Loose poop, egg drop last night under roost

[oakhavenmama]

Hi,

Last night, one of my hens dropped an egg on the henhouse floor under the roost. I noticed what looked like whitish stuff in one of their poops for the past couple of days. The eggshell of the dropped egg was normal hardness. Attached are some pics of the scene, some poop from this morning, and a dried one from yesterday that there seemed to be several of. Yesterday or the day before, there was a bit of blood on Ginger's egg. I think Ginger is the ailing one. The weather here in Texas is very hot and all the hens are a bit quiet, but unusually more so this morning.

I have added windows to the coop, a fan for ventilation, and a cooler roof (opaque) to the coop. The hens spend most of their days outside ranging though, and a lot of time on the patio under the ceiling fan.

For the last week, I have been feeding them watermelon to help them stay cool, and yesterday also gave them some goat yogurt mixed with brown rice. I also give them raw spinach/lettuce/cabbage at least once a day, and they eat Purina organic layer crumbles. I also have a large saucer in the back yard for them to drink water, in addition to the water in their coop.

Also, possibly insignificant, but for the first time this morning I found a few mice droppings in the hen house. Am trying to figure out how the mouse got in, but I don't see any openings. A few days ago, there had been a spot where one dug down around the bottom of the coop, but I patched the hardware cloth and haven't seen any holes since.

Having chickens seems like a full time job! Thank you for any help and suggestions y'all might have.

Blessings to you and your chickens.

 

[obsessedwithchickens!]

I found a shell less egg under my chickens roost while cleaning their coop out this morning.

 

[oakhavenmama]

Hi, That happened here when my hens were not getting enough calcium, although it could be some other cause I suppose. Do you give yours a calcium supplement?

 

[oakhavenmama]

PS My hens seem a lot better now, maybe I have them too much yogurt yesterday. Still dang hot in Texas and probably will be for three more months!

 

[coach723]

Sometimes when it is hot they drink a lot of water trying to cool themselves and the droppings get watery. Watermelon can also contribute to watery droppings. If anyone is acting ill you can see if your vet will do a fecal float test to check for parasites, another cause of runny droppings. Sounds like you've done a lot to address the heat.
You can also put frozen bottles of water in the waterers to keep it cooler.
And yogurt is good in small, occasional amounts. Too much dairy can cause digestive upset.
I find an occasional egg dropped on my poop board under the roosts. Unless someone is acting off, or it starts to happen a lot, it's probably not something to worry about. I think sometimes they are just crowded in and don't make it to the box, especially if it's early morning. And a little blood on an occasional egg is not uncommon. They can sometimes break a small blood vessel during laying and is not usually a concern. If it was a lot of blood, then I'd be giving everyone a hard look.
As for the mice, they can be a pain. They can fit through 1/2" hardware cloth. I found one hanging half way once, got too fat and got stuck! They are really hard to keep out as they fit through such small spaces. I use traps, there are many options. You can discourage them by not having food accessible, easier said than done, since chickens tend to throw it all over. Hanging feeders are harder for mice to get to than on the ground, and you can also use the feeders that only open when the chickens step on them.

 

[oakhavenmama]

Thank you, thank you coach723. Mice can fit through 1/2 inch hardware cloth?!! Oh no, since there are cracks in the boards at least that wide. I was planning to wait until winter to fill those, but guess I have more work to do now! LOL. That must have been a funny sight to see, a mouse stuck in the squares. I do provide a hanging feeder, which I take in at night, but yes, the girls make a mess of things. Think this mouse was upstairs having a scrambled egg for breakfast this morning. Nothing but the best for my hens and backyard critters. Poop is much better this afternoon, gave less watermelon and greens. Saw one hen standing in the "birdbath" this afternoon. Looked cooling!

Attached are pics of the recent revisions to the coop. I am pretty proud of making those, and they do seem to help a lot. Thanks again.

 

[barred2rock]

Thank you, thank you coach723. Mice can fit through 1/2 inch hardware cloth?!! Oh no, since there are cracks in the boards at least that wide. I was planning to wait until winter to fill those, but guess I have more work to do now! LOL. That must have been a funny sight to see, a mouse stuck in the squares. I do provide a hanging feeder, which I take in at night, but yes, the girls make a mess of things. Think this mouse was upstairs having a scrambled egg for breakfast this morning. Nothing but the best for my hens and backyard critters. Poop is much better this afternoon, gave less watermelon and greens. Saw one hen standing in the "birdbath" this afternoon. Looked cooling!

Attached are pics of the recent revisions to the coop. I am pretty proud of making those, and they do seem to help a lot. Thanks again.

Have you considered fermented feed? Fernented feed reduces/eliminates the mess & waste.

https://tikktok.wordpress.com/2014/04/13/fermented-feed-faq/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/fermented-feeds-anyone-using-them.645057/

 

[oakhavenmama]

Thank you for your post James. I am learning about fermented feed, your post being the catalyst! My hens don't seem to like their Purina or Coyote Creek feed, so I searched the Internet for homemade feed recipes. I found a post on the Garden Betty website about making feed from mostly seeds, so have been using what I have on hand from her recipe. All of a sudden: no loose stools. Amazing!!! She also has a post about fermenting her feed recipe, so will definitely try it once all my grains are here! Also looked through your second link, and there is a lot to sift through! Will look at the first link as well. Thanks for suggesting!