too squeamish for this.

Unfortunately, I don't have another anything to put Tasha in. I saw something like this last week and not since until today. She can't stay in a small cage for weeks. I just may have to hang out in the coop/run with them and see if I can see her poop.
 
Cyn, I am also unsure, but I suspect you are right - not only do they have a yellowish tinge to the edges (I was looking closely at the one closest to the top of the pic, in addition to the one you mention @ the bottom), but you've already identified that you have a gal that has begun laying what seems like much too early. They are also ALL very round.

The thing that worries me is the amount of blood.

I really do think you need to pull Tasha and put her in a cage - even if it does take a few weeks. This way, you will know for sure if it's her, and you'll have "regular" poo samples right along with these red things, if she is the one.

Maybe we can put this in the category of "she's young, it'll work itself out" - but, I don't think you can deny that there could potentially be an issue due to the blood.

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Hope you can get it figured out!

As far as a cage - do you check Craigslist at all? I use the plastic dog crates that collapse down - they're super easy to take apart so they store in not much room, and they're easy to disinfect when done. I get the very largest ones I can find on CL and there's plenty of room for a hen to stretch out in them. I even add roosts to the very largest ones. Hope you can find out what's going on!
 
LOL, sorry Cyn, I wasn't expecting blood and we were eating breakfast/brunch. Even worse, it was scrambled eggs with Tabasco sauce.
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It does look like a laying issue., but one I've never seen. I guess you're going to have to sit in the coop and run for a while and watch Tasha. At least it isn't snowing or blazing hot yet. Does she have a usual time when she goes to the nest? Maybe you and DH can make a schedule to watch her and the others, since it isn't definitely her, and get an idea of who is laying what when.
 
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I would grab some coffee a nice chair and just sit and watch I do this sometimes in the spring to watch my girls lay their eggs so I can see who is laying what egg. So I know if one is having problems. I know I am a crazy chicken lady watching my hens lay eggs. I hope you can get this figured out. I hope it is just her system working things out and it gets working right keeping my fingers crossed everything works out.
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I do have a broody cage, but it's only 2x3 or so, maybe slightly larger, and it needs to be vacant for the up and coming broodies--just had one in there yesterday, but she wanted out so badly, I just let her go.

I was trying to follow Tasha around, but she goes in and out so much and I have to leave the coop, go around back and into the pen, back and forth and she wore me out trying to keep up. I'm hoping it will work itself out, certainly. A super early layer is bound to have more issues--wish she had waited. I'll do another round of "trailing Tasha" on and off today and maybe I'll see something that will verify it's her. If it is, there is nothing I can do about it, as far as I know.
 

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