1 yr. old Rhode Island Reds have Diarrhea

[jtoolson]

I have two, 1 year old Rhode Island Reds that have diarrhea. Their diarrhea is a redidish/green/brown and it come shooting out of their bums. They do have have "gunk" stuck to their feathers around their bum too. They seem to be eating and drinking. I also have 3 Austrolorpes who look fine. These are my first chickens and I am not sure what to do! Any help will be greatly appreicated. Should I clean their bums? Should I give them some special food? I have no idea what to do or how they got sick. Their coop is very clean and yard area is super clean with lots of fresh air. Thanks

 

[katdam]

mine are 9 wks and i noticed that when they drink alot of water it shoots out like your talking about...sometimes its clear, sometimes its colored, never any blood though. these are my first as well and just figured they were drinking too much.. they have plenty of food, grit, grass to snack on and they seem fine. they don't act funny or sick....i don't either

 

[kelar]

Have the hens been eating anything unusual lately that would give them the runs? I would give them dry crumbles only, plenty of fresh water with vitamins & electrolytes added to replace the loss from the diarrhea and you might try giving them a SMALL amount of active culture yogurt or they also sell probiotics especially for birds to restore balance in their intestinal systems. If you've had hot weather in your area, this can also cause temporary diarrhea which I believe is caused by stress. Hopefully they will recover soon. If not, you may want to find a vet who will run a fecal analysis for you to determine the cause. Karen

 

[katdam]

it has been hot here...i'm going to try the supplemented water...mine get yogurt once a day...didn't mean to impose on your thread jtoolson....

 

[jtoolson]

I gave them some wheat bran with buttermilk mixed in last night and they ate it all up. Today I am going to add some electrolites to their water. Hopefully I'll see some improvement today or tomorrow. Thanks for all your advise!