Chicken poo

[Chickenkeeper2024]

I have a buff orp, she has been broody for a couple of days now. I took her out of the nesting box to get her some food and water tonight she ate maybe 2 pieces and ran back in and left me a present…. Does this look like worms? She is extra mean to the rest of the flock lately and doesn’t want to eat or drink.

 

[MarlaMac]

That looks like mucus-y urates. They are also really yellow. The green is probably bile b/c she is not eating.

Are you sure she is broody and not sick? Has she pulled the feathers from her belly? Broody hens do this so they can regulate the temp for the eggs.

Yellow urates are not normal and could signify illness.

If you think you see worms you can take a sample to a vet and ask them to do a fecal float. That will tell you if there are any parasites in her digestive system.

 

[Chickenkeeper2024]

That looks like mucus-y urates. They are also really yellow. The green is probably bile b/c she is not eating.

Are you sure she is broody and not sick? Has she pulled the feathers from her belly? Broody hens do this so they can regulate the temp for the eggs.

Yellow urates are not normal and could signify illness.

If you think you see worms you can take a sample to a vet and ask them to do a fecal float. That will tell you if there are any parasites in her digestive system.

Yes she has pulled her feathers, she goes broody quite often laying on the eggs that have been laid for the day. I take them out of the nesting boxes every day but she will go back to the box and lay in it even if there is no eggs. Will the worms move in the poo? I’m not quite sure what to look for. The white string like thing makes me wonder if it is but I didn’t see it moving.

 

[Chickenkeeper2024]

That looks like mucus-y urates. They are also really yellow. The green is probably bile b/c she is not eating.

Are you sure she is broody and not sick? Has she pulled the feathers from her belly? Broody hens do this so they can regulate the temp for the eggs.

Yellow urates are not normal and could signify illness.

If you think you see worms you can take a sample to a vet and ask them to do a fecal float. That will tell you if there are any parasites in her digestive system.

What could yellow urates indicate? Should I look for anything else?

 

[Eggcessive]

Sometime yellow urates can be a sign of a liver problem usually secondary to reproductive problems, such as egg yolk peritonitis, cancer, or fatty liver disease, or dehydration. Make sure that she is drinking well, and electrolytes or Gatorade might be helpful. Has she laid eggs recently?

 

[Chickenkeeper2024]

Sometime yellow urates can be a sign of a liver problem usually secondary to reproductive problems, such as egg yolk peritonitis, cancer, or fatty liver disease, or dehydration. Make sure that she is drinking well, and electrolytes or Gatorade might be helpful. Has she laid eggs recently?

I have never found an egg from this hen she is about a little over a year old now. It’s hard to say because they all lay in the same nesting box but I have 5 hens and have never physically seen this one or heard her lay an egg. I have some electrolytes I can give her.

 

[Eggcessive]

That definitely could be a reproductive problem. Let us know how she gets along.

 

[MarlaMac]

Yes she has pulled her feathers, she goes broody quite often laying on the eggs that have been laid for the day. I take them out of the nesting boxes every day but she will go back to the box and lay in it even if there is no eggs. Will the worms move in the poo? I’m not quite sure what to look for. The white string like thing makes me wonder if it is but I didn’t see it moving.

Again, those stringy things look like mucus-y urates. If they are worms and if they are alive they would move if they are dead they would not. Easiest way to ease your mind is a fecal float. Any vet will do this for you. The cost is very manageable ~$15

However, the bigger issue is the yellow urates. If that is caused by an infection and the infection is not addressed your hen will get sicker and sicker and eventually succumb to her illness. You need to access why she has yellow urates and address that issue. Sometimes it is an infection and you need antibiotics. Sometimes it is not treatable.

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you try to get her eating some cooked egg bits and some mushy watery chicken feed? By her not laying eggs at over a year old, and the yellow urates , I think she may be laying internally. The green poop looks like she is not eating enough. Is she still acting broody or do you think she is ill?