Orpington chicken always has 'runny poo'

[Pommie Chick]

Hi all

My youngest Orpington chicken is 19 weeks old and constantly seems to have 'runny watery poo' I have checked the poo chart and all the poo's fall into the normal categories.

Other than that she's totally healthy, lively, eats really well and has a clean vent (other than few mucky feathers from the poo!) No signs of any worms in her poo and both my other girls are completely normal in that area.

Any ideas, or could that just be the way she is?

Thanks!

 

[chooks4life]

If it is 'just the way she is', then the way she is, is damaged. By parasites, disease, or something else. Long term diarrhea or loose stools leads to future troubles, it is not a condition that allows health to coexist; it's a symptom of sub par health in the first place.

Even if you don't see parasites doesn't mean she doesn't have them. Some are not obvious. But I think it's more likely that she has a disease, or is a problem eater (i.e. consistently eats something bad for her despite negative results which would stop a smarter chicken) or perhaps has a sensitivity to something in the food the others cope with fine.

It could be a leftover result of her having eaten something damaging as a chick, i.e. something that caused intestinal scarring. She could be tasting all the toadstools or unfamiliar things she can find, or eating some insect that is toxic to some extent, or something like that.

Slippery Elm Bark Powder, just a pinch in her food per day, will heal her gut if that's the issue. She may have a food intolerance, or maybe is under the weather despite looking normal, and might need worming to be sure, or treating for coccidiosis. I would offer them freshly minced raw garlic in yoghurt or something like that, and put apple cider vinegar in their water. You can use Diatomaceous Earth to worm them constantly without it harming them and if enough is in their environment it will also take care of parasite eggs and lice/mites in the environment. If she was ever treated with antibiotics she may need a recovery plan to restore her gut flora+fauna to functional levels. Yoghurt and garlic will help with that too; yoghurt provides probiotics and garlic prebiotics.

Best wishes.

 

[Pommie Chick]

Ok thank you.

She has been on antibiotics before in January. So maybe that's the cause. I have been given them all some pro biotic yoghurt, and they do have ACV in their water.

I'll up the amount of yoghurt and add some minced raw garlic to it. I've got some Worm Enda Plus, so I'll give her a dose of that directly into her beak.

I'll also get in some DE and Slippery Elm Bark Powder too and see how she goes.

Cheers

 

[dawg53]

Ok thank you.

She has been on antibiotics before in January. So maybe that's the cause. I have been given them all some pro biotic yoghurt, and they do have ACV in their water.

I'll up the amount of yoghurt and add some minced raw garlic to it. I've got some Worm Enda Plus, so I'll give her a dose of that directly into her beak.

I'll also get in some DE and Slippery Elm Bark Powder too and see how she goes.

Cheers

If in fact it's worms, Worm Enda Plus is all you need to take care of worms. You can take a fresh fecal sample to a vet and have them take a look under a microscope to see if there are worm or cocci oocysts that show up on the slide. It could possibly be a nutritional issue as well causing the diarrhea. DE is ineffective when wet, as are chickens innards.

 

[LOVEIGEE]

If in fact it's worms, Worm Enda Plus is all you need to take care of worms. You can take a fresh fecal sample to a vet and have them take a look under a microscope to see if there are worm or cocci oocysts that show up on the slide. It could possibly be a nutritional issue as well causing the diarrhea. DE is ineffective when wet, as are chickens innards.

Ah ha! New worm medicine Dawg? Where do you get it? Do you like it the best now?
Thanks!

 

[dawg53]

It's actually levamisol. I've never used it and dont know where to purchase it. I'm sticking with valbazen and safeguard.

 

[babsterh]

Dawg,
How do you dose valbazen? Thank you!

 

[Eggcessive]

Levimisole has an interesting history. It used to be used in the US for cancer treatment, and has been used for years in the illegal drug market to cut or mix with cocaine, but now is only legal for use as a cattle wormer. It is not as safe as newer wormers. As Dawg53 said, it would be much safer and easier just to use SafeGuard or Valbazen. Here are some links about it:
http://www.jefferspet.com/prohibit-powder/camid/LIV/cp/16398/cn/3300/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levamisole

 

[dawg53]

Dawg,
How do you dose valbazen? Thank you!

Orally undiluted using a syringe without a needle, 1/2cc to each bird. I forgot to add that I redose again 10 days later.
If I'm dealing with tapeworms, I double the dosage and a few other things.

 

[TheChickInn]

I agree with the above posters- treat for worms first. A few years ago, I had a group of 1 year olds that had yellow/runny poo. It did not get better after deworming them so I ended up taking a sample in to my vet. It turned out that they had a rare form of Cocci. 5 days of treatment, and they never had a problem again.