I just cleaned out their cage ten minutes ago and noticed two things. First of all, it STINKS. I'm not sure if that's a normal chicken stink, but I don't think so. It's nasty. Admittedly, my sense of smell is wonky. I'm hyper-aware of any and all odors in my house. It's very possible that to a normal person they smell nothing, while to me it makes me gag.
If it is indeed a stink, I'm assuming it's related to the poop. One of the chickens - not sure which just yet - has really runny stool. It's a dark color, and kind of reminds me of a watered down pudding. (American pudding, that is) I'm trying to figure out which chick it is right now.
I'm assuming that runny droppings isn't normal, considering that my other ones have nice firm droppings. I'm also thinking the color isn't too normal. The others are a mix of green/white/brown, I think. I don't tend to stare at their droppings much.
The older chicks are 3 weeks, the younger ones are a week old. They're fed chick grit, chick starter (non medicated) sometimes tomato or lettuce. Sometimes the kids give them grass from the yard. It's untreated grass/dirt due to rabbits. The only other thing I give them is a few mealworms for the older chicks. I'm not sure exactly how many a day they're getting. Maybe six? They also sometimes find loose oats in my hand from fishing the worms and eat those before I can take it away. Invi got out this afternoon and took a peck at a piece of cat food, but that was after I discovered the poo.
I can't think of any other changes I've made lately. Maybe they've grown out of their heating tunnel and are cold? Any ideas? Stinky poo and runny poo aren't high on my favorite things to clean up...
I'm taking them back to nothing but chick grit for a few days to see if maybe it's the worms/veggies.
If it is indeed a stink, I'm assuming it's related to the poop. One of the chickens - not sure which just yet - has really runny stool. It's a dark color, and kind of reminds me of a watered down pudding. (American pudding, that is) I'm trying to figure out which chick it is right now.
I'm assuming that runny droppings isn't normal, considering that my other ones have nice firm droppings. I'm also thinking the color isn't too normal. The others are a mix of green/white/brown, I think. I don't tend to stare at their droppings much.
The older chicks are 3 weeks, the younger ones are a week old. They're fed chick grit, chick starter (non medicated) sometimes tomato or lettuce. Sometimes the kids give them grass from the yard. It's untreated grass/dirt due to rabbits. The only other thing I give them is a few mealworms for the older chicks. I'm not sure exactly how many a day they're getting. Maybe six? They also sometimes find loose oats in my hand from fishing the worms and eat those before I can take it away. Invi got out this afternoon and took a peck at a piece of cat food, but that was after I discovered the poo.
I can't think of any other changes I've made lately. Maybe they've grown out of their heating tunnel and are cold? Any ideas? Stinky poo and runny poo aren't high on my favorite things to clean up...
I'm taking them back to nothing but chick grit for a few days to see if maybe it's the worms/veggies.
