1 yr hen with watery poop

[Aunt Angus]

So I'm out here chillin' with my chickens when I hear splat, and see my Cochin pooping out water. I'd take a pic, but there is nothing to see at all - it is completely clear and absorbed into the grass immediately.

She's eating, drinking, acting completely normal. She is molting, however, and has new pin feathers coming in on her feet that look awful and painful. Nothing has changed otherwise.

Ideas? Is it infection? Worms? Help...

Update: Checked her crop at bedtime, and it wasn't very full, which is unlike her. So she's not eating as much as usual. I will tempt her with mash and eggs tomorrow morning (her fave). I'll also give probiotics, too, if I can find some tonight.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Generally watery poop means they aren't eating much, but they are drinking. Molting is stressful on them. Hopefully it's just temporary. @Eggcessive or @Wyorp Rock May have some helpful advice.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Thanks. I hope that's all it is, too. I'll def give her some warm mash and egg tomorrow morning after checking her over again.

I forgot to add a vent check showed a perfectly clean looking vent. I was expecting a mess, but her feathers were surprisingly clean.

This hen has had so many issues: chronically past butt as a chick, mites, bumblefoot, egg broken internally, shell-less egg, worms...

 

[Wyorp Rock]

So I'm out here chillin' with my chickens when I hear splat, and see my Cochin pooping out water. I'd take a pic, but there is nothing to see at all - it is completely clear and absorbed into the grass immediately.

She's eating, drinking, acting completely normal. She is molting, however, and has new pin feathers coming in on her feet that look awful and painful. Nothing has changed otherwise.

Ideas? Is it infection? Worms? Help...

Update: Checked her crop at bedtime, and it wasn't very full, which is unlike her. So she's not eating as much as usual. I will tempt her with mash and eggs tomorrow morning (her fave). I'll also give probiotics, too, if I can find some tonight.

They can feel horrible when molting or at least some of mine seem to get that way. They don't seem to eat as much, are picky eaters, etc.
I would just keep watch on her, a treat of egg is sometimes a hit. If she's not tooo prickly, you may want to give her a direct dose of poultry vitamins - I try to avoid handling a molting bird very much at all unless I feel it's important, handling is painful it seems. I would also feel the crop in the mornings to make sure it's empty.

 

[Aunt Angus]

They can feel horrible when molting or at least some of mine seem to get that way. They don't seem to eat as much, are picky eaters, etc.
I would just keep watch on her, a treat of egg is sometimes a hit. If she's not tooo prickly, you may want to give her a direct dose of poultry vitamins - I try to avoid handling a molting bird very much at all unless I feel it's important, handling is painful it seems. I would also feel the crop in the mornings to make sure it's empty.

Crop was empty this morning. I gave them all warm mash this morning with cooked egg. She was eating just fine, it seemed. I watched her for an hour or so. She passed 2 more watery poops, but they had some grass from yesterday's foraging in it. Other than the really ouchy looking pinfeathers coming in on her feet and the watery poop, all seems fine.

 

[Eggcessive]

When I feed mine wet feed, I will see a lot of splats. If she is acting okay, I wouldn’t worry. Molting chickens do not eat very well, and they same aloof and less friendly here. They will scarf up scrambled eggs, tuna, sunflower hearts, or other yummy treats. You might mix in a little plain Greek yogurt or buttermilk into the mash for some probiotics. If that doesn’t help her, try cottage cheese or cooked rice mixed into her feed. Never give uncooked rice.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

So I'm out here chillin' with my chickens when I hear splat, and see my Cochin pooping out water. I'd take a pic, but there is nothing to see at all - it is completely clear and absorbed into the grass immediately.

She's eating, drinking, acting completely normal. She is molting, however, and has new pin feathers coming in on her feet that look awful and painful. Nothing has changed otherwise.

Ideas? Is it infection? Worms? Help...

Update: Checked her crop at bedtime, and it wasn't very full, which is unlike her. So she's not eating as much as usual. I will tempt her with mash and eggs tomorrow morning (her fave). I'll also give probiotics, too, if I can find some tonight.

That happened to my lavender Orpington. She is going through a terrible molt. She developed horrible diarrhea and was not eating and lost a bunch of weight, so I thought she was sick and I brought her to the vet. They did some tests on her and could not find parasites or bacterial disease, but I still had her put through a round of antibiotics. Now I notice one of my other hens that is molting really bad has the same diarrhea. I think it is related to the molting. If the same thing happens next year I will definitely know it is from the molting and will not be spending 250.00 on another vet visit!

 

[Aunt Angus]

That happened to my lavender Orpington. She is going through a terrible molt. She developed horrible diarrhea and was not eating and lost a bunch of weight, so I thought she was sick and I brought her to the vet. They did some tests on her and could not find parasites or bacterial disease, but I still had her put through a round of antibiotics. Now I notice one of my other hens that is molting really bad has the same diarrhea. I think it is related to the molting. If the same thing happens next year I will definitely know it is from the molting and will not be spending 250.00 on another vet visit!

That's reassuring to hear it's probably her molt. I don't want to medicate her if she doesn't need it. Her poor feet look terribly painful, with those pinfeathers pushing in between her scales. There is swelling, but no real sign of infection. I love the look of feather-footed breeds, but I'm not a fan of this part of it. Nor the upkeep.

Thsnks, everyone! I feel much better now. I will watch closely.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Here's a poop pic from just a few mins ago. Waaaay more solid than it was yesterday.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

Here's a poop pic from just a few mins ago. Waaaay more solid than it was yesterday.
View attachment 1951162

Yeah, that doesn’t look very bad