pasty yellow color poop

[ferocious]

Hi - My 5 year old chicken - Americauna first had diarriah and then got sick, it seemed from dehydration while laying an egg. Every other time she layed it seems she was waiting until around 3 Pm to lay and it was taking a very long time - time - like hours. She already had diarriah and she seemed to get dehydrated after she finally layed the egg. It's been really hot here lately in Northern Cal. and the afternoon from 3 to around 7 is the hottest time.

I keep the coop and nesting boxes very clean and I put a lot of fresh water around the property where they free range. I feed them a high quality layer pack along with table scraps and small amounts of meal worms in addition to their foraged food. All their eggs have always been great with deep orange - yellow yolks and good solid shells.

It took me a long time to get her to take any water and ahe was sick for days with whitish yellowish poop - not golden or brownish - kind of chalky looking. Her color, her comb, feet, feathers, beak all seem fine now - has not lost weight and she is back to being energetic and running around with the other girls, but her poop is still weird. The other girls seem fine... Has not laid any eggs for about 5 - 6 days.

I'm thinking I need to de worm all the chickens? Could she have some horrible diseaese? I'm fairly new at this and have not yet faced any illness.

Any advice would be great!

Thanks!
Kathleen

 

[GitaBooks]

Sorry that I couldn't reply sooner.


She sounds like she is pretty old for a layer, which may be what causes some of the problems. Older chickens can suffer egg binding, water belly (kidney failure), and other age related diseases.
It sounds like they are given excellent care.
I doubt it is a bad disease, because of her age, it is probably something more related to her physically. Deworming and checking for parasites is wise, as it will make sure there are no stressors that are lowering her immune system.
I'm not sure about her droppings.
Keep her hydrated, calm, and check out her belly for signs of Water Belly.

I hope she gets better soon!

 

[ferocious]

Thanks so much for your reply - but what is water belly? Never heard if that...

 

[GitaBooks]

Here's a good link on Water Belly, also called Ascites:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/68731/laying-hens-with-water-belly-or-ascites