Bantam hen with loose brown stool

[Nedy]

Healthy little 22oz Old English Game Bantam with loose brown, smelly stools. She just started laying about 2 months ago and has laid an egg a day. My question, can I put her and her companion on Medicated Chick Starter for a couple of weeks. It seems like the safest course of action since it's used for baby chicks and, in fact, I started her on it as a baby. Is there a diet supplement that would get her stools back on the right track?

 

[ChickenGirl555]

I'll try to pull some people into the thread to help.
@azygous @EggSighted4Life @chickens really @drumstick diva @aart @oldhenlikesdogs

 

[chickens really]

Put her on a Turkey finisher feed with oyster shell,on the side..Tiny Bantams when Chicks, do best on a Turkey starter..Layers on Finisher with oyster shell on the side..

 

[chickens really]

I know the people at Rochester Hatchery and that's their recommendations for Bantam Chickens and Chicks...Best wishes...

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Healthy little 22oz Old English Game Bantam with loose brown, smelly stools. She just started laying about 2 months ago and has laid an egg a day. My question, can I put her and her companion on Medicated Chick Starter for a couple of weeks. It seems like the safest course of action since it's used for baby chicks and, in fact, I started her on it as a baby. Is there a diet supplement that would get her stools back on the right track?

Hi, welcome to BYC!

Medicated chick starter is to prevent coccidiosis ONLY. Unless that's your gals issue it won't help her, usually indicated by standing, puffed up with eyes closed. Also medicated starter is a preventative dose and not a treatment dose. Corid in water would be a better treatment if that was your issue. Please help us get clues with some answer. All questions are ONLY to help, there is NO wrong answer or judgement!

What are you feeding including treats and supplements? How much space do they have? How has your weather been? How long have the stool been abnormal to you? Any chance you can take a stool sample to ANY vet (doesn't need to be avian) and get a float that will test for cocci and worm load?

Note cocci is in EVERY single chicken poo, but usually only a problem when they bloom out of control, usually in warm humid conditions. The medicated starter and Corid both work by blocking thiamine to SLOW the growth of cocci. I don't actually suspect that as your issue, but no harm in checking.

I have one gal who ALWAYS has loose stools. No worms or cocci verified by fecal float. I have seen one thread where a chronic diarrhea gal actually had liver (I think, but could have been kidney) failure which was never diagnosed despite the commitment and efforts of her keepers until finally sudden death and a necropsy confirmed. Also not suspecting that, but like to mention possibilities.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Put her on a Turkey finisher feed with oyster shell,on the side..Tiny Bantams when Chicks, do best on a Turkey starter..Layers on Finisher with oyster shell on the side..

I start my bantams on 30% turkey starter but only for the first couple weeks before I switch to flock raiser with 20% protein for life. I do provide OS on the side for layers.

 

[azygous]

I'll just add my comment to what @EggSighted4Life has said, which really says all you need to know.

Feeding medicated chick starter won't do anything to cure coccidiosis if that's what you suspect is going on with your bantam. Feeding medicated starter to healthy layers will block thiamine, an important B vitamin, so that's why it wouldn't be advisable.

If you suspect coccidiosis, you need to get all your chickens on a coccidiostat and mix it to the treatment proportions. Chick starter has it in such low concentrations that it's only meant to offer mild protection against coccidia while they develop resistance.

Are you seeing thick, liquid puddles of smelly brown poop along with normal poop? This could simply be normal cecal poop which can vary from thick to rather runny. Or are you seeing poop that is more on the watery side with no variation?

Chickens produce mostly the round, rather dry dollops with a bit of white on top with the brown, smelly poops that look like chocolate pudding that only appear once in every four to six poops. If this isn't what you're finding, then you may have cause for concern.

 

[Nedy]

Thanks everyone for your responses! I will try to answer the questions, but don't think this is coccidosis as the little gal is spunky, active and laying eggs daily. Although these are some of my first chickens, so I'm not an expert!
Just as an FYI and a fun tidbit, the little Old English Game Bantam's name is Alice she weighs 22 oz. Her companion is a white Silky named EmmyLou and she weighs 28oz. EmmyLou is 2 this year and came with her 5 brothers and sisters in the US mail from Cackle Hatchery. My very first chickens! Unfortunately they were picked off by a local raccoon and a hawk and one by a mink. And I live in the city! That's when I had the Aviary built and bought a 2 day old baby for EmmyLou. She took it under her wing and raised it up. So sweet (ignorance is bliss). I was lucky!

1. Q: What are you feeding including treats and supplements? A: I was feeding a local Farm Store's brand of laying formulae but changed to a Purina product last week. I also feed an Oyster Shell Supplement on the side and a Nutrena Poultry Grit, plus dried mealworms for treats and kitchen scraps for fun. And also a generic brand of Chicken Scratch comprised of mostly cracked corn with red milo and some other seeds.
2. Q:How much space do they have? I moved the girls into the Garage in Jan and Feb where I have a 4x4 ft pen with a heat lamp . The water only froze on 2 or 3 occasions. Otherwise, they have a 4x4 coop that is in a 15x15x6ft hi covered chicken yard (because of raccoons, possums and hawks. ) Maybe it was too crowded in the garage pen, although they are bosum buds and never peck at each other. Also when they were moved into the garage under a heat lamp is when Alice started laying her first eggs - so a lot of changes for little Alice. And the move threw EmmyLou into a major moult. So stress for both.
3. Q: How has your weather been? I live in South Central Kansas where it only gets in the 20's for 2 or 3 wks in Jan and Feb. The girls go outside when the weather is above freezing, but I still bring them in at nighttime. They have been able to go outside for the past 2 wks. during the day. And I let them free range in the yard for a little while before they go into their enclosed aviary.
4. Q: How long have the stool been abnormal to you? A: It started about the same time Alice began to lay (approx. 4-6 weeks ago.) And I went to one of your links "Poo-The Chicken Keeper" and found out it falls in the normal range. Wow! Lot's of bad looking Poo that is normal.
5. Q: Any chance you can take a stool sample to ANY vet (doesn't need to be avian) and get a float that will test for cocci and worm load? I will definitely do that, Just because I have lots of wild birds that feed on the Chicken's scratch and treats, and probably poo all over the chicken yard. So they could have worms, even if they don't have cocci. However I've never seen a worm in their poo.
   

Thank you so much for answering my questions. Sorry this was so long, but you seem like such a friendly group it made me want to sit down and chat with you!!!

 

[azygous]

You seem to have a couple of very healthy, happy chickens. It's always a good idea to get feedback for any concerns, and we're always ever-so-happy to help!