help with poop diagnosis

[drzaiusx11]

Hi, I have a 1yo hen that has been having runny poops for the past 48 hours or so. She seems relatively normal in behavior (maybe a bit 'sluggish', but keeps up with the others most of the time) Should I start worrying? or could this just be a bad week for her? No other worrying signs in her or the rest of the flock The flock has free range over a lightly wooded acre. They are fed blueseal layer pellets and occasionally veggie scraps, but they eat plenty of wild bugs and such in the field. Beware, gross pictures below!!!!!! Here's some pics of her latest: Any help would be appreciated! Thanks, Jeff

 

[drzaiusx11]

Possibly related two days ago one of the hens laid a rubber egg. It was the first I've seen in over a year as they've been on layer feed for 6+ months and have been laying beatiful eggs almost daily. I added some oyster shell into their feed but it may have been the hen with the loose stool and this could be another symptom. *shrug*

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. It's really hard to tell what a chicken has from a picture, but some suggestions would be worms or possibly egg yolk peritonitis, but it also could be because she is drinking a lot of water. Here is a chart that may help, but it is only that person's opinion:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/search?q=droppings+chart
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/?topic=17568.0

 

[drzaiusx11]

Are there more concrete methods of diagnoses on living birds? I've googled a bit but the labs I've found are the post mortem type where you send the body AFTER it has expired. I'd be willing to send blood or stool samples if I knew of places that could deal with that sort of thing.

I guess I could start some treatments for worms to see if that helps in the mean time. Is that the general recommendation for loose stool? Should I wait a bit first?

PS I'm in the New England area, not sure if that makes a difference as far as lab resources go.

 

[Kyzmette]

Call your local agriculture dept and talk to your state vet or their staff. I've heard of labs that take mailed swabs, and they may be aware of one.

 

[drzaiusx11]

Call your local agriculture dept and talk to your state vet or their staff. I've heard of labs that take mailed swabs, and they may be aware of one.

Thanks! I managed to track down my state's (MA) agriculture testing site:
http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/agr/animal-health/poultry/diagnostic-testing-services-generic.html

I'll give them a call this week if symptoms persist.

 

[Kyzmette]

I hope your state's is like mine. I can call and talk directly to the state vet or his direct assistant, and they both introduce themselves by their first names in spite of the titles they both have. When I had a problem he was on the phone with me for about half an hour just tossing ideas back and forth before advising me. And ours is totally free. While you're on the line with them ask if they do free necropsies and what the requirements are.

 

[casportpony]

If you have a vet that sees other pets of yours you could call them and ask if they could look at a sample microscopically and do a gram stain. Legally they can't prescribe any drugs if the results are abnormal unless they see the animal. Gram stains at my vet's office are about $25.

-Kathy