Black well formed poop

[tdgill]

1) What type of bird , age and weight.
three 5 month old hens, buff orp laying daily, cuckoo marans about 4.5 months not laying, mixed breed hen laying daily
2) What is the behavior, exactly.
black droppings well formed
3) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
No signs of any kind other than dark well formed stool
4) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
Hot day, typical matings
5) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
eating layer feed, scratch grains, some tomato and plum fruit as treats. tomato was sliced in bag with onions and green pepper slices for sandwiches. Only tomato was given
6) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
Poop is black and distinctly formed like a rope
7) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
Added protein (scrambled egg) poly vi sol (no iron) some wet mash with cold water for morning feed. promptly removed
8 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?
Hoping to see a difference in the morning. Have not determined which hen yet.
9) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
10) Describe the housing/bedding in use
Roomy coop, Pine shavings

Looking to find any info on possible reasons for black poop with no other visible symptoms. Combs and wattles good coloring. I thought I read something about the heat and relationship to black poops. Wishful thinking I am sure....

 

[threehorses]

The natural pigments in plums can cause the blackening. All other things being normal, I wouldn't worry about it just yet. If they free range, remember that berries can also cause blackening of the droppings.

The only thing I notice has nothing to do with the droppings. Just remember that scratch is a treat, to be thrown so that the birds 'scratch' around to fluff up the bedding, remain active, etc. You probably already know this - others might not.

Just wanted to make a note of that.

I'd also try to give the younger birds, the 4.5, a little more growth food until their combs redden and are plump. When that occurs, then start integrating laying feed into their diet. To that point, you still want them to get the food they need to develop completely and normally, including their reproductive tracts.

All in all, everything sounds good to me and without any other symptoms, I'd suspect the plums. I bet they really enjoyed them!

 

[tdgill]

thanks for the fast response! My boyfriend just told me that he had given them a unripe apple from the garden too. I thought I had read something about the seeds/arsenic. :-(

Funny though, I hadnt noticed these black poos before...they have had a plum or two previously

but will keep an eye on them, thanks! less scratch less scratch. Thanks also for the info on feed. I was reluctant to switch them to layer feed until they all were laying....but

oh and ages were wrong..its 6 months and 5 months.

 

[threehorses]

Oh well 5 months is closer to laying age. But because of differences in maturity, I really rely on the comb color and size changes. I have a hen who is about 4 months now - well a pullet - whose wattles are really starting to turn cherry pretty early. Her comb is still tight and dry, not plump and waxy and no where near red. So she's going to be an interesting one.

When I see the cherry color, that's when they're "ramping up" to lay - so I help them ramp up. The age they are should be good for continuing the laying feed - tho I'd still keep them on the grower as well to help them get to the "cherry" stage.

As for the apples, I wouldn't worry about the seeds too much. (On the sly, I bet they loved them though!)

And remember - sometimes once we notice something, it's harder to UN-notice it. Just do keep an eye on them as you have said. I'm sure you will. They're really fun to watch.

I wish you the best of luck on them, and if something changes just edit this thread as I'm sure people (including myself) are subscribed and/or will see the changes.

 

[TimeMist]

I thought I read on here that around every 7th poo a chicken did was blackish in colour (I was worried because I spotted black poo from my chicken not long after I got them)

 

[tdgill]

still fresh black regular formed and textured poo...gonna try to see if it is one chicken or all today. everyone is acting fine. eating fine etc. I do also want to treat for mites, I think i feel something on my ankles when i am in coop...hahah and dogs are itching more. Not that it is related. legs on chickens look fine..

 

[threehorses]

Yeah if it's mites, they get in the bedding when they're not feeding on the bird. If you have to treat for that, you'll have to be sure to treat all the bedding, the cracks in the wood (where they lay their eggs) as well as the chickens.

I really do like the permethin poultry dust for that - and you can make a "paint" out of it with water and paint the cracks in the coop so it gets into them. The better method is apparently creosote or something oily (or even actual paint) but since they disallow creosote here, Im' not sure how great it would be for chickens. Haven't looked into it. The poultry dust does a nice job though. Just retreat every 7 days on the birds until your problem is gone.

 

[tdgill]

just to be clear though...

mites have nothing to do with black poo.