Strange defecation after therapeutic Epsom salt bath

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MatthewMChickens

Chirping
Apr 4, 2021
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Hi there,

One of my hens, who is <1 year old has been acting quite lethargic and has been looking a bit messy in the vent area.
Her feathers seemed out of place around that area. Nothing looked or felt unusual, there was nothing that felt really hard.

I put her in a nice warm Epsom salt bath as an immediate measure. After the bath she left and moved around and defecated a large, watery poo.
It appeared she had a 'worm' in her poo, but it looked like a garden worm that she may've eaten. It didn't look like a parasitic worm.
She was dried and is now back perching. Her head is rescinded into her feathers, and still looks quite sleepy.

Photo of poo:
(imgur.com) /a/V4UQWTk

I am now wondering if there is anything else I should be doing. Will this issue resolve or do I need to treat her further? Any advice appreciated.

Great thanks,
Matthew M
 
Last edited:
Wyorp Rock said:
I thought you might be in AU since you mentioned Levamisole, it's a good dewormer, but the only issue is getting the birds to drink. You may be able to sweeten it a bit with poultry electrolytes, but in hot weather it's not good for them to refuse to drink.

If possible, get a fecal float to see if she needs to be dewormed and if Coccidia are a problem.
Work on hydrating her since she's lethargic. The distended abdomen, she may be having some reproductive issues, so an antibiotic may be needed to help with infection.

Is vet care an option?
Click to expand...
azygous said:
Others have mentioned worms. I suspect worms also. The intestinal shed and accompanying poop may indicate a heavy worm load that is inflaming the intestinal lining. There may be bacterial infection, too, which can occur when parasites are numerous enough to disturb the lining. Worming and an oral anitbiotic is what I recommend.
Click to expand...
Thank you.

I will deworm her today by mouth directly. I might also do all the others.
Vet care is an option, the earliest appt is in 4 days, so if it doesn't resolve by then I will bring her in (and there are many emergency specialist hospitals, so if anything goes bad really quickly I can take her in at any time.)

Thanks for your help if you have any other suggestions or anything else I can do please let me know!
 
Others have mentioned worms. I suspect worms also. The intestinal shed and accompanying poop may indicate a heavy worm load that is inflaming the intestinal lining. There may be bacterial infection, too, which can occur when parasites are numerous enough to disturb the lining. Worming and an oral anitbiotic is what I recommend.
 
I thought you might be in AU since you mentioned Levamisole, it's a good dewormer, but the only issue is getting the birds to drink. You may be able to sweeten it a bit with poultry electrolytes, but in hot weather it's not good for them to refuse to drink.

If possible, get a fecal float to see if she needs to be dewormed and if Coccidia are a problem.
Work on hydrating her since she's lethargic. The distended abdomen, she may be having some reproductive issues, so an antibiotic may be needed to help with infection.

Is vet care an option?
 
MatthewMChickens said:
Hi there,

One of my hens, who is <1 year old has been acting quite lethargic and has been looking a bit messy in the vent area.
Her feathers seemed out of place around that area. Nothing looked or felt unusual, there was nothing that felt really hard.

I put her in a nice warm Epsom salt bath as an immediate measure. After the bath she left and moved around and defecated a large, watery poo.
It appeared she had a 'worm' in her poo, but it looked like a garden worm that she may've eaten. It didn't look like a parasitic worm.
She was dried and is now back perching. Her head is rescinded into her feathers, and still looks quite sleepy.

Photo of poo:
(imgur.com) /a/V4UQWTk

I am now wondering if there is anything else I should be doing. Will this issue resolve or do I need to treat her further? Any advice appreciated.

Great thanks,
Matthew M
Click to expand...
Can you retry the link, but without a spoiler?
 

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