Diarrhea?

[tweetzone86]

Hello all!

I have 12 RIR pullets about 22.5 weeks old. 4 layers so far, other 8 haven't started laying yet. Feeding Dumor poultry layer crumble 15%, fresh water, mealworms, and they range out in my backyard.

Today I noticed, while sitting on an upside down bucket out there for a bit, that a couple of the chickens have very watery and smelly poop, as opposed to the stiffer not as stinky ones as the others.

Is it possible that they are sick, or that they ate something bad in the yard? I'm clearing my garden area for the winter and I know they ate some of the weeds I pulled as I was doing so, including bindweed. I didn't give it to them, they just literally ate it behind my back before I could chase them away from it. The stinkers are also eating a cardboard box in the "non-chicken" side of the shed (coop back half, separated by chicken wire framed wall with a door) whenever I check for eggs (it requires me going in- we had repurposed our backyard shed for the coop) and originally they attacked a spider that came out (TOTALLY fine by me- I hate spiders with a vengeance) but now the stinkers are EATING the cardboard! I will have hubby move it (big box full of thick books-I can't lift it).

Any help would be greatly appreciated! The last thing I want is for my birds to get sick and start spreading it around!

Any tips would be greatly appreciated

 

[ChickNanny13]

Cecal poo, normal
Not sure this will work but there is a "Poo" chart ...
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=17568.0

I have fed Dumor in the past, have found their poop is smellier even the firm ones. It's been years since I switched to Flock Raiser & put a separate dish of Oyster Shells out for my girls. Haven't had a issue with eggs/shells & saves from having to "stage" feed.

 

[tweetzone86]

Cecal poo, normal
Not sure this will work but there is a "Poo" chart ...
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=17568.0

I have fed Dumor in the past, have found their poop is smellier even the firm ones. It's been years since I switched to Flock Raiser & put a separate dish of Oyster Shells out for my girls. Haven't had a issue with eggs/shells & saves from having to "stage" feed.

What brand of flock raiser do you use? And where do you get the oyster shell? Tractor Supply here doesn't have os.

 

[coach723]

Usually where ever feed is sold they have oyster shell. If not, your Walmart may carry it.
Another feed store? You can get it online also, a bag usually lasts quite a while. You can do a search for online sources, even Amazon has it. Brand doesn't matter unless your birds care.
I found the same issue with Dumor, no idea why, I use Purina Flock Raiser, the bag is green.

 

[9SpiceyChickens]

I use this, https://www.purinamills.com/chicken-feed/products/detail/purina-flock-raiser , and it works great. The girls have oily/foamy poo, such as on the poo chart, but I have oyster shells on the side. It works good for me. Also, ALWAYS check the mill date.

 

[ChickNanny13]

What brand of flock raiser do you use? And where do you get the oyster shell? Tractor Supply here doesn't have os.

Purina Flock Raiser, get mine from Dels/TSC here as well as the Oyster Shells but get mine from another (cheaper). Price it out online or other feed stores in your area. See what your feed store carries, check BYC Articles - KikisGirls did up a feed chart comparison. Others feed All Purpose, Multi Purpose, etc..... Higher protein & ingredients.

 

[Kathy Golla]

It’s most often something they ate. Although with newish birds it’s hard to tell until you know the birds well. Keep your eye open to see if you can identify a food cause. Treats are often the culprit.
Every bird digests differently. And often the loose stools come quickly after they have eaten that food variable. I have one bird that has diarrhea after eating scratch grain, but only after she eats it, everything else is good during the day.

 

[Kathy Golla]

Purina Flock Raiser, get mine from Dels/TSC here as well as the Oyster Shells but get mine from another (cheaper). Price it out online or other feed stores in your area. See what your feed store carries, check BYC Articles - KikisGirls did up a feed chart comparison. Others feed All Purpose, Multi Purpose, etc..... Higher protein & ingredients.

I’m going to respectfully disagree with the suggestion for a higher protein feed. Maybe a different feed, but I suggest another type of layer feed, not flockraiser for these new birds. Higher protein doesn’t work for everyone and it can cause more problems than it’s worth in high production birds. From experience.

One of the interesting things about chickens is there is a wide amount of different experiences, so it’s sometimes hard to know.

 

[tweetzone86]

The

It’s most often something they ate. Although with newish birds it’s hard to tell until you know the birds well. Keep your eye open to see if you can identify a food cause. Treats are often the culprit.
Every bird digests differently. And often the loose stools come quickly after they have eaten that food variable. I have one bird that has diarrhea after eating scratch grain, but only after she eats it, everything else is good during the day.

Then it was probably the weeds, prob bindweed (only new weed that I spotted) because they ate those yesterday evening and today was the first day I saw the truly runny poops.