Runny baby chicken poo

[happima]

Just got four baby chickens from Mill Valley Chickens (www.millvalleychickens.com) and couldn't be happier: Astralorp, Wellsummer, Naked Neck and Ameraucana. The Ameraucana is a couple weeks old and the others are one week old. I highly recommend Mill Valley Chickens if anyone is looking for chicks in the SF Bay Area.

I noticed yesterday that the Wellsummer had runny poops. Not at all a bad color, but just runny. Then today they were solid, but tonight back to runny. I'm keeping the chickens on newspaper so I can see what's up with their droppings.

Should I be concerned? There is no pasty butt at this time and no blood in the stool. Overall energy seems to be pretty good and she's eating.

Is there anything I can feed her to help? Right now I'm just feeding medicated chicken starter.

I'm really enjoying my chickens and they seem really healthy. Just want to be proactive in case this is/could be a problem.

Thanks!
-Jen

 

[Kaeta44]

If everything else about her is normal, I wouldn't worry too much. If she has access to greens (e.g. grass/dandelion leaves), then that may be the cause of the runny poo. Only start worrying if she goes off her food and her behaviour changes.

http://muckycluckers.blogspot.com/

 

[happima]

Thanks Kaeta44. Noticed some more this morning, but not sure who it's from. Chicks are all eating and have good energy, so I'll just continue to monitor but won't worry too much.

Am wondering, is there anything I can feed them that might help with this? Yogurt or bananas or rice...like I fed my kids when they were babies?

Any advice appreciated. Want to make sure my chicks stay well.

 

[chicmom]

There is a kind of poo called cecal droppings. It's kind of a rich brown color, and it's runny and a bit stinky. I noticed my hicks will have this kind of poo when they get worked up and excited. It's a normal poo, and it's nothing to worry about.

 

[happima]

Thanks chickmom! Just did a google search on cecal droppings and found this webpage with pictures of all different chicken poops. Very educational.

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

The cecal droppings look pretty much like what I'm seeing. I'm learning!