The Poop

[danamillette]

Morning! This sounds strange, but I am new to being a chicken mommy! I love it and am probably over analyzing things

My question is, what is the poop supposed to be like? This stems from my worries that they are eating/drinking enough. I suppose if there is poo, that they are getting enough to eat, but when I first got them, it seemed a bit runnier, and now seems dry. I have a trough feeder hanging in the coop at an acceptable height, but have yet to actually see them eat out of it. I also have the waterer in the coop as well. They were free ranging when I got them and are now in a run. I have tossed cupfuls of feed into the run and they gobble it up. Maybe they think it's a treat? I dont know, but they seem pretty ravenous when I do this. I also havent had any eggs in a few days. Any opinions?

 

[JennsPeeps]

There are a couple different types of chicken poo:

1. normal/typical - it's firm, brown with white urea (bird "pee") on it, and looks like it was excreted through a round nozzle

2. cecal - stinky, stinky, stinky! This is runny and you will know it when you see it. OMG it stinks. It comes from a loop in their intestines. Did I mention it smells bad? It's normal, too. Happens roughly every 5-6 poops.

3. bright green - indicates bird is not eating enough and dropping is green due to bile not being sufficiently diluted by excrement

4. diarhea - different from cecal because of frequency

5. bloody - indicates serious problem, potentially cocci

6. watery - indication of too many treats with high moisture content. My girls get this when they eat too many grapes.

 

[JennsPeeps]

OMG... who knew I'd learn so much about chicken poo in a mere 5 months...?

 

[cthrash1]

JennsPeeps: Glad you responded to this question...I was wondering too. Explains a few things, thought mine were wormy or something. Paranoid I guess.

 

[lockedhearts]

Quote:
Glad to know there is a resident "Poopspert"

 

[JennsPeeps]

I didn't add wormy to the list because I forgot about it. I haven't seen it, but have heard that wormy poop is pretty obvious due to the presence of, well, worms.

 

[debilorrah]

JennsPeeps, I think you answered about 2,547 peoples questions and worries about their chicken poo.

 

[Picky Chicky]

Whoa. That was some interesting scoop on the poop!

I've never seen the show, but I've heard that there is a "Poop Expert" on one of the afternoon talk shows that comes on every so often talking about how your poop should look like... yikes!

I think the chicken poop expert is much more interesting.

 

[moenmitz]

Wow that was helpful. I have 150 chickens running around, and I see every imaginable kind of poo! I was worried that soemthing might not be right with some of them, because of the vast differences I saw...but now, thanks to your fantastic explanations, I know that different poo is most likely just....different poo! Really, thank you for putting my mind at ease!

 

[Opa]

Quote:
No one can ever say that you don't know s---t. Great post I'm sure a lot of readers appreciated it.