Green poop with undigested food in it

[Kit kat Kate]

Hi, I'm hoping someone might be able to help. I've got a lovely buff orpington who seems to be acting normally but she has had green diarrhoea type poop with undigested food in it. She's had this for about 12 days and is losing weight. She has been wormed about a month ago via pellets in the food. I've been mixing the oyster shell & grit in scrambled eggs & scraps so she eats it. I'm hoping that someone can advise me on what the best course of action would be.

 

[SierraChickens]

One of my chickens are having that too, but no undigested food, just green diarrhea.

 

[LoveMyChickenBabies]

@Wyorp Rock ?

 

[Eggcessive]

Do you have a vet locally who could test her droppings for enteritis? A gram stain on some droppings may be needed, and I also would get a fecal float for coccidiosis and other worms. Pictures of droppings sometimes can be helpful here. How old is she, and has she been laying eggs?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi, I'm hoping someone might be able to help. I've got a lovely buff orpington who seems to be acting normally but she has had green diarrhoea type poop with undigested food in it. She's had this for about 12 days and is losing weight. She has been wormed about a month ago via pellets in the food. I've been mixing the oyster shell & grit in scrambled eggs & scraps so she eats it. I'm hoping that someone can advise me on what the best course of action would be.

How old is she?
Photos of her and the poop?
What do you normally feed?
Any other symptoms - lethargy, difficulty walking, etc.?

I would not mix the oyster shell and grit with what you give to eat, just make those available free choice for her.
If she will eat her normal feed make that available free choice as well.

I agree that collecting some samples of poop to get tested is the best way to find out what may be causing this.

 

[Kit kat Kate]

Thanks for the replies, I'd been mixing oyster shell with scrambled eggs as she hasn't been laying and I'd read this could help. I've got grit available by itself too. She is 3 years old. They are on Smallholder Layers Pellets & I've used Verm X pellets for worming.

Later today she started walking crookedly, not using her foot properly on one side. I took her to a vet straight away who didn't think it was a crop problem but recommended that I use Fluendazole rather than Verm X and that I get some digestive health supplements to try and combat the loose droppings.

I'm concerned that it might be Marek's as she is the second from a group of chickens that we bought to start behaving in an odd way. The last one lost weight and started falling to one side and seemed to be a bit twisted - she keeled over and died in September last year. It was awful. Any ideas would really be appreciated.

Does anyone have recommendations for faeces sampling? The vet recommended The Chicken Vet online where I see you can get a kit.

Thank you for the support, I am worried for this hen plus the others if it is potentially viral.

How old is she?
Photos of her and the poop?
What do you normally feed?
Any other symptoms - lethargy, difficulty walking, etc.?

I would not mix the oyster shell and grit with what you give to eat, just make those available free choice for her.
If she will eat her normal feed make that available free choice as well.

I agree that collecting some samples of poop to get tested is the best way to find out what may be causing this.

 

[Eggcessive]

Did the vet not want to test her droppings for enteritis, coccidiosis, and worms? Flubendazole is a good wormer, and has to be used in the feed for the proper amount of days. It does sound as though Mareks is a possibility, especially since another of your chickens died with unusual and similar symptoms. Amprol or Harkers Coxoid are the brand names of amprollium in the UK for treatment of coccidiosis. Coccidiosis usually affects young chickens, but it can frequently be a problem in birds with immune disorders, such as Mareks. @rebrascora, another BYC member, may have advice on getting a fecal test. She also has experience with Mareks. Here is a good article about the disease when you have time:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Did the vet not offer to perform any testing for you?
You can use online services to have them check for worms and coccidiosis.

Have you noticed any bloat/swelling or fluid in the abdomen? If she is has not been laying eggs in a while and is not molting, I wonder if she is having some reproductive problems. Internal laying, Peritonitis, cancer and tumors can be fairly common in laying hens. Some symptoms include loose droppings, loss of weight in the breast, not eating/drinking well, sometimes a full or bloated abdomen, difficulty walking and shortness of breath.

While laying hens do need calcium in the diet to lay eggs, it won't make them lay. I would still give her the eggs (they love eggs) but put the oyster shell on the side.

Some of her symptoms could also be due to Marek's, so that should be taken into consideration. Testing/having a necropsy if you lose her would be a good idea, this way you can hopefully find out what happened.