The Crimson Poo

[blank28]

Possibly the worst superhero name ever?

The last few days one of my chickens has been exhibiting a red coloured poo - the attached photo shows two of the other poo's and the red poo. I've had a look at a few charts and I can't see this one - my guess is its blood? but its not massively runny or anything. The bird herself is normal - eating, laying and drinking normally. We think she's a bit of an older bird as she's fairly big and has a fair amount of naps in day but she's been like that since we got her.

They are currently on the flubenvent feed as we put them on that feed once every 3 months or so.

Any ideas from you sagely folk would be much appreciated!

Avi

 

[rebrascora]

It's looking more brown than red or "Crimson Poo" in the photo so it's difficult to say. Do they free range? Could she be eating berries that are colouring her poop?

You say that she has been taking naps quite regularly since you got her.... how long has that been.... weeks/months/years?
You also say she is quite large? Is that compared to other chickens of the same breed or is she a larger breed? Or do you mean she is heavy or perhaps she has an abdominal swelling that makes her look larger. Give her a good examination to make sure there is nothing amiss and compare her with your other hens.
Is she still laying eggs?
I would not be giving them flubenvet every 3 months unless you are aware of a major worm burden on your land. Like any medicine they can have a negative impact on the body too. A healthy chicken should be able to tolerate and manage a low level of parasitic burden and your aim should probably be to support the bird's immune system to manage that rather than try to maintain them worm free. I have flubenvet that I bought 3 years ago but I still have not felt it necessary to use it. It is better to have a faecal worm egg count done than be regularly pumping chemicals into your chickens. It can be done through a vets or you can probably more cheaply, send a sample off to a lab and usually get next day results....Westgate Labs (in the UK) are the one I use (they do horses as well) and the service is excellent. You buy a sample kit online and then send the sample off in their prepaid packaging and can get results via text, phone or email I believe. I opt for text results.

Anyway, I hope that has given you some useful info and food for thought.

Regards

Barbara