Poopy eggs

[chickenlady12]

Hi Everyone. I have one Leghorn and one Speckled Sussex. They had been laying eggs with poopy stripe marks on them. I installed a perch bar in their coop and their poop is now contained to an area separate from the laying area. The Leghorn's eggs are mostly clean. Last month, I built them a portable grazer so they could graze safely outside their run, which is all dirt now. Each day I carry them out to the grazer and leave them out to scratch around a different area of the yard. I noticed the Speckled Sussex smelled pretty bad, and one day I was carrying her and noticed a ball of hard poop on her butt almost the size of a baseball! I removed it with scissors, but there was still a bit left, so I gave her a warm bath the next day, and the Leghorn too, while I was at it. This has not improved the quality of the Speckled Sussex's eggshells. Most have a piece of poop glued to them the size of a piece of chewing gum, others have less, but all need to be washed. She lays in a clean area. Any idea what's going on? My son suggested it might have something to do with the breed -- we had another Speckled Sussex we named "Poopy Butt," who, sadly, died before she reached maturity. Any ideas will be appreciated! Thank you!

 

[Kelsie2290]

Some hens do have a lot more fluff back there and are just not as clean, others do not seem to be able to position themselves to poop so that it clears their feathers... usually is easiest just to be sure you keep them trimmed up so the poo has nothing to stick to. You might also consider worming them if you haven't, and diet is another thing to look into, some foods they maybe better than others.