Aaack....diarrhea!

[Ladyanne57]

Well, we've been sailing along ok -everyone completely healthy - and the Wyandotte gals are now almost 5 months old. Within the past four days I have been noticing the occasional loose, brown stool (more like a cow patty than a chicken turd). We finally identified the bird that's having the problem because now her vent feathers are messy. She also feels like she could be a little thin over the breastbone. However she - and all the rest - are eating, drinking and messing around as usual. I took a stool sample in to my vet clinic this morning and we identified one mite and a couple of oval parasite eggs - fairly big ones that look like canine hookworm eggs, if that gives you any frame of reference. However it did not appear to be a heavy parasite burden by any means. No coccidia were observed. Their feathers are beautiful and they look very healthy overall. At first I thought maybe I was giving them too much veggie matter; they get layer crumbles now plus are let out of their run to free-range at least an hour a day, and I toss the excess stuff from the garden - split tomatoes, melon rinds - in their direction. So I have backed off on that but it hasn't made a difference.
We are having a temperate summer - no horrible heat or humidity lately; my chickens are on ground that hasn't had any poultry on it since I've lived here (40 years) until this spring. Very little stress - they are living the good life! I did purchase three Barred Rock pullets - 2 months old - a couple of weeks ago but the diarrhea started before I introduced them to the Wyandottes, and the BR's are all doing well.
At least one of my Wyandottes has started laying - small but very healthy, nicely formed eggs. It could be the one that's having the diarrhea - hard to tell them apart.
Thoughts on this, please? I know I can get piperazine at the feed store but that is mainly for roundworms which is NOT what these eggs resemble.
Thanks for the help!

 

[Ladyanne57]

OK, finally found a picture - does look like it could be either an ascarid or a gizzard worm. But if we are seeing the parasite eggs in rather low numbers in a routine fecal float - is it still a possibility that the worm burden is not in proportion to the eggs we actually see? So I guess it's off to the feed store to get piperazine, and then a call to my pharmaceutical supplier if something else is in order.