Hi everyone,
I have 6, 6-month-old hens (some type of red/gold sex-link hybrid from TSC, possibly Golden Comets), who are generally healthy, happy, sweet girls.
This morning when cleaning out under the roosts I found a poop of otherwise normal color and consistency (firm, greyish with white urea salts on top) that had a large clump of tiny pink dots, mostly in with the urea salt part but a few mixed in to the grey part too. The dots were maybe a millimeter or two max in diameter. I checked other poops in the house and did not find anything similar, though one poop had what looked like a very, very thin clear/white filament in it (kind of looked like a toothbrush bristle). I had noticed a few similar filament-y type things in a poop one of them made while ranging outside the other day.
General info about the girls:
1) Kept in 8' X 4' coop on shavings, which are picked out at least 2x/day, shavings were just completely changed 3 weeks ago; supervised ranging outdoors up to 2 hours a day. Coop is inside a box stall in a barn with the stall door open all day for fresh air; rest of barn is well-ventilated. We are almost done constructing a connected outdoor portion that will be 7' X 3' -- various human health issues slowed this project down, unfortunately. Girls otherwise seem to be doing well in relative confinement but sure love their outside time.
2) Fed DuMor layer pellets from TSC; they have been on the DuMor feed as age-appropriate since we got them and seem to be doing well with it: lots of energy, good weight, matured for laying at the right time, shiny feathers and bright eyes, plus generally cute.
Outside they eat earthworms, bugs, random grasses and weeds, etc. On days when I have to be away for long periods they have a Farmer's Helper forage block to keep them entertained in addition to their feed. Occasional scratch as a treat, yogurt, kale, oatmeal etc., again just as occasional treats. Oyster shell is mixed in with their feed; I had also mixed in grit with the feed but they wouldn't eat it and it would just accumulate in the feeder. I've been debating about putting out shell and grit free-choice but am worried that in close quarters with lots of playing it will just get kicked over/pooped in within 5 min..
3) 1-gallon waterer in their coop, water changed daily and waterer completely scrubbed weekly or as necessary if anything like shavings or poop gets kicked into it.
4) Poops run the gamut of "normal" from the famous Poop Page, though one girl (can't tell who since she doesn't seem to do it outside when I'm watching) has been making a very watery poo this past week, I'd say 1x - 2x a day; the watery poop is otherwise the same colors (grey and white) as a normal solid poop.
5) The birds have never been wormed (they are our first flock ever) but I am thinking now that fall is here that I might do the Wazine treatment regimen that Threehorses has posted so helpfully about.
6) Otherwise we treat the birds with poultry dust once every few weeks. Now that fall is here and various critters are looking for nice warm, cozy hosts for the winter I will treat the house again plus start adding food-grade DE to the bedding.
7) Laying is consistent -- one egg per bird each day, eggs are well-formed, etc., plus quite tasty.
I've been trying to Google what various species of worm eggs look like when excreted with poop but just keep getting the up-close, under-the-microscope images, which aren't very helpful. In looking at photos of adult worms, I haven't seen anything that matches what I saw.
Unfortunately I didn't have my phone with me to take a photo this morning but if I see the same thing again I will post a pic (lovely!).
I live in Westchester County, NY; if anyone has any tips for where to send in a fecal sample for a float I'd much appreciate it. There is an avian vet in the area but in my previous dealings with her for a parakeet, her approach was much more scorched-earth (and harder on a small, delicate animal) than to me seems necessary, though I'm just a lawyer so what do I know.
Thoughts or tips on where to look for further info are much appreciated! Thanks in advance and thanks to everyone who has posted such helpful info on de-worming thus far.
Noble Rooster
I have 6, 6-month-old hens (some type of red/gold sex-link hybrid from TSC, possibly Golden Comets), who are generally healthy, happy, sweet girls.
This morning when cleaning out under the roosts I found a poop of otherwise normal color and consistency (firm, greyish with white urea salts on top) that had a large clump of tiny pink dots, mostly in with the urea salt part but a few mixed in to the grey part too. The dots were maybe a millimeter or two max in diameter. I checked other poops in the house and did not find anything similar, though one poop had what looked like a very, very thin clear/white filament in it (kind of looked like a toothbrush bristle). I had noticed a few similar filament-y type things in a poop one of them made while ranging outside the other day.
General info about the girls:
1) Kept in 8' X 4' coop on shavings, which are picked out at least 2x/day, shavings were just completely changed 3 weeks ago; supervised ranging outdoors up to 2 hours a day. Coop is inside a box stall in a barn with the stall door open all day for fresh air; rest of barn is well-ventilated. We are almost done constructing a connected outdoor portion that will be 7' X 3' -- various human health issues slowed this project down, unfortunately. Girls otherwise seem to be doing well in relative confinement but sure love their outside time.
2) Fed DuMor layer pellets from TSC; they have been on the DuMor feed as age-appropriate since we got them and seem to be doing well with it: lots of energy, good weight, matured for laying at the right time, shiny feathers and bright eyes, plus generally cute.
3) 1-gallon waterer in their coop, water changed daily and waterer completely scrubbed weekly or as necessary if anything like shavings or poop gets kicked into it.
4) Poops run the gamut of "normal" from the famous Poop Page, though one girl (can't tell who since she doesn't seem to do it outside when I'm watching) has been making a very watery poo this past week, I'd say 1x - 2x a day; the watery poop is otherwise the same colors (grey and white) as a normal solid poop.
5) The birds have never been wormed (they are our first flock ever) but I am thinking now that fall is here that I might do the Wazine treatment regimen that Threehorses has posted so helpfully about.
6) Otherwise we treat the birds with poultry dust once every few weeks. Now that fall is here and various critters are looking for nice warm, cozy hosts for the winter I will treat the house again plus start adding food-grade DE to the bedding.
7) Laying is consistent -- one egg per bird each day, eggs are well-formed, etc., plus quite tasty.
I've been trying to Google what various species of worm eggs look like when excreted with poop but just keep getting the up-close, under-the-microscope images, which aren't very helpful. In looking at photos of adult worms, I haven't seen anything that matches what I saw.
Unfortunately I didn't have my phone with me to take a photo this morning but if I see the same thing again I will post a pic (lovely!).
I live in Westchester County, NY; if anyone has any tips for where to send in a fecal sample for a float I'd much appreciate it. There is an avian vet in the area but in my previous dealings with her for a parakeet, her approach was much more scorched-earth (and harder on a small, delicate animal) than to me seems necessary, though I'm just a lawyer so what do I know.
Thoughts or tips on where to look for further info are much appreciated! Thanks in advance and thanks to everyone who has posted such helpful info on de-worming thus far.
Noble Rooster
