Newbie looking for help with Green and Yellow Poop.

[Michael Propst]

Thanks to everyone for your advise and recommendations. Miss Sadie was reintegrated with my other 6 hens yesterday and is doing great. Healthy and happy and was so excited to get out of the small isolation coop and be able to run the backyard. Thanks again this is a great community.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

So happy to hear she is doing well!
You have some lovely ladies and a beautiful yard for them to explore

Thank you for the update.

 

[Michael Propst]

I have a new update. Miss Sadie just suddenly passed today. She was fine this morning when I let them out of the coop and then later when I let them out of the run to free range. I went out at lunch to give them some mealworms and found her by herself laying down. I picked her up and she was almost motionless. I rushed her around to the garage where I have my isolation coop to attempt to get her separated and nurse her again. As soon as I got her in the garage she nuzzled into my arms and passed. I have a call into my vet to see if they would do a necropsy. Does anyone have any ideas this was so sudden absolutely no warning signs.

 

[azygous]

Very sad news, especially when we all thought she was getting back to normal, and all the signs pointed to that.

It's possible it was a tumor that caused all her problems, but a necropsy will remove all the guesswork. Please post the results.

 

[Eggcessive]

So sorry for your loss. It would be helpful to contact your state poultry vet to get the necropsy. Please let us know what is found. Sometimes people do their own necropsy at home to open the abdomen, to look at organs, to look for blockages, and to take pictures.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm so sorry to hear about Miss Sadie

 

[Kathy Golla]

Gosh I'm so sorry to hear this. Sounds like Miss Sadie was well taken care of and very loved. We should all be so lucky.

 

[Michael Propst]

I got the necropsy results back from my vet last night. Sadie had a fatty liver which resulted in Hepatic Rupture which caused her to hemorrhage internally. I have done some quick searching in these byc forums and have found several other cases involving Buff Orpingtons. Buffs are a larger breed and Sadie was by far my largest hen but compared to other Buff's I have seen not excessively larger. Does anyone know if Fatty Liver Hemorrhagic Syndrome is common with Buffs just due to the nature of their size?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm glad you were able to get a necropsy and find out more information.
When I think of Fatty Liver Hemorrhagic Syndrome, I tend to think of overweight hens - too many goodies. However, I am not a vet nor geneticist, so can only speculate - it's very possible that genetics and/or "breed" could play a part. Buff Orpingtons are great, but may not be quite as active as some other breeds so they may not "work off" the extra fat/calories. I have one that is on the move all the time, she is fairly small for a BO. The other one was larger and heavier (about the weight I expected) but she was not nearly as active. She succumbed to internal laying earlier this year, when I opened her up, she did have a bit of a fat pad in the abdomen, but none engorging the liver - she had more fat than a very active Barred Rock that was on the same diet - so I really believe that activity level and diet is the major cause, but genetics (breed) can contribute as well.

I try very hard to not be heavy handed with treats (they are beggars you know). I aim for treats to be no more than 5-10% of their daily intake. Mine get a very small amount of scratch/sunflower hearts (slightly more in winter) then they get something like fresh greens, veggies, fruit and the occasional hard boiled egg. Mine are completely confined to run/coop. If you free range, then that's a bit of a different story - foraging on grass/weeds and bugs are better imho, but you would still want to limit scratch and "extras" like bread, pasta, etc. that some people give.

Again, I'm so sorry about Miss Sadie - she was a lovely lady. BO's are such sweet girls and are a pleasure to have in a flock.

 

[Michael Propst]

I'm glad you were able to get a necropsy and find out more information.
When I think of Fatty Liver Hemorrhagic Syndrome, I tend to think of overweight hens - too many goodies. However, I am not a vet nor geneticist, so can only speculate - it's very possible that genetics and/or "breed" could play a part. Buff Orpingtons are great, but may not be quite as active as some other breeds so they may not "work off" the extra fat/calories. I have one that is on the move all the time, she is fairly small for a BO. The other one was larger and heavier (about the weight I expected) but she was not nearly as active. She succumbed to internal laying earlier this year, when I opened her up, she did have a bit of a fat pad in the abdomen, but none engorging the liver - she had more fat than a very active Barred Rock that was on the same diet - so I really believe that activity level and diet is the major cause, but genetics (breed) can contribute as well.

I try very hard to not be heavy handed with treats (they are beggars you know). I aim for treats to be no more than 5-10% of their daily intake. Mine get a very small amount of scratch/sunflower hearts (slightly more in winter) then they get something like fresh greens, veggies, fruit and the occasional hard boiled egg. Mine are completely confined to run/coop. If you free range, then that's a bit of a different story - foraging on grass/weeds and bugs are better imho, but you would still want to limit scratch and "extras" like bread, pasta, etc. that some people give.

Again, I'm so sorry about Miss Sadie - she was a lovely lady. BO's are such sweet girls and are a pleasure to have in a flock.

Thanks so much for all of your knowledge. I am still learning. I am working on typing up an story of my life with my chickens so far and posting it for feedback of what I am doing right, wrong, or in the middle. I am including my setup, routines and feeding. I will tag you once I post it in the next couple days. If you have time to read it I would love your feedback. Thanks again.