Pullet with yellowish urates on droppings

[welovechickens]

My SLW had some droppings with yellow urates instead of white, Saturday evening/Sunday morning/afternoon. I noticed the last couple of days, she would sit down if she stood in one spot for very long. She seemed to be just a tiny bit quieter than usual, though she is eating and drinking as usual.

Saturday she didn't lay, which is unusual. She laid a perfect egg on Sunday, but I wondered if she could have had an egg rupture inside her on Saturday? She laid a soft-shell egg one time in the past, but that was a couple months ago. The droppings ranged from very formed (like from night-time when they weren't drinking) to much softer, but still a normal consistency.

Should I be worrying about this yet? I will be anxious to get out there tomorrow morning and see what the droppings look like. Like I said, she is still eating and drinking normally. (She is a food PIG!) I felt around on her abdomen, but couldn't feel anything hard in there. Of course she doesn't really like being handled, so she kept struggling a bit with me while I was trying to feel around. Her vent looks normal, no redness or anything.

I assume I should wait and see how things look tomorrow......

In the meantime, is there anything specific I should be watching for in regards to her behavior or physical appearance?

 

[loralei]

Just look for anything out of the ordinary but of course you're already doing that.

Have you checked the infamous poo page? It's possible what you discribe is perhaps a normal poo.

http://www.chat.allotment.org.uk/index.php?topic=17568.0

Sorry I don't have more to offer! I hope everything turns out well for you and your girlie!

Godspeed,
Laura

 

[welovechickens]

Thank you for the link - nothing like this shows up on there as normal/abnormal. I did a board search for yellow urates last night, and found several possibilities, ranging from a broken egg inside, all the way to worms or liver disease! Yuck.

I guess I'm wondering what to look for, in each of those possibilities, and also hoping it isn't something that would affect my other 2 pullets.

Thanks again.

 

[welovechickens]

I forgot to add that when I went out to scoop their house today, I found a bunch more droppings of varying consistencies with yellow urates.

She is still eating normally as far as I can tell. I'm doing searches for liver disease in chickens and I can't find much. I need something that explains all the details in layman's terms LOL!

 

[loralei]

Maybe try posting a photo of the poo and editting/updating your heading? Hopefully someone with more experience will jump in.

Did she lay today? Any change in her behavior?

I found this on another site:

"Urates should be bright white and will be thick when wet. When the urates are any color other than clean white, there may be a problem. The urates do often pick up colors from the fecal, but there is a noticeable difference between this and a colored urate. The lack of urate may indicate kidney malfunctions."

Since it says "there may be a problem" if other than white I wouldn't worry too much. Just keep an eye on her and if it continues you could take a sample to the vet for analysis.

 

[loralei]

I'm curious what this could be. Anybody?

 

[welovechickens]

I'll take a picture tomorrow if there is anymore, and post it. Good idea!

No, she didn't lay today. She didn't sit down at odd times today, so I guess that's good. She was as active as usual, and ate normally.

She seems rather large/fat......I have never had a full-grown SLW before, so I'm not familiar with their body type. Do they tend to be a heavier chicken? She's the top of the pecking order, and has this habit of following my Ameraucana around and eating whatever Biddy (ameraucana) eats.....I think this has contributed to her seemingly excessive weight.

 

[welovechickens]

Loralei, could you please post the link you found that info on? I've been searching but haven't come up with much of anything helpful. Thank you!

 

[sammi]

I'd go with respiratory illness..keep watch for symptoms.(sneezing, mucus from eyes or nostrils, wheezing, ..)

could be a bacterial infection..I might want to have some Pen-G on hand..
but Tylan 50 for respiratory symptoms.


what color yellow is it? pale or mustard?
describe the consistency of the droppings..foamy? mucusy? runny?

has she ever been wormed?

what all do you feed?

could you take a fecal sample to a vet for testing?

 

[welovechickens]

I think she's sneezed a couple times, but there isn't anything coming from her nose or mouth. The allergens are very bad here, and *I* have been sneezing like crazy lately. LOL

The color ranges from "off-white" to very pale mustard.

**UPDATE**
Today I scooped their pen, and only found a few droppings with yellowish urates. The "yellow" was mainly the off-white side of the scale instead of pale mustard.

I didn't take any pictures because I didn't find any droppings with a very noticeable yellow.
The consistency ranges from very formed (night-time, I guess, when they aren't drinking) to less-formed, but definitely not diarrhea.

And the droppings themselves are normal-colored brownish type. It's just the urates ON the droppings that were yellowish.

Thanks for the ideas! I will continue to watch her behavior to be sure I'm not missing anything.