Bloody poop. Should I be worried?

[Japuvian]

I'm a new chicken mom and have three chickens. Two Blackstar sex linked and one leghorn. All are about 4 months old so no one is laying yet.They are fed medicated grower crumbles and have access to water. The coop bedding is pine and the run is sand. On occasion I've been finding bloody poops on the poop board. It's usually just one poop and I'm not certain which one is doing it. Everyone seems to be eating and clucking about just fine. How worried should I be? Should I give them anything or does your just happen on occasion?

 

[azygous]

Examine the poop very closely. It's not easy to tell from a photo if the red matter is blood or shed intestinal lining, the latter being harmless. Shed lining is pinkish orange, not a deep blood red.

Have these chickens been scratching around outdoors in mucky conditions? If not, it's not very likely, although not impossible, that this red is blood from coccidiosis. The medicated starter is supposed to help establish resistance to coccidia, but it won't prevent it.

More likely what you see occasionally, and especially if your chickens all have good appetites and are normal and active, is shed intestinal lining. But it does no harm to give them all a five day course of Corid to be safe. Wait a week after the first course and repeat a second time. Do not give any vitamins during this treatment.

 

[Japuvian]

Examine the poop very closely. It's not easy to tell from a photo if the red matter is blood or shed intestinal lining, the latter being harmless. Shed lining is pinkish orange, not a deep blood red.

Have these chickens been scratching around outdoors in mucky conditions? If not, it's not very likely, although not impossible, that this red is blood from coccidiosis. The medicated starter is supposed to help establish resistance to coccidia, but it won't prevent it.

More likely what you see occasionally, and especially if your chickens all have good appetites and are normal and active, is shed intestinal lining. But it does no harm to give them all a five day course of Corid to be safe. Wait a week after the first course and repeat a second time. Do not give any vitamins during this treatment.

Thanks for the response! I think it must be lining. It kinda "breaks" open when I push at it like..well like a thin lining. It's good to know that's just a regular thing.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would think about giving some Corid from your feed store, or getting one of those droppings check ed for coccidiosis and worms by a vet. The red looks a bit brighter and blood-like that the orangey red intestinal shed that we see occasionally. Corid (amprollium) dosage is 2 tsp (10 ml) of the liquid per gallon of water for 5-7 days as the only source of water.

 

[Kiki]

I'm a new chicken mom and have three chickens. Two Blackstar sex linked and one leghorn. All are about 4 months old so no one is laying yet.They are fed medicated grower crumbles and have access to water. The coop bedding is pine and the run is sand. On occasion I've been finding bloody poops on the poop board. It's usually just one poop and I'm not certain which one is doing it. Everyone seems to be eating and clucking about just fine. How worried should I be? Should I give them anything or does your just happen on occasion?

I say worry.
Get Corid asap.

 

[ValerieJ]

Have these chickens been scratching around outdoors in mucky conditions? If not, it's not very likely, although not impossible, that this red is blood from coccidiosis.

Can you please elaborate on this for me? By mucky to you mean muddy? How does that cause coccidiosis?

 

[aart]

Looks like maybe a bit more than intestinal shed...especially if it's constant.

 

[azygous]

Warm wet soil conditions can cause an out-of-control bloom of coccidia parasites in the soil, which exist everywhere. They can become too numerous in muddy, mucky soil that they can overwhelm a chicken's immune system, and the chicken becomes sick, even though they have built up resistance. It's true with all pathogens that when numbers reach a tipping point, you get sick people and animals, depending on the pathogens.

@aart enlarged your photos and it does appear to be intestinal lining. If you start to see chickens immobile and fluffed up and not eating, and you see a deeper red in more than the occasional poop, then you should suspect coccidiosis.

 

[NITYFA]

Have these chickens been scratching around outdoors in mucky conditions? If not, it's not very likely, although not impossible, that this red is blood from coccidiosis. The medicated starter is supposed to help establish resistance to coccidia, but it won't prevent it.

 

[aart]

@aart enlarged your photos and it does appear to be intestinal lining. If you start to see chickens immobile and fluffed up and not eating, and you see a deeper red in more than the occasional poop, then you should suspect coccidiosis.

I was torn, why I added the caveat of 'constant'....and there is some rather 'redder' spots that look more like blood than shedding. Tough call.