2-year-old Hen Passing Milky Viscous Stools, Photos Attached

[MrsAuberry00]

The facts:

• I have a 2 yo Rhode Island Red hen which has had loose, watery stools for the past week to two weeks. About one out of, maybe, ten stools is milky/slimy. The others contain normal looking feces, just in a watery form.
• She is the same hen who gets loose stools after every round of free-ranging; she is the only one of four who does this. I've also noticed she drinks from our koi pond more so than the other three. (Although man-made, we do not add chemicals to the water and it is constantly circulating the water via pump and waterfall.)
• When I do not allow her to free range, her stool seems to firm up slightly but it's still very wet. Right now her hind end has a line of visible stool where it has run from her vent to the ground. I am going to try to catch her and wash her back end after work.
• None of the chickens' stool contain any visible worms. There are no aviary vets in my area but there is one who told me in the past with another hen, that they can try to do a fecal float test. (I'm not sure what that means.) I have not yet had one done.
• Her appetite is normal and her water intake may be just slightly more than normal, but not by much. They all eat the same DuMOR layer feed and have water with Rooster Booster added every other water bucket filling.
• Her activity level is normal and I have not observed any signs of distress.
• She has not laid an egg, that I can tell, in I don't know how long. Out of three hens, we have generally been getting one egg every or every other day for a month or so, and they all appear to come from the same hen...not the hen in question, but I can't be 100% positive.

The questions:

• In general, what conditions have you seen that result in milky stools and how do I diagnose them? I have done a lengthy search both here and on google and the amount of information, conflicting and otherwise, is overwhelming.
• When washing her hind end, what should I look for? Should I do an internal exam and what should things feel like?
• If I can't find any visible or physical issues, is scraping her stool off of concrete acceptable? I mean will it affect the results of a float test, or should I just run around behind her with a cup and hope for the best?

Thank you in advance for suggestions and guidance. If there is any information which will help further, let me know and I'll do my very best to answer it.

I looked very closely at the string like material and it did not appear to be solid, (worms.)

 

[Wyorp Rock]

same hen who gets loose stools after every round of free-ranging; she is the only one of four who does this. I've also noticed she drinks from our koi pond more so than the other three.

When I do not allow her to free range, her stool seems to firm up slightly but it's still very wet.

water intake may be just slightly more than normal, but not by much

She has not laid an egg, that I can tell, in I don't know how long

When you wash her up, check her pelvic bones - that may give you a clue whether she's laying eggs or not.

If she's not been laying eggs for a long time, she may have a reproductive disorder, but getting a fecal float to check for worms is a good idea.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/who-is-laying-and-who-is-not-butt-check.73309/

 

[MrsAuberry00]

When you wash her up, check her pelvic bones - that may give you a clue whether she's laying eggs or not.

If she's not been laying eggs for a long time, she may have a reproductive disorder, but getting a fecal float to check for worms is a good idea.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/who-is-laying-and-who-is-not-butt-check.73309/

I am considering the pond as a possible source for the watery stools. What is your opinion on the appearance of the fecal matter?

 

[danceswithronin]

The only thing I've read about in pond water that can make chickens sick is cyanobacteria, and the symptoms for blue-green algae poisoning in chickens are different than the ones presented here.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I am considering the pond as a possible source for the watery stools. What is your opinion on the appearance of the fecal matter?

The poop is not normal to me. Your other hens are drinking the same water so I would expect them to be affected too if it's the pond water, but that's my way of thinking. She may have an underlying condition/weakened system and the pond water is making a difference, hard to know.

She's 2 yrs old and not laying eggs, I would lean toward reproductive disorder, but getting a fecal float is still a good idea.

 

[cottagecheese]

It's, of course, impossible to tell without lab work, but let's try to guess. Are you aware of any stress in her life? From the other chickens, or maybe a predator scare, or she lost a 'best friend' (to illness or predator)? Stress could have brought on an infection of the cloaca (cloacitis), her symptoms are a good match.

http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/vent-gleet

You should check for swollen abdomen and smell her. If the abdomen is normal and you find the smell unusually strong and unpleasant, then the infection is fungal, what is usually called 'vent gleet' (treated with miconazole). What is the smell? Another possibility - the infection could be bacterial. Or she could have worms or even coccidiosis. Could you post a picture of her back side before washing? I'm afraid daily baths are necessary and please watch her very carefully because flystrike is possible too. Waiting on the description of the smell.

