Hens with loose/runny poop, how's this for a remedy?

[Sunny Side Up]

In my 2 main flocks of layers (15 and 20 hens and 1 rooster each) many of the hens have loose runny poop. Some of them look like they've gone cycling through mud puddles, they have brown stripes going vertically down their behinds. Otherwise, everyone is looking/acting/laying just fine. They are a mixed bouquet of large breed fowl, many mixed-breeds. Their ages are between 2-5 years old.

I think it could be that some of them are just getting older, and their digestive systems aren't as perky as before. And/or because they've been living in the same yard for so long, that there are more cooties in the dirt that can upset their systems. We're in South Florida, where the whole yard is like a giant petri dish of microbes that never get frozen to death.

I never see worms or anything like that in their poop. I am an avid poop inspector, these birds tell you more by what comes out of their butts than from their beaks. It's usually a normal color, not greenish or black, usually the regular brown, sometimes a brighter tan.

So I am going to give them things that can supply beneficial bacteria to their guts. Today I gave each group a pan of pellets mixed with a quart of plain yogurt (with the live cultures). Next I plan to give them a pan of pellets wetted with water and some raw ACV. The waterers are galvanized metal so I can't put it in their water.

What else could I give them that might help? How long should I wait between "treatments"? Should I wait a day or two between the yogurt & the ACV, or give them something like that every day?

Thank you for your help & advice!

 

[Miss Lydia]

are you totally agin worming?

 

[dawg53]

I recommend you worm them. Worms very rarely release from their host, why should they? That's why you're not seeing any in their poop. Also, since they are living on the same ground, all the more reason to worm them...I recommend a regular worming schedule, at a minimum of at least semi annually due to where you live and the soil conditions. I worm quarterly for the same reasons. Worm with valbazen (cattle/sheep wormer)then follow up in 10 days with safeguard liquid goat wormer or safeguard equine paste.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Would worms be the only cause of the loose stools? I'm not against worming, and have treated my birds in the past with Wazine and also with the Ivermectrin pour-on. I've done this when I have seen the roundworms standing up in the poops and waving "howdy", and other times when they've shown symptoms of decline. Since I'm not seeing worms (yes, I know they could still be present) and since they're otherwise looking/acting fine, I don't want to automatically reach for the vermicide.

They ate every bit of their yogurt-pellet mixture. I think that tomorrow I'll give them pans of pellets wetted with water and raw ACV. I think that I'll continue to give them something with beneficial bacteria each day for about a week and see if that seems to make a difference. If not, I may reconsider giving them worm medicine.

 

[jake99]

could i ask what is avc

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Jake99! I'm sorry, I should have been more specific. ACV is the commonly used acronym for Apple Cider Vinegar. The raw, unpasturized stuff has beneficial bateria that helps regulate digestion. Many folks use it themselves, I just use it with my chickens. It can be used routinely, a spoonful in every water dispenser (but NOT in the galvanized metal ones! It will eat the metal) or just when they seem to be having digestive complaints.

I gave each pen a dish of pellets wetted with water and a few spoonfuls of ACV, put it out as their only fare when I let them out of their coops. As soon as they finish that I'll re-hang their feeders. I'll keep doing this daily, in addition to giving them yogurt every few days, and see if it seems to help.