bloody diarrhea-- now what?

fowlwoman1

Songster
11 Years
Mar 29, 2008
173
1
131
Wenatchee, WA
I have a hen with bloody poo, just pooping blood it looks like on the roost. She had been acting depressed for about a week, sitting in one of the nest boxes nearly all day and pooping (regular looking poop) in it. This coincided with all the rest of the hens quitting laying. I have 18+ layers but have been getting 2-5 eggs a day(they are all different ages, most have already gone through the big molt). She happens to already be in an area where she is confined with 3 other layers and a rooster. Should I put something in their water to treat this? This particular group likes to poop in their water, too. It's always dirty even though I change it daily.
 
* It's a little unusual for a grown hen to get hit with cocci protozoa, but not impossible. IF that is what it is, she needs Sulmet fast. Until you can get that, start adding some cayenne pepper to her food. I read recently that it works pretty well against many of the cocci "bugs". I would isolate her, just so she doesn't load up the coop and run with the protozoa. Along with the cayenne, you could try a little bit of ground plain clay kitty litter to slow the diarrhea, but Sulmet is the standard treatment. As far as the waterer goes-- have you tried raising it up a couple inches on a block (like a paver?) I have also cut a portion out of a plastic jug, leaving the top as intact as possible. Very hard for them to roost on that. . .
 
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I agree with d.k - also, you might think of raising your waterers; if you raise it to the height of their backs, they shouldn't be able to poop in the water.
 
I might try the jug idea and maybe hang it on the fence so they can't dump it. They like to be crazy in their coop and knock everything over.
 
Separate this bird immediately... get a faecal.
When was the last time you wormed her?
What is her diet?
 
My chickens have never been wormed.... Diet is Nutrena layer crumbles. What is a faecal? I'm starting to get tired of trying to be a chicken farmer. I thought these birds would be able to pay for themselves by laying eggs. It's so hard to have fun doing this these days. 2-5 eggs from 18 laying hens. I started them all from chicks over the last 2 years. They used to be fun before I started having to worry about their health. Bare backs, bloody poop, low egg count, leg mites, bird lice, poorly hens, worms? It's like they were in better health a year ago when all I fed them was cracked corn and bread!
 
A faecal is when you take in an ample sample of fresh poop to your vet and let them examine for illness and parasites. The results are not infallible but it is better than just guessing as several things can be going on ....
...bloody poo , if not from cocci , can also be from cappillaria worms which will affect their general health status and if severe can even kill them eventually. A faecal should not be that expensive.

...the young laying hen will often not show problems from an unbalanced diet until stress occurs (environmental) ... they fall back on calcium reserves in their bones for a while and when that is gone they will often have problems...
Have they ever had a bout of infectious bronchitis? (I ask as this can sometimes damage irreparably their reproductive system)
 
* Well, I would start looking hard at their environment-- Just hens?? Or do you have roos, too? What is it that is stressing these hens? Not enough room? Too many roos? Dirty water we already know. Too wet, too cold, not enough sun?? Predators around? Rats, maybe? You seem like you are expecting them to support you, but THEY need support to do that, they are living creatures, not just a production line. You said they "like to act crazy and knock everything over", that alone could be causing problems, they sound crowded, harassed, bored, frantic, and spilled food, dirty water, spilled dirty water makes for a soiled pen-- which means stress and illness!! Which mean FEW EGGS, if any!! ( ED: Sorry if I am being overly harsh, but somethings bother me-- like people blaming chickens for things not their fault. Indestructible they are not.) (Ed2: BTW, Whoever TOLD you chickens would "pay for themselves" was either joking or maybe never had any-- Rare that ANY animal does that really!!!)
 
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