Some advice now, in the most literal sense of the word: Dumor has a reputation of being barely adequate, or worse. Also, something that is not well known, but I'm doing my best to spread the word, is the fact that layer feed is not a good idea, not even for layers. It contains four times the amount of calcium of all flock and if the hen is not laying daily, she gets too much calcium, and in time this leads to impaired kidneys, gout and other bad things. Of course you don't believe me, but I know how to convince you. Please read the exchange between the OP and me here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/big-swollen-foot.1309111/#post-21341207

and please read at least one of the links I provided there.

 

[MrsAuberry00]

It's, of course, impossible to tell without lab work, but let's try to guess. Are you aware of any stress in her life? From the other chickens, or maybe a predator scare, or she lost a 'best friend' (to illness or predator)? Stress could have brought on an infection of the cloaca (cloacitis), her symptoms are a good match.

http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/vent-gleet

You should check for swollen abdomen and smell her. If the abdomen is normal and you find the smell unusually strong and unpleasant, then the infection is fungal, what is usually called 'vent gleet' (treated with miconazole). What is the smell? Another possibility - the infection could be bacterial. Or she could have worms or even coccidiosis. Could you post a picture of her back side before washing? I'm afraid daily baths are necessary and please watch her very carefully because flystrike is possible too. Waiting on the description of the smell.

Some advice now, in the most literal sense of the word: Dumor has a reputation of being barely adequate, or worse. Also, something that is not well known, but I'm doing my best to spread the word, is the fact that layer feed is not a good idea, not even for layers. It contains four times the amount of calcium of all flock and if the hen is not laying daily, she gets too much calcium, and in time this leads to impaired kidneys, gout and other bad things. Of course you don't believe me, but I know how to convince you. Please read the exchange between the OP and me here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/big-swollen-foot.1309111/#post-21341207

and please read at least one of the links I provided there.

I'm sorry I haven't replied sooner. I had a death in the family and basic care (fresh food, water and daily poop removal from the coop) is all I've been able to provide. I will definitely look into the feed information. Neither of my 2 yo hens have been laying for quite a while and only one has diarrhea and dirty butt, but no dull feathers, soft abdomen, etc. They lost 2 flock mates back in November but nothing recent. I brought in a rooster but he's a very recent addition and they'd not been laying for a good while before that. I'm at my wits end right now.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry I haven't replied sooner. I had a death in the family and basic care (fresh food, water and daily poop removal from the coop) is all I've been able to provide. I will definitely look into the feed information. Neither of my 2 yo hens have been laying for quite a while and only one has diarrhea and dirty butt, but no dull feathers, soft abdomen, etc. They lost 2 flock mates back in November but nothing recent. I brought in a rooster but he's a very recent addition and they'd not been laying for a good while before that. I'm at my wits end right now.

I'm sorry that you have been going through a sad time
Is there any way you can gather some samples of poop and take it in for testing?
You can go through your vet or your state lab https://vet.purdue.edu/addl/

 

[MrsAuberry00]

I'm sorry that you have been going through a sad time
Is there any way you can gather some samples of poop and take it in for testing?
You can go through your vet or your state lab https://vet.purdue.edu/addl/

Thank you. I plan on taking a sample in just as soon as it stops raining and washing samples off the concrete! Their run and coop has a sand floor so taking a sample from there is not feasible. I'm still puzzled as to why one hen with diarrhea isn't laying but the other without isn't laying either. My 4 year old hen is the one laying eggs every few days! They're pets and I love them so I won't consider culling them, but it's frustrating to have hens who were previously laying and now aren't. If I'm going to have the cost of keeping them, I'd like the benefit of eggs while they're young enough to lay them.

 

[MrsAuberry00]

@cottagecheese What feed do you recommend? I seem to only see Purina Flock Raiser, Dumor Layer and Nutrena Naturewise All Flock in my area.