Watery chicken poop?

[85 Jimmy]

I have some red sex links that are around 8 weeks old that I just transitioned from their brooder, that was inside, to their coop. They have been outside for a week now, and I've recently noticed that atleast one of them has watery, not solid poop. Is this something I should worry about?

Also, they do not eat as much as they did when they were inside in the brooder. One last thing that I've noticed is that they hardly leave the coop and go into their run. I give them the option to be outside all day, but they rarely take advantage of it. When I left them free range, they stay close to the coop/run and if I leave the run door open they almost immediately go back inside and go in the coop. Should I be concerned with any of that? Is there a way to keep them from staying in the coop all day, without blocking it off (I keep their food in the coop, so I don't want to restrict their access to it)?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I have some red sex links that are around 8 weeks old that I just transitioned from their brooder, that was inside, to their coop. They have been outside for a week now, and I've recently noticed that atleast one of them has watery, not solid poop. Is this something I should worry about?

Also, they do not eat as much as they did when they were inside in the brooder. One last thing that I've noticed is that they hardly leave the coop and go into their run. I give them the option to be outside all day, but they rarely take advantage of it. When I left them free range, they stay close to the coop/run and if I leave the run door open they almost immediately go back inside and go in the coop. Should I be concerned with any of that? Is there a way to keep them from staying in the coop all day, without blocking it off (I keep their food in the coop, so I don't want to restrict their access to it)?

I would not be overly concerned about the poop at this point - but it would be something I would keep in mind as I observed other things about the birds so that if I saw other changes I would be prepared to respond accordingly.
Moving the food out of the coop will help to encourage your birds to spend more time outside and will eliminate your concern about denying access to the food if you choose to lock them out of the coop. That said, I would not lock them out of the coop. Their current activity is not at all concerning - it is actually pretty normal for young birds who have recently been moved to a new environment. The good news is, the coop is clearly a place they feel safe and secure - and they need that. Having that sense of security will help them to begin to feel more confident about exploring further into their other surroundings. Their reaction to your free ranging attempts are also entirely normal. At this point they are quite insecure and the slightest thing can set them off and make them feel the need to seek the safety of the coop. Again, with time and experience they will gain confidence. Locking out of the coop would actually create a more insecure state of mind because they would not have the ability to seek the safety they want.

 

[aart]

Ditto Dat^^^

8 weeks is pretty young for free ranging, they are still pretty small and susceptible to predation.
Give them time and they will start to roam more.

They are eating other things and are a bit stressed....that can change their poops.
Oh and when it's hot, they drink more water and that loosens things up too, it's one way their bodies shed heat.

Here's a couple sites that give examples of 'normal' and 'non-normal' poops...take it with a grain of salt.
Overall behavior is key to illness.

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/02/whats-scoop-on-chicken-poop-digestive.html
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/?topic=17568.0