unexplained diarrhea

[MichelleKing]

A few of my 14 week old ladies have light brown diarrhea. Disclaimer - they are molting.

I have combed through the poo and have not found worms. The gals are eating and drinking normally, acting normally, foraging, playing around, etc. No lethargy and no sickness other than that.

I need help because I've done research on this and i dont know what the heck to do.
- One post says - too much protein causes diarrhea, stick with 18-22%
-Another post says - not enough protein kills your polish hens, stick with a minimum 28%
- another says supplement with oyster shells
- another post says - only feed hand made human food
-another says - only feed commercial food.


Well, here's what the ladies get daily-
Food - available to them 24/7:
18% protein purina crumbles, available 24 hours a day (organic)
MIXED WITH
Small amount of organic game bird crumbles, 28% protein (1 part 28% to 5 parts 18%)
Mealworms - about 2 cups for 6 chickens per day
Seed mix - sprouted pumpkin, sprouted sunflower, chia, flax, sesame (all organic)
fresh water changed daily
Grass

Morning snack
1 cup organic corn, cooked
1/4 cup cut organic strawberries
10 organic blueberries
Organic strawberries cut up
5-6 Organic apple slices (no skin)
Self grown organic harvested and chopped wheat grass (2 tbsp)
Oyster shellsupplement (1/2 cup)
Mozz cheese shredded (1/2 cup)


Afternoon snack
Chopped and shredded organic carrots
Organic seedless green grapes, chopped
Steel cut raw organic oats



ANY EXPERTS OUT THERE?!?!?!? HELP! What am I doing wrong and what am I doing right and what is causing this nasty poop?

Affected birds are orpington, americana, polish hens. Rest of the flock pooping normally.

 

[coach723]

At 14 weeks they are likely in a juvenile molt. I would discontinue the extra's you are giving them, and see if the droppings improve. If they are only occasionally having droppings like that they may just be cecal droppings which are normal, if they are regularly like that then diet may be an issue. An 18 -20% protein feed is appropriate for this age, I'm not aware of any different needs for polish birds (I don't have any, but have never read that anywhere). All the extra's you are giving are going to reduce the percentage of protein they are getting on a daily basis, they are very likely to fill up on the 'treats' and will not take in that amount in feed. Corn is carbs and too much can lead to fatty liver disease, dairy can cause digestive upset, too much fruits and veggies and greens can cause loose droppings. Everything except feed should be considered a 'treat' and try to aim for 10% or less of total diet. Too much of a good thing is a bad thing. They don't need oyster shell until they are at point of lay, it's better to have it available in a separate feeder so they can take what they need, rather than mixing it into other foods. The intake can vary greatly from bird to bird and season to season. They will self regulate their calcium very well if it's available all the time for them. Do you have grit available? That should also be in a separate feeder all the time. Doing home-made mixes for feed are difficult and complicated, and with any whole grain feeds they will pick out the parts they like and leave the rest, which is why crumbles or pellets are more balanced over all, they can't pick and choose. There are many, many commercial feeds, you should be able to find one that meets your wishes. @KikisGirls has been working on a feed comparison spread sheet which you can find here, may be helpful to you: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1upDVFXEQPK8PUIF6Sj3Bt5CUQfX1PlTEhg799sDT-qM/edit#gid=0

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi

Can you post some photos of the poop?

It sounds like your ladies are surely spoiled
We all love to give our chickens treats/snack because they are such wonderful sweet things, but you may be diluting the food too much or providing too many "treats".

I am a bit lazy and like to keep things "simple". I use 20% Flock Raiser and make oyster shell available free choice. Dry and wet feed are available during waking hours.
Mine get a daily treat of some type of vegatable/greens, fruit or scratch/sunflower seeds. I try to limit treats to no more than 10% of their daily intake.

We all do things differently, but it's best to not mix "extras" into the feed - chickens will pick out their favorites and not eat the nutritious stuff. You can mix the layer and game feed if you wish, but I would leave out all the other mix ins.

Watery poop can be caused by a number of things, drinking a lot of water, watery treats (watermelon, berries, etc.), I suppose excess protein could cause watery poop too. Poop can vary widely in shape, color, texture and smell. Chickens also have 2 types of poop - one is "normal" that is the formed poop that you see with the white cap, the other is "cecal poop" this is a loose stinky pudding type poop - a chicken can have a cecal poop 1 out of every 8-10 poops.

You are doing good, but overthinking things. There can be so much information overload and depending on what you read, you can really get things twisted up and confused. Chickens need just a few things to thrive - fresh food, fresh water and safe place to live. All the rest is extra - when in doubt, go back to the basics - food/water and cut out or limit your treats.

