Liquid poop for months after sour crop

[Diamantine]

Hi! I have had a Speckled Sussex, Kiddo, who battled sour crop nearly 4 months ago when she was only 3 months old. She was on death's door for a week and then slowly bounced back over the next month. Even though now her crop still fills with fluids once every now and then, ACV tends to manage it. I've never used any meds or antibiotics. All the girls get yogurt, probiotics and electrolytes. We had our chickens on organic Layer crumbles from our local co-op, but switched a month ago to organic layer pellets. She eats well, plays with her pals, I don't think she lays eggs at 7 months old (just realizing how odd that actually is), but she could be hiding them from me like a few of her hatch mates still like to do.
Everything seems sort of normal except her poop has constantly been diarrhea, liquidy, lots of water, bits of digested food, very foul smelling. I haven't seen a solid poop out of her in the last 4 months. I had a sample tested for coccidiosis and parasites. Nothing there.
What could be wrong with her and what might help her get back to a normal digestive system?

 

[purpletree23]

Sometimes organic feed can be old and have some issues because it is so expensive and doesn't sell well and just sits around. If organic is important to you try another brand or bag. Just so you know as soon as you give yogurt or anything like veggie scraps that aren't organic your eggs are no longer considered organic.

Stop the ACV the yogurt and probiotics and electrolytes and she what happens. If she still has runny poops in a week I would worm the whole flock. Get worming instructions and the medications you need.

Make sure they have grit and oyster shell. A little scratch now and then and some free ranging won't hurt either.

 

[casportpony]

I would de-worm and switch to a different feed with a recent date code. Some stores, like TSC are notorious for selling bags of feed that are over six months old.

-Kathy

 

[Diamantine]

Thank you. I haven't de wormed them yet so I'll get right on that. I only use the ACV once a week or as needed. As far as the food goes, I only feed organic because the eggs are for personal use (the yogurt and veggies are also organic), but wouldn't my other chickens be showing the same signs of distress if the feed was expired and bad? One other hen has soft poops, but it's nothing compared to Kiddo's water stools. Could her GI tract be impaired from the deficiencies her initial sour crop caused during a young age and be so poorly developed that she will never have a healthy digestion system? I can't give her seeds or scratch because she's unable to digest them and it usually causes the sour crop to flair up. She is free range and gets occasional grit and oyster shell, but no matter what she has never even produced a soft, solid poop since the first time she had sour crop. It looks like water with bits of digested food in it.
My next question is if it is even humane to keep her alive as she can't gain weight or presumably produce eggs, and the other hens have to deal with a horrific mess in their coop every morning.
I'd like to try deworming, if that doesn't work get some antibiotics, if that doesn't work I don't know how else to help her.

 

[purpletree23]

One step at a time. Make sure grit and oyster shell are left for them all the time. They instinctively know how much they need.

Start the worming ASAP and give her time. Worming with both medications takes a few weeks to go through the whole process. If another hen has loose stools you might have a worm problem.

She free ranges? She eats grass and bugs and that doesn't cause a problem but the cracked corn does. Odd.

After worming see how she does and then make the decision as to what is best for her. Chickens are like humans. Some are healthy and some aren't. If she has a perpetual problem and you think her quality of life is not good then you have a choice to make.

 

[Michael Apple]

Sometimes organic feed can be old and have some issues because it is so expensive and doesn't sell well and just sits around. If organic is important to you try another brand or bag. Just so you know as soon as you give yogurt or anything like veggie scraps that aren't organic your eggs are no longer considered organic.

Stop the ACV the yogurt and probiotics and electrolytes and she what happens. If she still has runny poops in a week I would worm the whole flock. Get worming instructions and the medications you need.

Make sure they have grit and oyster shell. A little scratch now and then and some free ranging won't hurt either.

X2. Feed stores that don't have a rapid turn around will unfortunately keep feed that should not be sold. You can ask when the shipment is expected, and grab a new bag off the pallet. Don't let them bring it out for you. Allowing chickens to range has it's positive aspects as well as negative. If standing water containing protozoans and bacteria are ingested, dead animal carcasses, areas containing molds, high populations of slugs, snails, and other vectors for internal parasites, sometimes chickens can ingest too much of something bad. Mine range over an acre and I have few problems. Keeping the field grass mowed makes a big difference so the sun can dry and naturally disinfect the areas. Wild birds can be a problem too if they have access to your poultry feeders. I never leave feed out in areas where it can get moist and sit all day. I pick up feed at night to prevent rodents from hanging around. I also rinse out waterers daily and sanitize them/brush them out if algae becomes noticeable. Keeping waterers in shady areas prevents rapid build up of algae.

Water dispersible probiotics like Probios contain proper levels of beneficial bacteria that are more easily absorbed in the intestinal tract. Here's a good trial example of the benefits of probiotics:
http://ps.fass.org/content/79/1/7.full.pdf

So do good quality vitamin-mineral packs like Avian Super Pack. I use them regularly 3 days a week and have very healthy birds. I prefer organic feed rations too. Coccidiosis is also a problem that can arise, but prevention is the key to not letting it overcome your flock:
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/1138/coccidiosis-control

 

[casportpony]

I stopped shopping at TSC because they refused to get me the fresher bags from the back.

-Kathy

 

[Diamantine]

No clue what TSC is, but my co-op caters to organic shoppers. Personally, I'd be more worried about buying their non-organic which only comes in larger bulk (60+ lbs). But that's really good to look out for. Thank you!

 

[casportpony]

TSC is Tractor Supply Company. Some of their bags in the front of the store are over six months old, and I even bought one that was moldy once.

-Kathy

 

[Michael Apple]

No clue what TSC is, but my co-op caters to organic shoppers. Personally, I'd be more worried about buying their non-organic which only comes in larger bulk (60+ lbs). But that's really good to look out for. Thank you!

Also know that because organic feeds are more expensive, certain unscrupulous feed store owners may keep it on the shelf for months in order to sell it. A certain local feed store lost my business forever because of that. I don't buy more feed than I can use in a month.