Chicken Poop

[MMM]

Hello everyone!

This is my very first post so I'm very sorry that its about poop...and so early in the morning!
This is our first time raising chicks, so I'm as nervous as a new mom. We have 6 chicks that we bought from TSC, one of which was tiny from the start. I'm not sure if she was an accidental bantam in the bunch but is slowly growing (still half the size of the others) she seems to be eating and drinking ok. They are all about 4 weeks old now and are getting out of their watermelon brooding box and being silly. They are eating chick starter, drinking water with some ACV and the only treats they have had so far are mealworms, cooked broccoli and some grass/dirt from our backyard after the first semi melt. (We live near Albany NY, so we still have snow) I believe almost all of them are having more frequent brown smelly pudding like poops and one was clear this morning. this is happening more frequent than I think the cecil poops should be happening I have been reading about coccidiosis and I'm pretty terrified that this is what they have and that I should be giving them antibiotic as we were trying to go the more "Organic" route. Don't get me wrong, I will do what ever is necessary for the chicks. Any suggestions?!

Thank you for taking the time to read this post!

 

[Clemmy]

I don't know exactly. It could be an infection or just normal.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would purchase some Corid (amprollium) which is not an antibiotic, and treat their water for 5-7 days for possible coccidiosis. It will not harm them nor affect your organic route. Signs of coccidiosis are lethargy, poor appetite, standing around looking hunched or puffed up, and runny poops with mucus or blood.

You can also post pictures of the possible bantam chick in case someone can identiify the breed. I would take it aside a couple of times a day, and offer it some cooked egg and mix a little wet chicken feed to get it eating. Some chicks can be stunted, but if it is alert, active, and eating well, it may well be a bantam.

 

[lazy gardener]

Post pics of the poop. How are they acting? If they are acting fine, I would not jump on the Corid band wagon just yet. But, you should keep a very close eye on their behavior. Is the brooder being kept very dry, the waterer being kept at shoulder level and poo free?

You might try removing the veggies from their diet. I would also try giving them fermented feed. I had shipped chicks that had yellow foamy poo last spring. As soon as I converted them to fermented feed, those poos became perfectly normal. Why, they were the most admirable poops a chicken owner could ever hope to see!

 

[lazy gardener]

As Eggcessive says, egg is a wonderful diet addition. I'd give it to the whole flock.