1 & 1/2 Week Chicks w/Dark Gelatinous Poop

[appalachianfeet]

I just found out I should already be giving our chicks some grit if they're going to get supplements to their chick starter. My daughter gave them some worms and some finely crumbled boiled egg. Today their poop looks different -- it's sticky, dark, and gelatinous. Is that from the lack of grit (and will giving them grit fix it) or something else?

 

[dawg53]

Quote:
Welcome to BYC. They should only be fed chick starter/grower til they are 18-20 weeks old. You can sprinkle parakeet grit around their feeder and let them peck it as "free choice." In other words, let them eat it at their own free will and dont mix it in their feed...they instictively know when to eat it. Their innards are not developed enough to digest and absorb human food. I recommend you stop the worms, and crumbled boiled egg. Their poop should return to normal. Keep in mind that at about every 8-10 droppings will be cecal poop...the stinky diarrhea brown in color poop...it is normal.

 

[silkiechicken]

Are you sure you're not just looking at cecal poop? Every half dozen to dozen poops will end up in a cecal poop, which is like a melted Hershey kiss and smells terrible.

 

[appalachianfeet]

Oh yeah, it's definitely the cecal poop. Thanks for the advice!