Milky Poo, Help!!

[HaleyM]

What feed store, if you don't mind me asking, do you go to? When I was wanting to buy chicks I could only find a couple feed stores.  But, please do not feel pressured to answer this, you can just ignore it, because I get not wanting to give out specific locations on the internet

it's okay, no worries. Friendly Feed in Fulton. I don't live in Fulton anyway. It was my first time at that particular store and they were awesome! Super friendly, per their name, and very helpful.

 

[HaleyM]

Thanks @TwoCrows for all the help!! I started the flock on Corid this morning. 1.5 tsp per gallon of water. The girls are still eating and playful but I'm treating them just to be safe and to eliminate possible causes of the worrisome poops! I'll keep y'all updated throughout the week.

 

[TwoCrows]

What feed store, if you don't mind me asking, do you go to? When I was wanting to buy chicks I could only find a couple feed stores. But, please do not feel pressured to answer this, you can just ignore it, because I get not wanting to give out specific locations on the internet

Sorry it has taken me all day to get back to you here...today has just been crazy!!!

I get my chicks from the closest feed store up here in the mountains, Harveys Feed and Supply. Nearly all the feed stores in New Mexico deal with Privett Hatchery in Portales New Mexico here in this state. Like hatchery chicks, they are fine for why I keep chickens. Not top quality, not heritage breeds, just standard feed store chicks. LOL

So this being said, all the feed stores in your area probably deal with the same hatchery. You can ask them personally and they should be able to tell you where they get their chicks.

 

[TwoCrows]

Thanks @TwoCrows for all the help!! I started the flock on Corid this morning. 1.5 tsp per gallon of water. The girls are still eating and playful but I'm treating them just to be safe and to eliminate possible causes of the worrisome poops! I'll keep y'all updated throughout the week.

Excellent! Since one is never 100% sure of what a bird or flock could have, it is always best to work on the most common of issues. And chicks with diarrhea, Coccidiosis is very common. The corid will not harm them should they not have cocci and at least if they still have this diarrhea when the treatment is over, we can rule out Cocci. You should see some improvements within the first couple of days. If nothing at all changes in the next 4 days, stop treatment and we will have to try something else.

Keep us posted!

 

[HaleyM]

Day 2 with Corid: I let the girls out of their coop at 8:30 this morning. They were all lively and happy and ran out into the yard to start their morning foraging. I went into the coop and snapped these pictures:

Sorry to bombard y'all with poo pics this early in the morning but I really want to get to the bottom of this.I filled their water can with the new medicated water then followed them outside to see what they were up to. I watched one of my barred rocks spew out a big runny poo:

I snapped another of a soft stool but I'll spare you. You get the idea. At this point, I know something is up but I can't figure it out. I'm really hoping it's not Cocci because then I'll have to clean out the entire barn and treat for Cocci often. Good morning everybody!!

 

[TwoCrows]

Just keep the cocci meds going for 5 to 7 days and see what happens. If this continues after this treatment, you might try some probiotics in the water for a week or so. They may just be lacking good bacteria in the gut. But the cocci meds are worth running through them first.

Let us know how things are going at day 4. If the diarrhea continues, stop with these meds and give the probiotics a try.

 

[HaleyM]

Day 5 with Corid: So it seemed on day 3 and 4 the poops were looking better. I believe it was yesterday (day4) I didnt see any runny poops inside the coop or outside in their free range area!! I thought, "Yay!, We've cured them!" but then I thought, "Oh no, they had Cocci and lets start washing the barn down with bleach." However, today I went out and checked out their poop tray and I found 1 single poo that could have been runny, most likely. At this point they are out free ranging and I came out of the barn to discover two really big piles of super watery stool on the concrete. I didn't take pics but they were almost completely clear. After 10-15 minutes the watery piles turned cloudy and more of a milky color. My heart sank...I thought we had it figured out. So back to square one. At this point I'm thinking maybe bullying and someone isn't eating enough??? Suggestions, comments...anything. Happy Monday everybody!!

