Tiny red balls in poop

[feather13]

Hi all,
Recently I've noticed my hens have tiny red balls (like sand grains) in their poop. It happens whether or not I give them scratch (so probably can't be seeds they're passing).

Other symptoms: some have balding heads and necks (although I haven't observed any pecking/aggressive behavior). They are very active, but some seem underweight. I got nine of them from Murray McMurray and the other two (a Buff Orpington and an Australorp) are Marek's survivors and huge. The ones from Murray McMurray are smaller/skinnier (especially the Sex Links... our previous Sex Links were huge).

Any advice or know what could be going on? I'd be happy to post photos if this seems like something uncommon. Thanks in advance!

 

[GermanKennhuhn]

That’s strange, I’ve never heard of anything like that before. Maybe @casportpony or @Eggcessive knows what’s going on.

 

[Mrs J]

Hi all,
Recently I've noticed my hens have tiny red balls (like sand grains) in their poop. It happens whether or not I give them scratch (so probably can't be seeds they're passing).

Other symptoms: some have balding heads and necks (although I haven't observed any pecking/aggressive behavior). They are very active, but some seem underweight. I got nine of them from Murray McMurray and the other two (a Buff Orpington and an Australorp) are Marek's survivors and huge. The ones from Murray McMurray are smaller/skinnier (especially the Sex Links... our previous Sex Links were huge).

Any advice or know what could be going on? I'd be happy to post photos if this seems like something uncommon. Thanks in advance!

Posting pictures of your hens and their poop would be really helpful, I’m tagging in some of our experienced members, hopefully they can advise you, good luck.
@Wyorp Rock @azygous @Eggcessive @LaFleche @aart

 

[Starburst]

It's possible that they might be having parasites, but it could be something else or there could be multiple different causes for their symptoms.
What is in their scratch? Do any of the grains happen to resemble what's in their poop? Aside from their scratch, what else do you feed them, if I may ask? Do they free-range, or do they stay in a run/pen?
A picture might be very helpful in this case, I haven't seen or heard of this before. Do the red specks look like blood, or is it like literal grains of sand?
I'm sorry that I have so many questions, but this will help narrow down what's going on. A picture of their poop and the chickens themselves would be great.
Praying that everything is alright!

 

[feather13]

@Mrs J and @Starburst : Thank you so much! I really appreciate your messages. I'll take photos of the poop and the hens tomorrow morning and post them.

The red dots/grains in the poop don't look like blood or worms (I've treated them for worms and coccidiosis about a year and a half ago and remember what their poop looked like then). I feed them Kruse's Perfection layer crumble from our local feed store, black soldier fly freeze dried larva as a treat, and mashed eggs and shells mixed with quinoa and spinach as a treat one a week. They are free-range most days, have a sand floor coop and run, and we live in southern California, where it's been pretty warm and dry. Thanks again!

 

[Starburst]

@Mrs J and @Starburst : Thank you so much! I really appreciate your messages. I'll take photos of the poop and the hens tomorrow morning and post them.

The red dots/grains in the poop don't look like blood or worms (I've treated them for worms and coccidiosis about a year and a half ago and remember what their poop looked like then). I feed them Kruse's Perfection layer crumble from our local feed store, black soldier fly freeze dried larva as a treat, and mashed eggs and shells mixed with quinoa and spinach as a treat one a week. They are free-range most days, have a sand floor coop and run, and we live in southern California, where it's been pretty warm and dry. Thanks again!

Thank you so much! That helps a lot! When you mention that the coop has sand, do you think that any of it could be what's in their poop?

 

[MadGardener]

Is the quinoa red?

 

[Starburst]

Is the quinoa red?

That's a really good question!
I think that it could make sense, as the quinoa would probably be about the right size and texture.

 

[Starburst]

That's a really good question!
I think that it could make sense, as the quinoa would probably be about the right size and texture.

As an additional question, do you cook the quinoa or give it to your chickens raw, @feather13?

 

[MadGardener]

That's a really good question!
I think that it could make sense, as the quinoa would probably be about the right size and texture.

It's technically a seed and not a grain so it's possible part passes undigested.