Just my 2¢

 

[MichelleKing]

At 14 weeks they are likely in a juvenile molt. I would discontinue the extra's you are giving them, and see if the droppings improve. If they are only occasionally having droppings like that they may just be cecal droppings which are normal, if they are regularly like that then diet may be an issue. An 18 -20% protein feed is appropriate for this age, I'm not aware of any different needs for polish birds (I don't have any, but have never read that anywhere). All the extra's you are giving are going to reduce the percentage of protein they are getting on a daily basis, they are very likely to fill up on the 'treats' and will not take in that amount in feed. Corn is carbs and too much can lead to fatty liver disease, dairy can cause digestive upset, too much fruits and veggies and greens can cause loose droppings. Everything except feed should be considered a 'treat' and try to aim for 10% or less of total diet. Too much of a good thing is a bad thing. They don't need oyster shell until they are at point of lay, it's better to have it available in a separate feeder so they can take what they need, rather than mixing it into other foods. The intake can vary greatly from bird to bird and season to season. They will self regulate their calcium very well if it's available all the time for them. Do you have grit available? That should also be in a separate feeder all the time. Doing home-made mixes for feed are difficult and complicated, and with any whole grain feeds they will pick out the parts they like and leave the rest, which is why crumbles or pellets are more balanced over all, they can't pick and choose. There are many, many commercial feeds, you should be able to find one that meets your wishes. @KikisGirls has been working on a feed comparison spread sheet which you can find here, may be helpful to you: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1upDVFXEQPK8PUIF6Sj3Bt5CUQfX1PlTEhg799sDT-qM/edit#gid=0

very helpful info. i did read about the treats not making up more than 5-10% of the diet. all good advice on that. i do like the crumbles, i will stick with my 18% organic feed. they seem to thrive on the brand I have. I'll consult the polish hen folks for their take on the whole protein thing. its so hard to know exactly what to do. thank you so much for your help!

 

[MichelleKing]

Hi

Can you post some photos of the poop?

It sounds like your ladies are surely spoiled
We all love to give our chickens treats/snack because they are such wonderful sweet things, but you may be diluting the food too much or providing too many "treats".

I am a bit lazy and like to keep things "simple". I use 20% Flock Raiser and make oyster shell available free choice. Dry and wet feed are available during waking hours.
Mine get a daily treat of some type of vegatable/greens, fruit or scratch/sunflower seeds. I try to limit treats to no more than 10% of their daily intake.

We all do things differently, but it's best to not mix "extras" into the feed - chickens will pick out their favorites and not eat the nutritious stuff. You can mix the layer and game feed if you wish, but I would leave out all the other mix ins.

Watery poop can be caused by a number of things, drinking a lot of water, watery treats (watermelon, berries, etc.), I suppose excess protein could cause watery poop too. Poop can vary widely in shape, color, texture and smell. Chickens also have 2 types of poop - one is "normal" that is the formed poop that you see with the white cap, the other is "cecal poop" this is a loose stinky pudding type poop - a chicken can have a cecal poop 1 out of every 8-10 poops.

You are doing good, but overthinking things. There can be so much information overload and depending on what you read, you can really get things twisted up and confused. Chickens need just a few things to thrive - fresh food, fresh water and safe place to live. All the rest is extra - when in doubt, go back to the basics - food/water and cut out or limit your treats.

Just my 2¢

Thank you SO much. This makes so much sense to me. Yes, I do feed organic watermelon and berries everyday. They also do get gamebird 28% crumbles in their feed. So possibly overload.

Also you're right, this diarrhea isnt consistent. Its like every once in awhile but it stinks to high hell and its disgusting. They also do have the normal poops too but I was worried maybe they were sick.

Thank you so much for your advice!

 

[townchicks]

You have very lucky hens. You obviously love them and are trying to give them the best life. I just think you are overdoing the love. Try cutting everything but the crumbles, out of the equation for a week or 2, and see if things improve.Then you can start adding in a small amount and vary what they get each day, instead of all of it every day. You also may be having some issues with coccidia, pick up some Corid and treat their water for 5 days, just to be safe.

 

[snow5164]

Hello,
Do you deliver? I’d like my snacks at 10 and 3 please

Seriously though I’d say they are getting way too many extras , fruit is high in natural sugars and is know to cause diarrhea.

When you are confused about all the conflicting information take a moment to look at your birds are realize how tiny their stomachs are , that one strawberry is a pig out for them !!

Try a week of no treats , they really need more of their feed to be healthy and strong ,

If you contact me I’ll give you my address for shipping my snacks over

 

[snow5164]

Not sure if you know about this lovely bonus our birds give us ....