 

[TwoCrows]

Day 5 with Corid: So it seemed on day 3 and 4 the poops were looking better. I believe it was yesterday (day4) I didnt see any runny poops inside the coop or outside in their free range area!! I thought, "Yay!, We've cured them!" but then I thought, "Oh no, they had Cocci and lets start washing the barn down with bleach." However, today I went out and checked out their poop tray and I found 1 single poo that could have been runny, most likely. At this point they are out free ranging and I came out of the barn to discover two really big piles of super watery stool on the concrete. I didn't take pics but they were almost completely clear. After 10-15 minutes the watery piles turned cloudy and more of a milky color. My heart sank...I thought we had it figured out. So back to square one. At this point I'm thinking maybe bullying and someone isn't eating enough??? Suggestions, comments...anything. Happy Monday everybody!!

Just in case, continue for another 2 days on the Corid. Because you did see some improvement, we don't want to stop on the Corid prematurely.

Then I would get them on some probiotics in the water. Probiotics can only help as they put lots of good bacteria in the gut to help with digestion and beef up the immune system. The good bacteria eat up the bad bacteria. Try this for a week and see if this helps dry up the poop.

Have you checked everybody's crop at roosting time? If someone is not going to bed with a full crop and little food is in their crop, they are being bullied away from food and this WILL cause runny thin poop. In which case you need make some changes in the coop....add several more food and water stations...you can cage up bullies a couple of hours before roosting time so lower ranking birds can eat...use pinless peepers on bullies, etc...

If all fails, you might try antibacterial drugs. I hate to turn to these things, but it is possible they have some sort of bacteria enteritis in the gut. But usually with a bacterial infection, the birds look sick. Maybe a round of Baytril or even some Sulfadimethoxine might help. Do this at last resort, as it doesn't sound like a bacterial thing to me, but it is possible.

 

[HaleyM]

Just in case, continue for another 2 days on the Corid. Because you did see some improvement, we don't want to stop on the Corid prematurely.

Then I would get them on some probiotics in the water. Probiotics can only help as they put lots of good bacteria in the gut to help with digestion and beef up the immune system. The good bacteria eat up the bad bacteria. Try this for a week and see if this helps dry up the poop.

Have you checked everybody's crop at roosting time? If someone is not going to bed with a full crop and little food is in their crop, they are being bullied away from food and this WILL cause runny thin poop. In which case you need make some changes in the coop....add several more food and water stations...you can cage up bullies a couple of hours before roosting time so lower ranking birds can eat...use pinless peepers on bullies, etc...

If all fails, you might try antibacterial drugs. I hate to turn to these things, but it is possible they have some sort of bacteria enteritis in the gut. But usually with a bacterial infection, the birds look sick. Maybe a round of Baytril or even some Sulfadimethoxine might help. Do this at last resort, as it doesn't sound like a bacterial thing to me, but it is possible.

Okay, will do! I bought some probiotics that Im going to start directly after the Corid. What color are their combs supposed to be at this age? The Austros are 10 wks and the Barred Rocks are 11 wks. Their combs are just now coming in and one of my Rocks has a really dull skin tone color to her comb. Also, this morning after all the chickens had left the coop to go forage, I noticed two of the barred rocks still on their perch, standing, making noises but not wanting to leave the coop. I went in and pulled them down. They all ate fine. But I do notice a few of my Rocks seem to have less energy. Something to worry about?

 

[TwoCrows]

Have these birds started laying yet? If so, the combs should be pretty red. However some chickens do pale for no reason. If they haven't yet gotten in to the swing of laying on a regular basis, combs can be pale. Chickens should get off the roost bar fairly quickly in the morning, at least in my flock they do. The ones that still linger are suspects for illness.

Give the probiotics a try and see what happens. If anybody takes a turn for the worse in the next week or the probios don't do anything, you might give the antibiotics a try. Watch for fungal infections in the crop. If this is fungal in nature, you will find yeast masses in the crops in the morning fairly early in the antibiotic treatment. Fungal infections aren't all that common, but just something to keep an eye on. Of course after any antibiotic treatment you really need to offer up more probiotics afterwards for at least a week. Too much good bacteria in the crops and intestines that will be killed off and will create a worse situation. And never use probiotics at the same time you use antibiotics, one or the other, but never both at the same time.