Buff Orpington Throwing up water

[vicki5112]

Please help if you can, I have a 5-6 month old Buff Orpington that has had ribbon like stools for the past nearly 2 weeks. Most times they are normal looking other than being thin. She on occasion does have watery poop but never have I seen any blood in it. Anyway, besides that issue, my hubby said that when he went to leave them out of the coop this morning Gertie came out & promptly threw up water, no blood. She acts very healthy & is growng nicely but something is just not right & being a new chicken mommy I am at a loss what to do for her. She hasn't started laying yet but the other chicken, Gracie, that I got at the same time as her has been laying now for a week. We went to the Tractor Supply store & told the clerk there about her poop & he suggested that we get the Purina medicated food & mix it half & half with their food. We did this & they have been on the mixture a week now but there is no difference in Gertie's poop. She just started the throwing up water today as far as we know. What can be done? I don't want to lose her because of my incompetence as a new mommy. Any suggestions from any one please....

 

[Judy]

Medicated feed is generally medicated with amprolium, which is a thiamine inhibitor in cocci. It is intended to help new chicks build an immunity to cocci by slowing their growth rate while the chicken builds a natural immunity, so that they don't get overwhelmed by the cocci. (Cocci are everywhere, in the soil.) When chickens get overwhelmed and sick with cocci, they need a much higher dose of amprolium, often sold as Corid. Also, usually at least some die within a couple of days. If she had cocci, she would most likely not be eating, would be huddled up as if cold, and might have bloody poop, depending on the strain of cocci.

Two things came to mind first, the summer heat and an impacted or sour crop. She could also have a load of worms, although she is a bit young to be sick with them. I would first determine whether she is eating a normal amount. I would also pay close attention to her crop, and to whether it goes down overnight, as it should. If it has been really hot where you are, they have no doubt been drinking a lot of water, and will have runnier stools just from this. They can even throw up from drinking a whle lot of water.

Also, check her keel or breastbone and compare it to the other pullet's. Is it sharper or does it stick out more? Does one feel heavier than the other? (If they don't like to be handled, you can do these things at night on the roost, when they are sleepy and in a bit of a trance.) If the are hot, they will hold their wings slightly away from their body and "pant," or rapidly mouth breathe.

These are just guesses, of course, and I certainly could have missed something obvious. Here is a link to common chicken diseases, with a symptom chart at the end.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[vicki5112]

Thanks so much! I'll check it out. I'll check her crop in the morning as you suggest. She has just been out in the yard free roaming for about 2 hours now. It seems like both tend to have loose poop when I first leave them out in the yard but then after a while of pecking around it starts to firm up considerably. It had been real warm here but the past 2 days have been much cooler. As I said earlier, I'm real puzzled because they both seem so healthy & are growing normally since we bought them about 6 weeks ago. Gertie has always been noticably bigger than Gracie, I chose them that way in the hope of being able to tell them apart. And it works. Gertie also has a larger comb & waddle than Gracie so that also helps with ID. Maybe I'm being just a worried new momma but Gertie is my favorite (BUT please don't tell Gracie!) She is just the sweetest one & a tad more affectionate than Gracie but they both have to sit on my lap or shoulder for petting every night before being tucked in.....lol I always thought though that Gertie would be the first to lay but she hasn't layed any yet & Gracie has been laying for a little over aa week now, we have had 7 eggs from her so far. I just checked both their vents before we put them back in their run & they look clean & normal.