I am completely new to having chickens so pardon the basic nature of my questions. I acquired 6 RIR pullets in September and they started laying right away.
Every morning when I let them out of the coop I notice that there are a 1-2 mushy stools, some not formed at all. I notice this most mornings. They are the right color, but sort of slimey/shiny looking. They don't smell any different than normal chicken poop. Knowing that the guy I got the hens from had them housed in a dog run right next to his outdoor dogs (and probably used the run previously for his dogs) I wormed the chickens with Safeguard. And I still find these wet stools each morning.
The normal food is laying pellets, 1/3 of a 5 gallon bucket of organic greens, and some COB with molasses in the afternoon now that it's so cold. they have plenty of access to fresh water, grit and oyster shell.
All of the hens seem happy and healthy, laying an egg almost every day. They all go outside, forage through the greens, and spend the day outdoors in the run. None of them seem to have a pasty butt or any slimey stuff on their rears from this loose stool.
So, do I worry about the loose stools? Or do some hens just routinely overindulge in their fair share of the greens? And if I needed to know which hen has the problem, how do you figure that out?
Every morning when I let them out of the coop I notice that there are a 1-2 mushy stools, some not formed at all. I notice this most mornings. They are the right color, but sort of slimey/shiny looking. They don't smell any different than normal chicken poop. Knowing that the guy I got the hens from had them housed in a dog run right next to his outdoor dogs (and probably used the run previously for his dogs) I wormed the chickens with Safeguard. And I still find these wet stools each morning.
The normal food is laying pellets, 1/3 of a 5 gallon bucket of organic greens, and some COB with molasses in the afternoon now that it's so cold. they have plenty of access to fresh water, grit and oyster shell.
All of the hens seem happy and healthy, laying an egg almost every day. They all go outside, forage through the greens, and spend the day outdoors in the run. None of them seem to have a pasty butt or any slimey stuff on their rears from this loose stool.
So, do I worry about the loose stools? Or do some hens just routinely overindulge in their fair share of the greens? And if I needed to know which hen has the problem, how do you figure that out?