Need Help/Advice for poor Ms. Brownie

[Disk1823]

TLDR: We need help figuring out what's wrong with our lovely hen, Brownie. She is having very wet abnormal looking poop and I'm worried she is sick. Her comb seems to be losing color, but she behaves fairly normally. She's the bottom of the pecking order, and survived a dog attack within the past month.

Longer version:

First time chicken owners here - little background as I feel it may help.

Our family inherited 8 fully matured chickens recently, five of which died nearly immediately due to two vicious dogs that our careless neighbors leave constantly on the prowl.

I am not sure whether she was laying eggs before, but we were getting 7 or so eggs a day from the flock, now we are getting only 1, and it's all coming from the other hen. (The third survivor is a rooster.)

As far as I can tell Brownie wasn't injured during the dog attack, but she certainly fell to the bottom of the pecking order. I noticed last week that every night the same area of the coop has wet droppings and I just now realized it is under the area where Brownie roosts.

Looking around our coop this week I've seen a lot of completely wet stool. It's all brown and wet, but I don't see any sign of parasites in it; nor do I Brownie's leg scales raised.

One other detail is that she seemed to molt right after the dog attack, but all her feathers have come back in, and physically she seems fine, though she is always the last to eat/approach for treats because of the pecking order.

Help! What am I missing? This doesn't seem normal.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Her comb seems to be losing color, but she behaves fairly normally. She's the bottom of the pecking order, and survived a dog attack within the past month.

One other detail is that she seemed to molt right after the dog attack, but all her feathers have come back in, and physically she seems fine, though she is always the last to eat/approach for treats because of the pecking order.

The first poop photo is cecal poop and looks normal to me.

The other, hard to tell, it's watery.

Is she laying eggs?

In the photos she looks relatively bright. This time of years hens often to start an annual molt, she may have had a light molt due to stress of the attack, but she may be starting her actual annual molt too(?)

Get a fecal float to see if she needs deworming. Otherwise if she's eating/drinking and relatively active, I would just monitor her.

 

[Disk1823]

She isn't laying eggs nor has she since the attack. I'm not sure whether she was laying before the attack, because like I said - we had only had the flock for about 5 days at that point.

What is a fecal float?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She isn't laying eggs nor has she since the attack. I'm not sure whether she was laying before the attack, because like I said - we had only had the flock for about 5 days at that point.

What is a fecal float?

A fecal float is done by a vet. You take a sample of poop and they look for worms.

 

[Disk1823]

Ah, unfortunately we don't have any vets in our area who are going to work with Chickens, are there any other options? (Or is there a test kit I can get myself online?)

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Ah, unfortunately we don't have any vets in our area who are going to work with Chickens, are there any other options? (Or is there a test kit I can get myself online?)

Are you in the U.S. or ?

I don't know of an online service anymore.

Some folks just deworm once or twice a year or when a bird is seeming to feel poorly.

Molting, an attack, moving to a new home/surrounding, etc. are all fairly high stress events for a chicken.

It may be that she just needs time to settle in, eat well and get through molt = time.

If you feel like she does need deworming and you are in the U.S., use Valbazen to deworm her since she's in possible molt. Dose is 0.08ml per pound of weight given orally once, then repeated in 10days. You can order Valbazen online.

 

[PopoMyers]

Other pertinent information: What are you feeding? Do they free range? Treats?
High stress, molting, can cause a hen to not lay which can last for weeks.
A prophylactic worming with Valbazen will not hurt, and may solve the runny poop problem. I do that to my flock as soon as I see messy vent feathers.
Please keep us posted.

 

[Seaslug]

Is she a Barnie? She is very pretty.
She could have a pale comb from molting. It could be a combination of stress from the move, dog attack, and molting. Plus she may be getting too much attention from the rooster, now that there is only one other hen to distract him.
Has it been hot where you are? She may be drinking more than usual. That can cause loose stool. If my dogs are any indication, stress can cause loose stool as well.
I hope Brownie starts to feel better soon!