My big girl has small eggs and tummy troubles

[Mayalys]

Hi all,

I have free-range 4 Isa Brown hens less than a year old, all laying since August. One of my hens (the biggest one and the one that eats everything) started having very soft poops with visible partially digested food in them about four weeks ago after some big rains (there is no snow here in the winter, although it can get cold enough for it). No visible worms or anything obviously strange about the color. The poop has started firming up some in the last week, but through all that her eggs got smaller and smaller and now she's having a day here and there when she's not laying at all, and still making a small egg after the pause. None of the other chickens are affected, and she does not look ill (short of having a poopy butt). No visible weight loss, no lethargy, still eats everything in sight seemingly all the time (except chicken feed, unless I put it outside of the coop on the ground), drinks indiscriminately from all kinds of puddles, uses her bulk to block access to snacks, and ensures she gets her favorite sleeping spot. In short, she appears to be having a grand old time, while I'm getting quite stressed out about the whole thing

What might be the problem, and is there any way to help? I imagine that if there were worms or anything contagious, the other chickens would have shown signs by now, but there is nothing different about them. I would appreciate any insight and suggestions. I've been reading this forum since we got the chicks in spring and got so much good info from it.

 

[DuckGirl77]

I am not sure what the underlying issue could be, but if you think she has an issue with digestion, you might give fermented feed a try. It's very good for digestion and overall health. I am fairly new to it myself, but there are many helpful threads and articles on this site, and it is not hard to start. Fermented feed has more nutrients than regular grain, which helps digestion and building healthy bacteria in the gut, which builds immunity. My chickens like it much better than dry mash, and they seem to do well on it.

I have never dealt with worms in my birds, but it is possible one could have it and not all, since some birds are more susceptible to health problems. But, typically with parasites I would expect weight loss. Not a bad idea to monitor that just in case.

 

[Kglassmo]

Have you tried giving her extra calcium in form of crushed oyster shells or plain yogurt? Probiotic grit is also helpful to help with crop
digestion/maintainence. I have a small flock of 10 variety of breeds- one buff Cochin hen who’s going on 3 years old- she’s always required more calcium than her sisters! without extra calcium she gets soft egg shells, stops laying or poopy rear end. I can tell when she’s craving minerals because she drink from mud puddles or eats dirt. And as soon as I refill their grit/oyster shell bin she dives right in and all is well again. I have a young black star pullet who’s having similar issues and a bit of plain probiotic yogurt helped her too. I also feed my flock dark leafy greens on a regular basis to increase vitamins/minerals intake. They love arugula, turnip greens, kale, collards, cabbage, romaine, and especially need extra supplements during winter. Hope this helps! Good luck!

 

[Mayalys]

Thank you for the replies! Best I can come up with is some kind of food poisoning incident from something moldy or contaminated due to the rain, so it does sound like fermented feed or probiotic yogurt would really be the way to go (although I'm keeping an eye on potential worm issues). They have crushed eggshell available and I've seen them eat it, but it makes me wonder about this particular one due to her attraction for mud puddles. Because they are free range and they have a fair amount of space, they are also picky with their food. I wish I could get them to eat greens other than what grows on the ground! Maybe I should plant some kale, since I don't like it anyway, they can have it There are days when they don't touch their feed at all (unless I put it on the ground and pour water on it, which I'm not sure how healthy it is, but might indicate they could be really receptive to fermented feed). This morning she is poopy-butted again, so I have to start experimenting.

 

[DuckGirl77]

Thank you for the replies! Best I can come up with is some kind of food poisoning incident from something moldy or contaminated due to the rain, so it does sound like fermented feed or probiotic yogurt would really be the way to go (although I'm keeping an eye on potential worm issues). They have crushed eggshell available and I've seen them eat it, but it makes me wonder about this particular one due to her attraction for mud puddles. Because they are free range and they have a fair amount of space, they are also picky with their food. I wish I could get them to eat greens other than what grows on the ground! Maybe I should plant some kale, since I don't like it anyway, they can have it There are days when they don't touch their feed at all (unless I put it on the ground and pour water on it, which I'm not sure how healthy it is, but might indicate they could be really receptive to fermented feed). This morning she is poopy-butted again, so I have to start experimenting.

Sounds like you have a good plan in place. Free ranging is so healthy for them, and it does make them picky, but in a good way as they're more likely to choose what they need. Except the mud puddles - I have no idea what health benefit is there, but they do seem to enjoy them
If they like the fermented feed, yogurt, or even just a little apple cider vinegar in their feed or water, that would be a great way to add extra nutrients in. If you do try it, I'd love to hear if it makes a difference. Good luck!

