Undigested Feed in Droppings

[Lavender and CJ]

I have a 9 month old Black Australorp hen who has undigested feed in her poop. It is not her regular poop, it’s similar to mushy feed. This has been going on for a couple of weeks, but I noticed other changes and got concerned. Her comb has gotten pale at the top and she’s been less active. She has been in a box in the garage for around 2 weeks due to pecking issues. The temperatures where we live are in the 30s (but warmer in the garage, maybe in the 50s) and it’s been this cold for a while. She is still eating and drinking normally, and offered grit and oyster shells. I haven’t been able to get any pictures of her poop yet, but I will try to get some tomorrow. She is still laying with no issues. Does anyone have any idea what is going on?

 

[MysteryChicken]

I have a 9 month old Black Australorp hen who has undigested feed in her poop. It is not her regular poop, it’s similar to mushy feed. This has been going on for a couple of weeks, but I noticed other changes and got concerned. Her comb has gotten pale at the top and she’s been less active. She has been in a box in the garage for around 2 weeks due to pecking issues. The temperatures where we live are in the 30s (but warmer in the garage, maybe in the 50s) and it’s been this cold for a while. She is still eating and drinking normally, and offered grit and oyster shells. I haven’t been able to get any pictures of her poop yet, but I will try to get some tomorrow. She is still laying with no issues. Does anyone have any idea what is going on?View attachment 4056907

I would say a Gut Bacteria Imbalance, that does cause digestive, & immunity problems when there's not enough good bacteria in the gut.

 

[Lavender and CJ]

Okay, thanks! Is there anything I can do to fix that?

 

[LaFleche]

Do you supplement her with vitamin D?

When did you last deworm?

 

[Perris]

Does anyone have any idea what is going on?

Her comb has gotten pale at the top and she’s been less active

suggests she is not well

She has been in a box in the garage for around 2 weeks

that is a confounding factor

due to pecking issues

Because she was being pecked, or she was pecking others? If the former, the others may have sensed that she is not only ill but is a health risk to them, because they think it may be infectious, and they were trying to drive her away. Moving her to the garage was beneficial for them as well as her in that case. In my experience the rest of the flock do not turn on a bird that is ill with an idiopathic (non-communicable) issue

She is still eating and drinking normally

That's a good sign, Most illness are not fatal.

She is still laying with no issues

ditto.

Undigested food means there's something not working properly in the gastrointestinal tract, notably the gizzard. Maybe change the grit, in case she's not been eating it for some reason?
Can you let her range in your yard to get some daylight, fresh air, and access to soil and grass at least for a little while every day?
Finally, can you give her access to a little dried coop litter from birds that do not have any digestive issues? It might sound yuk but birds self-medicate with fecal transplants when they need to, and people do it too now though in a more discreet/hidden way.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

@Perris, do you think yogurt or buttermilk might help?

 

[Perris]

@Perris, do you think yogurt or buttermilk might help?

it might, but live culture varieties are needed to have any effect on the gut microbiota.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

it might, but live culture varieties are needed to have any effect on the gut microbiota.

Yes, thst's what I had in mind.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Okay, thanks! Is there anything I can do to fix that?

 

[Lavender and CJ]

We have never dewormed our chickens. We removed her from the flock in hopes that she we forget the behavior because she pecking at the other chickens. Each night when the other chickens go up to roost, we take her out to the run for 30-60 minutes and the other chickens stay in the hen house. It is dark when she goes out there, so maybe it is a lack of vitamin D. I’ve seen her eating the grit, so I’m not sure it is that she doesn’t like it. Her comb looks much better today though. If we deworm her, do we put her out with the flock and deworm them all, or just deworm her in the box and then put her back in the flock?