Sometimes my 3-week old chicks poop clear liquid that looks exactly like water. I saw one of them poop on the roost and it heard it squirt out in a little stream (sorry for the graphic details!). There’s nothing in it. They’re otherwise active and alert, but I wonder if I should be concerned about any diet or temperature issues. They’re on chick starter. Brooder is 85 on the warm end.
Chicks pooping clear water
- Thread starter ksato003
- Start date
Some of our year-old sussexes do that, I think there's nothing to worry about, but I'd see if anyone answers to this thread, just in case it's a deficiency.
KauaiChickenMama
Songster
I’ve seen the same thing, with sound effects and all! 
It almost looks like they are pooping out saliva. I wanted to research this further on this forum and found your thread. Many of the threads I’ve read on this topic don’t really seem to have an answer. It seems to happen a lot though, so I wonder what is causing it?
It almost looks like they are pooping out saliva. I wanted to research this further on this forum and found your thread. Many of the threads I’ve read on this topic don’t really seem to have an answer. It seems to happen a lot though, so I wonder what is causing it?
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KauaiChickenMama
Songster
Let’s see if we can tag a few others with more experience to get their opinions! 
@azygous
@Wyorp Rock
@Eggcessive
@casportpony
@aart
@DobieLover
@azygous
@Wyorp Rock
@Eggcessive
@casportpony
@aart
@DobieLover
85 degrees is too warm for 3 week olds, and they could be drinking a lot of water to stay hydrated. How large is the brooder and how many chicks are there? I would lower the brooder temp to 75-80 in the warmest spot with more cooler areas to get to. Are they active and alert? Eating and drinking well?
Banana01
Songster
Too high temp because that is a sign of heat exhaustion. Do they have a place to hide from the heat lamp?
Most people overheat their brooders. That causes the chicks to be hot and thirsty as @Eggcessive has pointed out. So they drink more water than usual. This causes watery poop. In the long run, it's not doing their kidneys any favors.
Let me reassure you that chicks can handle much cooler temps than most people think by telling you what happened with my current chicks when I first got them. I heat with a heating pad attached to a wire frame to form a warm cave. The first night, there was a power failure and by morning the chicks had no heat though they were in their cave so sheltered from the worst of the cold. It was in the high 40s. The chicks, four days old were unaffected. I just want to add that there are just two of them, so they don't have a large number to warm one another.
A couple days later, I tucked the chicks in for the night, and unknown to me, they came back out of their heated cave. In the morning, I found them huddled outside the warm cave. It was in the low 40s or high 30s. The chicks, barely a week old, were unaffected.
The chicks are now a robust four weeks old and have never used heat during the day since I've had them. Let me repeat that. My chicks, from age four days when I got them to present four weeks have never used heat during the day. The temperatures during the day have ranged from the 80s down to the high 40s during the day. Chicks don't need nearly as much heat as people think they do.
Let me reassure you that chicks can handle much cooler temps than most people think by telling you what happened with my current chicks when I first got them. I heat with a heating pad attached to a wire frame to form a warm cave. The first night, there was a power failure and by morning the chicks had no heat though they were in their cave so sheltered from the worst of the cold. It was in the high 40s. The chicks, four days old were unaffected. I just want to add that there are just two of them, so they don't have a large number to warm one another.
A couple days later, I tucked the chicks in for the night, and unknown to me, they came back out of their heated cave. In the morning, I found them huddled outside the warm cave. It was in the low 40s or high 30s. The chicks, barely a week old, were unaffected.
The chicks are now a robust four weeks old and have never used heat during the day since I've had them. Let me repeat that. My chicks, from age four days when I got them to present four weeks have never used heat during the day. The temperatures during the day have ranged from the 80s down to the high 40s during the day. Chicks don't need nearly as much heat as people think they do.
KauaiChickenMama
Songster
@ksato003 I realize that your thread is from July. Have you continued to see these watery, clear, saliva looking droppings over the past three months?
In my case, my chicks were hatched under a broody. I will send a link to my particular situation HERE so I don’t bombard your thread with my issues, lol.
In my case, my chicks were hatched under a broody. I will send a link to my particular situation HERE so I don’t bombard your thread with my issues, lol.
KauaiChickenMama
Songster
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