 

[Mayalys]

DuckGirl77, thank you! I need all the luck I can get I started with some raw apple cider vinegar in the water — I have to lower the dosage I guess because they weren’t completely sure. I’m going to get some probiotic supplement in case they don’t like their feed mixed with yogurt (they are a contrary bunch, so who knows?). I need to be in a better brain space for fermentation, I think. Will no longer give them anything fruity, because I’ve concluded it doesn’t help. And I turned the right way around the wheelbarrow whose edge it turns out they were drinking from... Another one had a really poopy egg today (and a pristine white butt?!?), and there is going to rain again buckets tomorrow, so I’m hoping for the best right now. I’ll post to share how things turned out.

 

[Kglassmo]

Thank you for the replies! Best I can come up with is some kind of food poisoning incident from something moldy or contaminated due to the rain, so it does sound like fermented feed or probiotic yogurt would really be the way to go (although I'm keeping an eye on potential worm issues). They have crushed eggshell available and I've seen them eat it, but it makes me wonder about this particular one due to her attraction for mud puddles. Because they are free range and they have a fair amount of space, they are also picky with their food. I wish I could get them to eat greens other than what grows on the ground! Maybe I should plant some kale, since I don't like it anyway, they can have it There are days when they don't touch their feed at all (unless I put it on the ground and pour water on it, which I'm not sure how healthy it is, but might indicate they could be really receptive to fermented feed). This morning she is poopy-butted again, so I have to start experimenting.

Hope your plan works! You sound like an awesome chicken parent! It’s good to observe them and figure out what they’re eating or craving. I grow kale/broccoli in my garden- chickens get biggest share! we eat broccoli heads they eat greens. I’m not a fan of kale either! It’s all for chickies.
My buff Cochin (Nutmeg) did end up w/worms about yr ago- she is an avid slug and aquatic snail eater. We get lot of rain too. Apparently slugs & snails are intermediate hosts for roundworms and because she ate so many slugs she got higher level of worms. I treated her with pea sized amount of horse dewormer (Safeguard, fenbendazole) every 7-10 days for 3 wks. I had to treat whole flock to be safe. We didn’t consume any eggs laid during treatment just in case. I hate slugs, discourage my chickens from eating them. Grub worms and many other insects are fine.
Most free range animals will be exposed to roundworms because those worms are everywhere in the soil! But if a chicken is really infected they will act droopy, you’ll see worms in their poop. Small amounts of worms boost their immune system and they fight them off naturally. I now use diatomaceous earth in chicken feed periodically so that they get some in their crops to break apart any worm eggs/larvae they ingest. I do 2 TBS food grade diatomaceous earth per 2 pounds chicken feed, mix it well. Wear a mask when using diatomaceous earth because it’s not healthy to breathe in dust. Probiotic yogurt has been a huge help for Nutmeg! She eats it from a spoon like a spoiled girl and loves it!
Best of luck to you!

 

[Mayalys]

Hope your plan works! You sound like an awesome chicken parent! It’s good to observe them and figure out what they’re eating or craving. I grow kale/broccoli in my garden- chickens get biggest share! we eat broccoli heads they eat greens. I’m not a fan of kale either! It’s all for chickies.
My buff Cochin (Nutmeg) did end up w/worms about yr ago- she is an avid slug and aquatic snail eater. We get lot of rain too. Apparently slugs & snails are intermediate hosts for roundworms and because she ate so many slugs she got higher level of worms. I treated her with pea sized amount of horse dewormer (Safeguard, fenbendazole) every 7-10 days for 3 wks. I had to treat whole flock to be safe. We didn’t consume any eggs laid during treatment just in case. I hate slugs, discourage my chickens from eating them. Grub worms and many other insects are fine.
Most free range animals will be exposed to roundworms because those worms are everywhere in the soil! But if a chicken is really infected they will act droopy, you’ll see worms in their poop. Small amounts of worms boost their immune system and they fight them off naturally. I now use diatomaceous earth in chicken feed periodically so that they get some in their crops to break apart any worm eggs/larvae they ingest. I do 2 TBS food grade diatomaceous earth per 2 pounds chicken feed, mix it well. Wear a mask when using diatomaceous earth because it’s not healthy to breathe in dust. Probiotic yogurt has been a huge help for Nutmeg! She eats it from a spoon like a spoiled girl and loves it!
Best of luck to you!

Thank you! Now that I finally have chickens in my life, I'd like to keep them alive and healthy and happy as long as possible for free-range ones to be. It's really good to know that if chickens have problematic levels of worms, they'll probably act clearly unwell. I didn't see slugs around, but maybe that's because the chickens already ate them all (I saw one eating a small lizard, and another one catching a cicada mid-flight, sectioning it, and swallowing the halves -- they really are dinosaur relatives!). Thank you for the diatomaceous earth tip. I'm very glad to be learning these useful things. Even if this all feels rather overwhelming right now