Advice please- What is this in my chickens poop?

[Chickenmama_]

I have lost 2 chickens over the weekend so I have been paying extra close attention to my 4 girls I have left to watch out for any changes.

This morning I noticed 2 separate droppings which I believe are from the same chicken. There are these orange objects in the poop. I put on a glove to investigate and they are hard and won’t easily break open.

The chickens were out of their run and free ranging a lot yesterday due to doing a deep clean of their coop/run. Do these just look like seeds or should I be more worried? I would hate to lose another one of my girls.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

What is your chickens diet? Including any treats?

 

[Chickenmama_]

What is your chickens diet? Including any treats?

They eat Kalmbach Henhouse Reserve. Yesterday I started putting red pepper flakes in their feed. They also get meal worms as treats. Occasionally I give them veggie / fruit scraps but I have not lately. They were free ranging yesterday quite a lot so I’m assuming it’s possibly something that was eaten during that time?

 

[Airyaman]

From the photos of the feed

I notice some small seeds similar to what is in your photos.

Something called "milo" is listed in their ingredients. Here is what it looks like:

Could that be it? Said to be a good grain for chickens but there is this:

https://ourlittlehousefarm.com/2025...d-chickens-a-nutritious-grain-for-your-flock/

 

[HollowOfWisps]

They eat Kalmbach Henhouse Reserve. Yesterday I started putting red pepper flakes in their feed. They also get meal worms as treats. Occasionally I give them veggie / fruit scraps but I have not lately. They were free ranging yesterday quite a lot so I’m assuming it’s possibly something that was eaten during that time?

Yes the Milo is what you are seeing in their poop. Are you fermenting or wetting the Henhouse Reserve into mash? Chickens will pick out what they want and in many cases leave the nutritional aspect (pellets or powdered vitamin minerals behind). This often results in vitamin deficiencies.

 

[Chickenmama_]

From the photos of the feed

View attachment 4097602

I notice some small seeds similar to what is in your photos.

View attachment 4097603

Something called "milo" is listed in their ingredients. Here is what it looks like:

View attachment 4097604

Could that be it? Said to be a good grain for chickens but there is this:

https://ourlittlehousefarm.com/2025...d-chickens-a-nutritious-grain-for-your-flock/

View attachment 4097605

That actually looks like it could be it. It’s strange because they have been on this feed for almost a year now and I have never noticed it, though I probably have not paid as close attention to the droppings as I am now. Thank you so much for your help I really do appreciate it!

 

[Chickenmama_]

Yes the Milo is what you are seeing in their poop. Are you fermenting or wetting the Henhouse Reserve into mash? Chickens will pick out what they want and in many cases leave the nutritional aspect (pellets or powdered vitamin minerals behind). This often results in vitamin deficiencies.

I am not fermenting it or wetting it into a mash. Would you recommend I do that or possibly switch to the pellet feed to ensure they are getting all the vitamins they need?

 

[Perris]

sorry for your losses. Do you have any idea why they died? Any hint of any sort of deficiency in their diet? Unless the answer to the last is a definite 'yes', why start worrying about their feed? Your time would be better spent trying to identify securely what killed the other two than changing the feed of the living four.

Fwiw, milo/sorghum/dari (3 names for the same thing) is used as poultry feed worldwide; there is absolutely no reason to worry about it.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

I am not fermenting it or wetting it into a mash. Would you recommend I do that or possibly switch to the pellet feed to ensure they are getting all the vitamins they need?

You can keep feeding what you are feeding, but if they are leaving the pellets out I would wet it at least. When a chicken is free ranged they can pick what they need from the feed because they are getting the bulk of what they need free ranging. The feed at that point is more supplemental. However, if they are locked in a coop/run all of the time or do not have a enough space/resources to get their nutrients free ranging they tend to only pick out the what they like if it’s not wet to a mash or fermented. This can result in deficiencies because they are not eating the vitamin mineral part of their feed they often choose to leave behind and also not getting what they need to fix that free ranging.

 

[Slw]

I have lost 2 chickens over the weekend so I have been paying extra close attention to my 4 girls I have left to watch out for any changes.

This morning I noticed 2 separate droppings which I believe are from the same chicken. There are these orange objects in the poop. I put on a glove to investigate and they are hard and won’t easily break open.

The chickens were out of their run and free ranging a lot yesterday due to doing a deep clean of their coop/run. Do these just look like seeds or should I be more worried? I would hate to lose another one of my girls.

That looks like undigested seeds. Take a pliers and crush a few open to see what’s inside. Do any of your other chickens have that? The other 2 you lost have it? Hopefully they didn’t find something poisonous.