Black flecks

[grunt]

Went to coop this am to do daily chores and noticed black flecks or specks all over poop board and on roost. Looked all around and couldn’t see where it could have come from. Never seen this before. Egg production has been down since they have been molting. Any ideas?

 

[SmiYa0126]

Rodent poo?

 

[tlcmurphy]

Rodent poo?

That’s my guess as well. Looks like you have mice

 

[grunt]

Don’t think so. Hard to tell by pic but it’s very thin flat almost like dandruff flakes. My birds are Black Australorps but their skin isn’t black. Mose droppings are oblong round and pointy ends. Good guess tho.

 

[grunt]

Don’t think so. Hard to tell by pic but it’s very thin flat almost like dandruff flakes. My birds are Black Australorps but their skin isn’t black. Mose droppings are oblong round and pointy ends. Good guess tho.

Mouse

 

[chrissynemetz]

Don’t think so. Hard to tell by pic but it’s very thin flat almost like dandruff flakes. My birds are Black Australorps but their skin isn’t black. Mose droppings are oblong round and pointy ends. Good guess tho.

It doesn't really look like mouse droppings. Could an insect or something have been digging around in the chicken poo?

 

[grunt]

It doesn't really look like mouse droppings. Could an insect or something have been digging around in the chicken poo?

Good question. Haven’t noticed anything.

 

[grunt]

Went to coop this am to do daily chores and noticed black flecks or specks all over poop board and on roost. Looked all around and couldn’t see where it could have come from. Never seen this before. Egg production has been down since they have been molting. Any ideas?

Update on black flecks. On inspection the next morning there were very few black flecks in coop on poop board and none on roost. This makes it even more confusing but glad of the findings. Thanks for everyone’s input.

 

[Perris]

Could it be dust-bath material shaken out from a bird on the roost? I sometimes find a scatter of what I recognize as dust bath substrate here on the poop boards, usually in an appropriate scatter pattern to have come off one bird roosting above.

 

[grunt]

Could it be dust-bath material shaken out from a bird on the roost? I sometimes find a scatter of what I recognize as dust bath substrate here on the poop boards, usually in an appropriate scatter pattern to have come off one bird roosting above.

That could be a good possibility I hadn’t thought of. It’s weird I had never seen this before. But thanks for brining that up.