Bright green watery poo

[blipit007]

Hi all. My 1.5 yo LF mixed flock hens are having digestive issues. They have liquid poo. And are also pooping bright green. What is this?? What should I do? The worst is my BSL Sue. She stopped laying in March at not even a year old. Started laying Lash Eggs shortly thereafter. Hasn't been right since. She would try to lay for hours every day with no luck. Although she seems to have given up on it lately. But there are days where she would sit quietly and sleep while everyone free ranges. She has had diarrhea for a really long time! Should I give supplements? What does the fluorescent green poo mean? Along with the occasional white or oily poo?

 

[iwiw60]

Hi all. My 1.5 yo LF mixed flock hens are having digestive issues. They have liquid poo. And are also pooping bright green. What is this?? What should I do? The worst is my BSL Sue. She stopped laying in March at not even a year old. Started laying Lash Eggs shortly thereafter. Hasn't been right since. She would try to lay for hours every day with no luck. Although she seems to have given up on it lately. But there are days where she would sit quietly and sleep while everyone free ranges. She has had diarrhea for a really long time! Should I give supplements? What does the fluorescent green poo mean? Along with the occasional white or oily poo?

Need more info: just exactly what are you feeding them? Are you giving them anything other than their chicken feed? Can't really help without that information....

In the meantime, here's a great page with everything you wanted to know (or not know) about poop:

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/search?q=poop

 

[blipit007]

Thanks for the link. They are on feather fixer mixed with a good layer feed. I think it is called hearty bird or something like that. I put both of those bags in a wheelbarrow (90 lbs) and mixed in the egg production supplement and the de wormer supplement. Later I was wishing I didn't mix it all in, but some people said it would be fine. They have been on that for a couple months.

 

[iwiw60]

Thanks for the link. They are on feather fixer mixed with a good layer feed. I think it is called hearty bird or something like that. I put both of those bags in a wheelbarrow (90 lbs) and mixed in the egg production supplement and the de wormer supplement. Later I was wishing I didn't mix it all in, but some people said it would be fine. They have been on that for a couple months.

Okay, let's "dissect" this....first off, I think you've got them on way too many "mixes" of feed. I'm assuming these hens are for laying eggs, not meat, right? If so, I would put them on a good "layer feed".....period. You've got a lot going on in your mixture and it could very well be that their systems are just getting overloaded. By the way, what is "feather fixer" .. never heard of it!

As for worming medication I worm my little flock twice a year only. I really don't feel there's a need to be feeding it to them 24/7.

Did their digestive problems begin after you did all this "mixing" of feeds????? I'll bet so. Let me know!

 

[casportpony]

Bright green poop is never a good sign and could mean starvation, disease, infection or a combination of the three.

-Kathy

 

[blipit007]

It did happen after. And they are just layers, not for meat. I'll throw it out and get a basic layer feed today. Feather fixer is a feed with a higher protein for when they need conditioning. Or when they are molting. Which they are doing now. I'm not sure why I mixed it in, just guess that it wouldn't hurt.
I hope they are not starving! Or any of the three. There are normal poops in the coop. I notice Sue having the bad diarrhea the most. Could that be that she is not well? She is the sex link that stopped laying in March, her first birthday was only in April. She then has layer several lash eggs. On google it says that once you lay a lash egg, they will die shortly thereafter. But she's been holding oh for 5 months now. Most days she is a normal acting, healthy hen free ranging with the other girls. Some days she is quiet.
I'll change their feed. Should I put a probiotic in their water? Or would you do antibiotics to knock out whatever it is that's bothering them?

 

[enola]

I would not start any antibiotics until you know what is wrong. what kind of wormer did you mix in the feed? And what is the egg production supplement? Have you checked her for mites/lice? Has she lost a lot of weight?

 

[azahn]

Hi Blipit. Sorry you are having problems with your girls. I am still new to chickens, but what jumped out at me about your situation was also all the variety of products you are feeding. If you are providing a balanced feed, clean water, exercise, access to fresh bugs, grass, your flock should be quite healthy and require no special feather supplements (unless they are show birds) or for that matter (cringe... here they come to kill me) wormers... Don't misunderstand - if a chicken NEEDS med's, great, but never indiscriminately and certainly not antibiotics as a general "perker-upper" for the whole flock. Doing so could reduce their natural immune system. Also, it might be worth following Sue around until she provides you with a fresh poop sample to place in a baggie and take to your vet for them to look at. If you get a fecal sample, please share the vet results. Other than that, sounds like a process of elimination, starting with their diet. Coincidentally, if you've ever punctured a chicken's spleen at harvest, the bile is bright green.... Kathy, 3 posts above, is probably onto something. Love the knowledge BYC shares. Good luck.

 

[iwiw60]

Hi Blipit. Sorry you are having problems with your girls. I am still new to chickens, but what jumped out at me about your situation was also all the variety of products you are feeding. If you are providing a balanced feed, clean water, exercise, access to fresh bugs, grass, your flock should be quite healthy and require no special feather supplements (unless they are show birds) or for that matter (cringe... here they come to kill me) wormers... Don't misunderstand - if a chicken NEEDS med's, great, but never indiscriminately and certainly not antibiotics as a general "perker-upper" for the whole flock. Doing so could reduce their natural immune system. Also, it might be worth following Sue around until she provides you with a fresh poop sample to place in a baggie and take to your vet for them to look at. If you get a fecal sample, please share the vet results. Other than that, sounds like a process of elimination, starting with their diet. Coincidentally, if you've ever punctured a chicken's spleen at harvest, the bile is bright green.... Kathy, 3 posts above, is probably onto something. Love the knowledge BYC shares. Good luck.

Same thing I told her earlier today @azahn
Quote:

 

[casportpony]

My peafowl get a combo of turkey starter, gamebird grains, rolled corn, BSS, grit, and oyster shell and the *only* time they have diarrhea is when they are sick, and if it's green, it's because they haven't been eating. The best thing to do would be to take a stool sample to the vet and have it checked for parasites, bacteria and yeast.

-Kathy