Change in poop-weather or cocciodosis?

[deacons]

Long time lurker but first time poster...

I've read lots of threads on milky/foamy poop, which I experienced from almost all 8 of my backyard flock today. They range in age from about 6 months to about 1.5 years (only two old enough to lay). Never had a health problem, but didn't like what I saw this morning.

It started with lots of white foamy poop that "melted" into the ground like this (2 spots had touches of blood-not dark, thick, but light spots-no pics of the blood.)

Throughout the morning, things seem to be going in the right direction, but still far wetter and whiter than I usually see. here are a few more pics:

We've had two days of heavy rain-they are in a coop and run setup, but typically get 3-4 hours of free range per day. The past two days, they got at most 1 hr due to very bad weather. This means they were in the muddy run all day. I did pick poo but it's hard to feel you're getting it all in such soggy conditions. Their coop floor (sand/dirt combo) was dry and free of all poo. They have a covered dust bath area (sand/dirt/peat moss) also clean. Last night, a violent storm rolled through with heavy winds, lots of trees down, and big drop in temp.

This is all a long winded way of asking if:
A. You'd chalk this up to nasty weather and keep an eye on them over the next day or so
-or-
B. worry about a cocciodosis outbreak due to the damp conditions and treat the whole flock.

Would love opinions!

 

[deacons]

Also, everyone is perky, acting normal and thrilled to free range today now that it's sunny again.

Also, they regularly eat plain yogurt for "breakfast" every day.

 

[deacons]

Just thought I'd update in case anyone reads this in the future. I am lucky enough to have two nearby vets who see chickens, and so I took two of them in (the ones with the loosest stool). He ran a bunch of tests on the fecal samples, and they came up clean for a variety of worms, cocci, e. coli, or any other nasties he could test for. He recommend a probiotic, which they are now getting. To be honest, for about a week after the vet visit, I didn't really see any change in the consistency of their poop, but it is finally starting to firm back up. Throughout it all, their behavior and appetite were normal, so I really have no idea what happened.

A few of the pullets started laying for the first time over the weekend, so I have no idea if hormonal changes related to laying could throw off their system like this- maybe some of you more experienced chicken keepers could answer that.

Overall though, right now everyone is acting normal, so I'm not going to worry too much until I see one of them take a turn for the worse. It's comforting to know that there is a vet available if needed, as I gather that can be difficult to find in many area.