Hen having green diarrhea for over a week - diagnosis help please? ***warning graphic poop photos***

[jonalisa]

Hi Folks,

I have a Golden Comet (Charlotte) with diarrhea for about 8 days. I was not immediately concerned because:

• She is not exhibiting any other abnormal signs
• We have had temps in mid-80's to high- 90's in last few weeks
• Mulitple hens were briefly having watery stool due to water consumption
• Charlotte's stool is very light green, but they have been cleaning out my garden beds and consuming cabbage, brussel sprouts, kale, broccoli
• Charlotte has always been my smallest hen, very light weight

However, after monitoring the poop board I could now see that she is now the only one of 11 hens with diarrhea and green stool.

Today I fed her scrambled eggs with buttermilk and some plain Greek yogurt. She ate a decent amount and I have seen her eat yogurt a few other times today.
I also had one waterer with electrolytes and the other with probiotics for 2 solid days.Then made fresh water available with apple cider vinegar. I don't see any other signs or symptoms.
I've ordered Neomycin to have on hand. I feel her crop and it is full but not sure what else to check. Most have full crops this time of day so will check it in the a.m. She's still eating, drinking and free ranging with the others.

I'm including photos and wonder if anyone can tell me something... I apologize in advance for grossing anyone out.

I want to be proactive, but not sure what to look for.

Anyone?

 

[jonalisa]

No one? I just want to do everything I can do she doesn't get worse. Please?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

You may want to take a fecal sample to your vet to have a fecal float test performed.

Has she lost any weight?

By reading what her diet is, my best guess it would be all the greens that she is consuming.
You could separate her and feed only her normal poultry feed - no treats/veggies for a day or two and see if the poop returns to "normal". If not then you would want to have it checked.

Just my thoughts.

 

[jonalisa]

Thank you for responding. I'll weigh her.
She's been eating scrambled eggs with buttermilk, yogurt and feed for 2 days. No greens.
No change.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you for responding. I'll weigh her.
She's been eating scrambled eggs with buttermilk, yogurt and feed for 2 days. No greens.
No change.

Then you may go ahead and take a sample to your vet for testing. They can look for parasites, bacteria, etc.

 

[MeepBeep]

Thank you for responding. I'll weigh her.

She's been eating scrambled eggs with buttermilk, yogurt and feed for 2 days. No greens. 
No change.

Put her on a known dedicated commercial poultry diet (Nutrena or Purina for example) for a few days with plenty of water and no other food source and see if there are any changes...

Chickens are lactose intolerant and have no means to digest lactose, the buttermilk and yogurt (although providing some protein, probiotics and some nutrients) act as laxatives due to the inability of the bird to digest the lactose and are not helping...

And and FYI on the same note, never use lactose free milks or dairy products, the process used to remove the lactose leaves behind chemicals that are highly toxic to birds...

 

[jonalisa]

Wow, I didn't know. I actually got the info on buttermilk and yogurt on this site. Thanks for letting me know.
They are getting Layena layer crumbles only. The diarrhea is still there but no longer green. Her crop seems normal. She's very active and I am watching her carefully.

 

[MeepBeep]

Wow, I didn't know. I actually got the info on buttermilk and yogurt on this site. Thanks for letting me know.
They are getting Layena layer crumbles only. The diarrhea is still there but no longer green. Her crop seems normal. She's very active and I am watching her carefully.

The loose stools might just be a result of the ambient temperature and thus the amount of water they are drinking to stay cool, in itself loose stools is not a concern...