liquid poop!

[thewildbunch]

I have noticed recently that a couple of our hens have liquid poop...and by that, I mean, almost like water liquid poop! I've kept an eye on them and there are no other symptoms that I can determine. They are eating well, have plenty of energy, still laying eggs, not losing weight, etc. We wormed our flock in December with a full spectrum wormer, so I'm puzzled by this. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Try some probiotics?

Did you repeat the wormer to break the life cycle of the worms? I repeat my wormer at 10 days. When I use Rooster Booster wormer in the feed as per label, I just keep going with it for a good while until I feel they are OK- don't remember exactly how long I did it for but it worked.

 

[LoveThemBirds]

Loose stool is very common with birds.It can mean something,but often it doesn't.You may wanna check for mites,or lice.

 

[thewildbunch]

we did repeat the wormer and have used Rooster Booster in the past, but we have a very difficult time finding it. Our local Tractor Supply doesn't carry it! We will give the probiotics a try. thanks

 

[thewildbunch]

Will do. We have several "dusting areas" with DE in them, and sprinkle it into the nesting boxes every time we clean them out, but that might not be doing the trick. If not, what's the best way to treat for mites?

 

[casportpony]

we did repeat the wormer and have used Rooster Booster in the past, but we have a very difficult time finding it. Our local Tractor Supply doesn't carry it! We will give the probiotics a try. thanks

What wormer did you use?

-Kathy

 

[thewildbunch]

We used a liquid goat wormer dosed according to directions we received on this site.

 

[casportpony]

We used a liquid goat wormer dosed according to directions we received on this site.

I'm gonna guess that you gave 1/2 cc once, then again ten days later. That dose will treat roundworms, and *maybe* cecal worms, but it will not treat capillary worms. Can you take a fresh poo sample to the vet?

The treatment I use based on the recommendation of a vet is 0.23ml per pound for five consecutive days. That's 1.15ml for a five pound chicken, but probably okay to use just 1ml per 5 pounds.

-Kathy

 

[thewildbunch]

Thanks Kathy. You are correct about our dosing. We have been unable to find a vet in our area that has any expertise/desire to treat chickens, so we are somewhat on our own and depend on the good advice we get here. We have almost 50 hens, and these few are the only ones with this issue. I don't want anything to spread throughout the flock though. Do you think it will hurt anything to retreat at the higher dosage?

 

[casportpony]

With the iffy ones I would give them a thorough exam, get a baseline wight using a digital kitchen scale and I'd re-worm them with the higher dose for five days. I'm not saying that your hens have worms, just that they might. Other possibilities are coccidiosis (yes, even older hens can get it), bacterial infection, fungal infection, disease or a combination of things.

-Kathy