Black, liquidy droppings. Hen seems fine. (Pics included!)

[PioneerChicks]

This isn't really an emergency, but may be a problem.

On Sunday I heard a squirt, which is I usual by itself. Chickens don't normally squirt (or at least not so loud) when they poo. I went over to check what it looks like (naturally, doesn't everybody check what droppings their chickens make? ) and found it to be liquidy, black, and maybe a little grainy. It had been squirted out in a line, not a clump.

It's Tuesday now and the hen, Piper, looks fine. She is sort of an assistant chick mother for some week-old chicks we have in the coop, if that makes a difference. I don't think she is laying at the moment. BTW, she is a silkie.

Why is her poo like this?



After I poked it with a stick:

 

[MysteryChicken]

Looks like a purple hue to it. Maybe she was munching on blackberries, or blueberries?

 

[PioneerChicks]

Looks like a purple hue to it. Maybe she was munching on blackberries, or blueberries?

Hmm, I think that was just the pictures, because we don't have any berries in the coop. They might have found a plum or a couple of purple grapes though. Would that be enough to make it purple?

 

[MysteryChicken]

Hmm, I think that was just the pictures, because we don't have any berries in the coop. They might have found a plum or a couple of purple grapes though. Would that be enough to make it purple?

A plum can do it, maybe if they ate like a dozen purple grapes it can do it too.

You should watch the chicken in question, & see if her poo returns to normal?

 

[MysteryChicken]

The grainy texture looks like grit, or seeds. Grapes have small seeds, so that maybe it.

 

[PioneerChicks]

A plum can do it, maybe if they ate like a dozen purple grapes it can do it too.

You should watch the chicken in question, & see if her poo returns to normal?

The grainy texture looks like grit, or seeds. Grapes have small seeds, so that maybe it.

Okay, I can watch her. It could be grapes, if she could reach that many.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Okay, I can watch her. It could be grapes, if she could reach that many.

Even grapes dried on the ground she'll eat too. Yep, just come back with an update on her poo?

 

[Jeanw]

Sometimes my chix eat wood charcoal from the fire pit and it makes their poop black.....Untreated wood of course.

 

[PioneerChicks]

Sometimes my chix eat wood charcoal from the fire pit and it makes their poop black.....Untreated wood of course.

They do have untreated wood ash from our fire in their coop. I don't know for sure if there are any clumps of charcoal, but it's very possible.

I haven't seen Piper's poo specifically but all the droppings I have seen around the coop have been healthy and normal, including below where Piper sleeps. She is still looking very healthy and active. Must have been grapes, charcoal, or just an odd poo. Thank you both for your help!