Runny Droppings from EE?

[diamondsilkies]

I have an EE hen who is about 11 months old. The other day I noticed that her poop looks extremely runny. I've kept a close eye on her, and she looks healthy otherwise, but all of her poop that I've seen since is still super runny. Then when I went out there this morning, I saw her drinking from their waterer. A minute later, she walked away, but when she put her head back down, it almost looked like she threw up? It was all just clear liquid that just sort of poured out of her mouth. Is it possible she's drinking too much water? I see her eating, and she doesn't seem to have any problems with that.

She's laid two eggs, a couple months ago, but then stopped. I figured it was the short days and cold weather, and my welsummer that we got at the same time hadn't even started laying yet. However, the welsummer started laying last week, and has already laid five eggs. My other girls that stopped for winter have all pretty much picked up again. But my EE still hasn't. I wasn't really worried until I saw her droppings/throw up, and now I'm concerned there might be something besides her being a slow layer.

Everyone else in the flock looks okay. I haven't isolated her yet, since she's not being picked on, and I figure that whatever she has, they've all already been exposed to. If I should quarantine her, please let me know and I can try to figure something out. I already have one bird in quarantine because I just got her. My plan was to start to integrate her with the flock on Tuesday, but maybe I should wait?

So, overall, my questions are:
-What could be wrong with me EE?
-How can I help her?
-Should I quarantine her?
-Should I put a hold on integrating my new bird, even if my EE has already been quarantined?

I will post pictures soon.

 

[diamondsilkies]

Okay, here's a photo of her poop from the other day. It's hard to tell in the photo, but it's quite a lot. This spot is probably at least four inches long.

 

[diamondsilkies]

No improvements, but she hasn't gotten worse, either. Still looking for some advice here.

 

[chickengoggles]

I am a complete chicken newb, but my girls will have a runny poop from time to time (especially my EE - who looks a lot like yours!) and as long as they seem healthy otherwise, I just watch, and it goes away. I have seen her forego perfectly clean chicken water to drink from nasty puddles in a horse paddock, so I thought the two might be related. My EE had a fecal done a couple of weeks ago after a crop issue, and her count was zero (had dewormed with ivermectin 6 weeks prior). Hope it's nothing serious with your pretty girl!

 

[chickengoggles]

No improvements, but she hasn't gotten worse, either. Still looking for some advice here.

How is your hen?

 

[diamondsilkies]

How is your hen?

Thank you for your responses. Her poop still seems runny, and she still looks healthy otherwise. I'm thinking she might just be drinking too much water. I don't know why, or how to make her stop, but whenever I go out there, her beard is just soaked and stuck to her face. I'm just keeping an eye on her for other symptoms.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would check her crop to make sure that she is eating and to check that it is emptying overnight. Before she has anything to eat in the morning (you may need to remove the feed the night before,) feel of her crop to see if it is flat and empty, full and hard, doughy, or soft and puffy. A full crop or a puffy crop is abnormal in the morning, and if she is suffering from sour crop she might have a sour odor from her beak. A slow crop may be puffy without the odor. Accidentally squeezing her crop when picking her up or holding her forward and head down might cause her to vomit up crop contents.

You could get some fresh droppings checked out by a vet for possible coccidiosis and worms. There is an online service that does a fecal test for animals as well. I might try offering her a tablespoonful of cottage cheese once a day to see if it firms up her droppings. @dawg53 sometimes recommends cooked rice with a little buttermilk for probiotics, and that might work to firm up as well. Never give uncooked rice though.

 

[chickengoggles]

I would check her crop to make sure that she is eating and to check that it is emptying overnight. Before she has anything to eat in the morning (you may need to remove the feed the night before,) feel of her crop to see if it is flat and empty, full and hard, doughy, or soft and puffy. A full crop or a puffy crop is abnormal in the morning, and if she is suffering from sour crop she might have a sour odor from her beak. A slow crop may be puffy without the odor. Accidentally squeezing her crop when picking her up or holding her forward and head down might cause her to vomit up crop contents.

You could get some fresh droppings checked out by a vet for possible coccidiosis and worms. There is an online service that does a fecal test for animals as well. I might try offering her a tablespoonful of cottage cheese once a day to see if it firms up her droppings. @dawg53 sometimes recommends cooked rice with a little buttermilk for probiotics, and that might work to firm up as well. Never give uncooked rice though.

Eggcessive, would you be concerned if it just lasted a couple of days and then resolved, with no other symptoms? Or am I being too lackadaisical in thinking it's okay if it resolves?

It happened to my EE following her nasty water habit, and once to my gold-laced orpington, and also ended after two days. Never saw her drink nasty water, though. She is being mated excessively by our cockerel, so we've got some new hens in quarantine. Thanks!

And I hope your chicken improves, diamondsilkies. Let me know if you get a fecal done and what the result is, please!