Lost one of my hens and found a bright yellow something in the coop

[coolchange]

A week ago Sunday I went to check on my hens like I do every morning and found one laying in the box where she lays hers eggs dead. I have 4 hens that are about 8 months old and 2 that I was told were only a year. My first guess when I got these 2 about 2 months ago was that they were older than a year just by the looks. Well the one I found dead was an older one. After I burried her I found a very thick and bright yellow mass of some sort in the coop area so I immediately cleaned it out. Well today I found a small spot with this same stuff. I am wondering if it even came from the one that died or could it be something they may have spread? Has anyone seen this before? Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions!!

 

[barg]

Still new to chickens so, take this with a grain of salt...

Sounds almost like some sort of slime mold ... do you have any picks of it?
Here is a link to some picks of slime molds.
http://waynesword.palomar.edu/slime1.htm

 

[BigMama]

What are you using for bedding? Could the yellow mass be mold? I worked at a childcare center that used wood chips in the playground and we would come out in the mornings and find yellow spots (probaly 6 inches wide) on the surface of the wood chips.

 

[BigMama]

Barg - this is the mold I was thinking of! I'm glad you were able to find pics. I just missed your post before posting, and vomit is exactly what it looks like. We would scoop it out of the playground and the Director of the childcare would make us let the kids play in the woodchips. I was so worried about the children there, but we were finally able to get the Director to treat the playground with something (or that's what she told us anyway), the mold did clear up. I wonder how dangerous it is to breath in those spores?

Coolchange - I would do a serious cleaning of the coop, I don't know if bleach would kill the mold or not?

 

[barg]

Quote:
BLEACH SHOULD NEVER BE USED WITH AMONIA
Ive never tried it, i'm not going to. Chicken poop Contains Amonia, this mixed with bleach in the right amount makes Chlorine Gas which can be deadly.
When I was a kid my dad spilled some bleach in a shed that sat over where our old rabbit hutch had been, he was coughing after that for quite a while.
I dont know the proper amounts you need to create the gas but there are other harmful effects in varaious proportions.

 

[mlheran]

I'm not sure if this is the same thing you are describing, but there is a fungus (like a mushroom) that is bright yellow, firm to the touch, and quick growing. We have it spring up on our eucalyptus trees from time to time. The first time I saw it I thought someone had sprayed that expanding foam insulation into a crack in the tree. Weirdest stuff you'll ever see. It looked like this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sharpsites/120149832/
But then quickly dried hard and turned a dull orange.

With all molds and fungi you really don't want them around your chickens -particularly in large amounts. It sounds like a good cleaning is in order!

Could you take a pic of it, or give us some more information about it? You've got my curiousity peaked!

 

[SeaChick]

Sounds like slime mold to me. Take a look at the pictures on the link barg posted. We once had a recurring case of the "dog vomit slime mold" that showed up in our front garden. We at first thought some animal was coming and throwing up in the yard. It was disgusting. I would scrape it up and wash the area. Finally it went away. Really gross though. And creepy too.

Good luck
STacey

 

[kmogo]

Ok, so is there any conclusion that dog vomit slime mold kills chickens? I have a ton of it in my yard and some new hens. From what I've researched, it's mostly harmless to humans - anyone know anything about it for chickens?