Undigested grass/grain in poo's

[believer01]

Found 2 fresh poops in the pen this am - grass and grain are easily identifiable and possibly a tape worm segment. Inside the coop, there were 2 poos which looked like they had been 'extruded' - about 3" long, made of undigested grass.

There is a bowl of grit inside the coop, and one outside; as well as oyster shell, and most days ground up egg shells.

Girls are locked into covered pen for past 2 months due to hawks. So I've started cutting grass/clover into 1 - 1.5" pieces and tossing into pen for the past week.

Two girls have poo on the feathers and there are some loose poos around. So I've been putting a tonic with garlic, nettles and burdock into their water. And powdered probiotic on food. I've been sidelined with a sprained ankle for nearly a month, and had hubby doing chickens for the first 3 so no idea how long this has been going on.

 

[dawg53]

Quote:
I've seen occasional undigested grass and grains in poop before. I recommmend that you or DH take a couple of poop samples to a vet for analysis and they can tell you what you're dealing with. Shouldnt cost much at all. It sounds like you're feeding them well and providing everything they need. If it's determined they have tapeworms, I suggest you buy Valbazen to get rid of them.

 

[believer01]

Thanks much! I've asked and there are no vets round here that'll do poultry anything.....guess they don't think chickens aren't people too.

Hoping to hear from others!!! Seems that worms wouldn't affect the hens ability to digest the grass, though.....so I'mt hinking there must be more to this than tape worms.

 

[Lollipop]

Grass clippings can sometimes lead to a compacted crop. Seems that they need to pull the grass themselves in order to digest properly. Now I know that many people feed grass clippings with no ill effectes, but that is not always the case. I personally don`t take the chance. Don`t need any problems I can avoid.

As for the worms, any vet should be able to identify the worms with a fresh sample. Then come back here, if the vet can`t reccommend a cure.........Pop

 

[purpletree23]

What Lollipop said X2.

 

[believer01]

Thanks for the come back - but guys, my vets already refused to do anything with chickens.

I'm not concerned about the worms - at least I know what to do to combat them. I need to know how to help my girls digest the grass/clover that they need to stay healthy and lay good eggs! If they have free access to grit, then why are some of them having trouble digesting a natural substance?

 

[dawg53]

Quote:
If worms are taking up space in the intestines/digestive tract, and they multiply by the hundreds like they do, especially large roundworms and tapeworms, not only will worms be shed, so will grass and other substances because they cant be digested/absorbed. Get rid of the worms and normal digestion and absorption will occur.

 

[Lollipop]

Quote:
If worms are taking up space in the intestines/digestive tract, and they multiply by the hundreds like they do, especially large roundworms and tapeworms, not only will worms be shed, so will grass and other substances because they cant be digested/absorbed. Get rid of the worms and normal digestion and absorption will occur.

Agreed ! The other thing I posted about the grass clippings has to do with the clippings balling up and not going through the regular digestive process. That, in conjunction with the worms, could be the problem. Vet`s a little uppity, huh?........Pop