Poop and Plants Questions

[AllAboutChicks]

Hi all,

First time poultry owner here. My four chicks are one week old today. I got them Wednesday morning. Luckily, pasty butt hasn't been as bad as I thought it was going to be. Friday I had two that needed to be cleaned. Then Sunday night, one of the ones that had pasty butt on Friday had some poop stuck to her back end (not covering her vent), but that still needed to be cleaned up.

I've been cleaning the water dispenser out every day (I think there was only 1 day I was actually able to skip). I'm somewhat amazed at how they are able to maneuver themselves and poop in the water fount. I think it's time to find a way to hang it from the crate.

Thursday evening, I added koop clean bedding from TSC to the brooder box (30" wire dog crate with corrugated plastic attached to the lower 10 inches to help contain some of the stuff they toss around, it has worked out pretty well). Then after watching another video about waiting a little longer to add bedding so the chicks have a better grasp of what is and isn't food, I decided to add a layer of paper towels on top. Original 'litter' was brown grocery bags laid on top of the plastic dog tray with a layer of paper towels on top. Expensive? Somewhat. But easily see poop and clean up? Yes. That said, at least one of them still has watery poop, perhaps two, I was able to narrow it down to two out of the four have good poops that I think look like they should. I am trying to figure out what the cause may be but I'm at a loss.
I am feeding them Purina Start and Grow Medicated crumbles. I also added Strong Animals Electrolytes and Vitamins additive to their water (used the directions ratio of 1 packet to 1 gallon water). I have other additives that I plan on using Strong Animals Prebiotics & Probiotics and Spring Chicken Immune Glow. Chicks were also vaccinated against Marek's before I got them. I also wash hands before and after handling them. Trying to figure out the cause of the watery poop. Thoughts on the cause?

They are looking a bit bored.. There's a perch and I remove them fully and put into into a plastic tote with Koop Clean at the bottom which they love pecking and scratching it. Which brings me to.. Do you think it is okay to have them fully on the Koop Clean? When is a good time to start adding small piles of clover, grass or other bits of kitchen greens (kale, spinach, lettuce) to the brooder for them to practice foraging around in?

Thanks for reading

 

[rosemarythyme]

That's a lot of additives to their water. Do they have access to plain water too? Electrolytes are not meant for long term use, so since you've had them a week now, I'd discontinue those at least.

When is a good time to start adding small piles of clover, grass or other bits of kitchen greens (kale, spinach, lettuce) to the brooder for them to practice foraging around in?

Have you begun providing grit yet? Once they have some, a tiny amount of greens or grass clumps is fine for them to play around with, though I'd probably give it another week. They don't really need to practice foraging, but they'd probably enjoy having something different to interact with.

 

[AllAboutChicks]

I started on plain water yesterday, room temperature. The electrolyte water I had was all the same gallon pitcher. I stopped completely filling up the water dispenser since I was tossing a lot of it at the end of the night since there was poop in the chick waterer.

Yes, they've had chick grit since day 2 of me having them (Thursday last week).

I'll try tossing a little bunch of clover in later when I'm just hanging out in the room with them so I can supervise.
Thanks for the reply. I just want to avoid boredom but worried about adding greens too soon.

Thanks again for replying

 

[Devorah]

That's a lot of additives to their water. Do they have access to plain water too? Electrolytes are not meant for long term use, so since you've had them a week now, I'd discontinue those at least.


Have you begun providing grit yet? Once they have some, a tiny amount of greens or grass clumps is fine for them to play around with, though I'd probably give it another week. They don't really need to practice foraging, but they'd probably enjoy having something different to interact with.

How long do you give chicks electrolytes? Also, when can you start giving them clumps of earth and grass etc and grit? Mine are just about 7 days old (got them last Friday). Yesterday I gave them a clump of earth with some grass and dandelions. Should I not have done that or should I now give them grit? Should I be giving them regular water? Thank you!

 

[rosemarythyme]

How long do you give chicks electrolytes? Also, when can you start giving them clumps of earth and grass etc and grit? Mine are just about 7 days old (got them last Friday). Yesterday I gave them a clump of earth with some grass and dandelions. Should I not have done that or should I now give them grit? Should I be giving them regular water? Thank you!

I would only do electrolytes the first few days, assuming the chicks are all adjusting well. After that I would just offer plain water unless there's a reason not to.

I do grit immediately. I know there's a lot of opinions on it, but it does no harm to give them grit (as long as they aren't gorging on it, which is a different issue) and it'll help them digest any bedding they might eat, any bugs they might come across, etc. If you have some small rocks in your soil, they likely picked out a few bits while playing with the earth and grass, but if you're not certain if there's appropriate size tiny stones in the dirt, giving them access to a little grit would be a good idea.

 

[Devorah]

I would only do electrolytes the first few days, assuming the chicks are all adjusting well. After that I would just offer plain water unless there's a reason not to.

I do grit immediately. I know there's a lot of opinions on it, but it does no harm to give them grit (as long as they aren't gorging on it, which is a different issue) and it'll help them digest any bedding they might eat, any bugs they might come across, etc. If you have some small rocks in your soil, they likely picked out a few bits while playing with the earth and grass, but if you're not certain if there's appropriate size tiny stones in the dirt, giving them access to a little grit would be a good idea.

Thank you very much! I’ve already put them on regular water. I’ll give them a little bit of grit tomorrow since I have started to give them clumps of earth with all the trimmings!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

One, that's a lot of salt in those suppliments - potentially far more than they need. Be sure to follow package mixing directions to reduce that, a lot! Two, you mentioned medicated feed. In America, that almost always means Amprolium. (as is the case with the Purina Start and Grow). Aprolium is a thiamine antagonist. Offering electrolytes with a bunch of added thiamine (such as your "Strong Animals E&V...") makes your medicated feed either less, or completely, ineffective. Excess salt will drive thirst (in combination with high temps needed post hatch), which will contribute to more watery poops as water consumption increases.

The cause? I haven't a clue.

But you have enough variables in there that diagnosis becomes "challenging".

 

[AllAboutChicks]

One, that's a lot of salt in those suppliments - potentially far more than they need. Be sure to follow package mixing directions to reduce that, a lot! Two, you mentioned medicated feed. In America, that almost always means Amprolium. (as is the case with the Purina Start and Grow). Aprolium is a thiamine antagonist. Offering electrolytes with a bunch of added thiamine (such as your "Strong Animals E&V...") makes your medicated feed either less, or completely, ineffective. Excess salt will drive thirst (in combination with high temps needed post hatch), which will contribute to more watery poops as water consumption increases.

The cause? I haven't a clue.

But you have enough variables in there that diagnosis becomes "challenging".

When chicks were a week old, I started on plain water. The 1 gallon of water I originally used lasted the 6 days I had them. Refilled with plain filtered water. Haven't added any supplements to their water per Rosemarythyme's reply/advice.
Thanks for the info, U_Stormcrow. Good to know about the Purina medicated crumble (that it shouldn't be used with Strong Animals E&V).
Per the hatchery's recommendation, I purchased medicated feed.. but I bought way too much (25 lb bag). Should have bought a smaller bag.
Regarding the watery poo...it was slightly watery cecal poo. I didn't realize how often they poop cecal poo. The books I read said it was going to be stinkier... but jeez. It didn't dawn on me until later to check my beginner and chicken health book again to look up cecal. Yep.. stinky, not formed, chocolate brown (ranging from watery to pasty). Didn't take too much longer for the chicks poops to firm up a bit more. Well, as much as pasty cecal poops can.