Watery diarrhea for past month.

M_Clucker

Chirping
May 16, 2020
36
34
59
East Tennessee
Hi all,

In need of suggestions. I have a 1 year old hen that has had constant watery diarrhea for the past month, that is causing poopy butt feathers. I've had to give her a bath a few times to clean the excessive debris. She is still eating and drinking normal, actively foraging during yard time, and laying eggs (4 per week). There is no pale comb, respiratory issues, or lethargy. The diarrhea is very watery with green to brown feces and white urates. There is no visible blood or worms upon inspection. I've monitored daily and clean the coop of poop every other day; I have a run with construction grade sand and I'm able to clean it easily with a kitty litter scooper. However, I suspect worms and have recently started treating the entire flock (Safeguard 10% Goat Dewormer_mixing 1 ounce into one cup of water into 15lbs of feed, repeating again in 10 days_per the ChickenChick website_we are currently on day 7 and still need to repeat). Also, I had recently gotten rid of my rooster about a month ago and now this particular hen is at the top of the pecking order. Could this be stress related? This particular girl is more prone to over indulgence and heat-stress.
The rest of my girls have normal solid poops. I feed the girls a mixture of Nature's Best Organic Pellets from Tractor Supply, black oil sunflower seeds (less than 10% of feed), Manna Pro Omega-3 booster (cup per 20lb of feed), and a light dusting of food grade DE. The girls also get apple cider vinegar in their drinking water (1Tbsp per gallon) and treats (fruit/veggie scraps, greek yogurt, dried mealworms, and scratch). I try to limit their treats to only 10% of their daily consumption. Every evening they get to free range in the yard and woods for several hours.
There are no vets in my area that specialize in poultry. Several livestock, just no poultry. I'm working on getting a picture of the fresh diarrhea itself and will post later. Here's a picture of my girl, Black Betty. Any suggestions and help is much appreciated!
 

Attachments

  • tempImageFa05nW.png
    tempImageFa05nW.png
    5.6 MB · Views: 78
  • tempImagemuTPjF.png
    tempImagemuTPjF.png
    6.6 MB · Views: 28
Last edited:
If you have a regular vet for your four leg pets, the vet should do a fecal exam for you. If they say they don't do chickens, just tell them the poop and parasites are basically the same as any other animal. It might be coccidiosis. It's worth having a fecal done just to rule parasites out. More than once we've had one hen (usually a pullet) get a worm infestation, or coccidiosis, where the others do not. Also, we have a an old RIR hen that was given to us by someone else a couple of years ago. Once in a while she has persistent diarrhea where the others do not. It doesn't seem to affect her health any, and I've basically quit worrying about it. After you're done deworming, you might try some ZyfendA in their water for a week or so. I've found ZyfendA often times will clear up the diarrhea in our old hen. Now whenever we deworm, after they're done with the dewormer we usually run some vitamins in their water for a few days, followed by probiotics and then Zyfend A for a week or so. It's just what we do, it seems to keep them gut healthy for the most part. You can get ZyfendA in feed stores.
 
If you have a regular vet for your four leg pets, the vet should do a fecal exam for you. If they say they don't do chickens, just tell them the poop and parasites are basically the same as any other animal. It might be coccidiosis. It's worth having a fecal done just to rule parasites out. More than once we've had one hen (usually a pullet) get a worm infestation, or coccidiosis, where the others do not. Also, we have a an old RIR hen that was given to us by someone else a couple of years ago. Once in a while she has persistent diarrhea where the others do not. It doesn't seem to affect her health any, and I've basically quit worrying about it. After you're done deworming, you might try some ZyfendA in their water for a week or so. I've found ZyfendA often times will clear up the diarrhea in our old hen. Now whenever we deworm, after they're done with the dewormer we usually run some vitamins in their water for a few days, followed by probiotics and then Zyfend A for a week or so. It's just what we do, it seems to keep them gut healthy for the most part. You can get ZyfendA in feed stores.
Do you think it would hurt if I treated for coccidiosis now while they are currently being dewormed? I've got the liquid CORID on hand. I had a few girls come down with it last fall and I was lucky enough to figure it out before they died. They were lethargic, hunched over, secluding themselves. Couldn't hurt right? I'll have to order the ZyfendA online, we only have Tractor Supply where I'm at and they don't seem to carry it, but MyPetChicken does online. Thanks!
 
Do you think it would hurt if I treated for coccidiosis now while they are currently being dewormed? I've got the liquid CORID on hand. I had a few girls come down with it last fall and I was lucky enough to figure it out before they died. They were lethargic, hunched over, secluding themselves. Couldn't hurt right? I'll have to order the ZyfendA online, we only have Tractor Supply where I'm at and they don't seem to carry it, but MyPetChicken does online. Thanks!
I think you should treat sooner than later, so yes.. but I'm not an expert :)
 
I never treat for both at the same time, just because I think it's a little hard on them....but you can. Just make sure to continue to give them the vit/ lytes and probiotics for a bit afterward, and the ZyfendA. Good luck, hope it helps!

Usually older birds don't get Coccidiosis but they might if they're a bit run down or stressed or there's some underlying condition
 
I never treat for both at the same time, just because I think it's a little hard on them....but you can. Just make sure to continue to give them the vit/ lytes and probiotics for a bit afterward, and the ZyfendA. Good luck, hope it helps!

Usually older birds don't get Coccidiosis but they might if they're a bit run down or stressed or there's some underlying condition
Thank you! I’ll go ahead and treat for both just in case, but I added a probiotic mix into their water and they’ll get yogurt daily this week. They should be happy campers lol.
 
Thank you! I’ll go ahead and treat for both just in case, but I added a probiotic mix into their water and they’ll get yogurt daily this week. They should be happy campers lol.

Hey I was wondering how's the treatment going as I've got a similar problem. One of my girls has been having watery diarrhea for the past week now. Same type of poo.. very watery green poo with white urates and sometimes pale red streaks of what look like stretched-out (skinny) earthworms which I'm guessing is intestinal lining. However I came upon one streak this afternoon which looked deep red like fresh blood. She also exhibits no other symptoms.. eating and looking well. Thanks.
 
Hey I was wondering how's the treatment going as I've got a similar problem. One of my girls has been having watery diarrhea for the past week now. Same type of poo.. very watery green poo with white urates and sometimes pale red streaks of what look like stretched-out (skinny) earthworms which I'm guessing is intestinal lining. However I came upon one streak this afternoon which looked deep red like fresh blood. She also exhibits no other symptoms.. eating and looking well. Thanks.
That sounds like coccidiosis.
 
That sounds like coccidiosis.
Hey I was wondering how's the treatment going as I've got a similar problem. One of my girls has been having watery diarrhea for the past week now. Same type of poo.. very watery green poo with white urates and sometimes pale red streaks of what look like stretched-out (skinny) earthworms which I'm guessing is intestinal lining. However I came upon one streak this afternoon which looked deep red like fresh blood. She also exhibits no other symptoms.. eating and looking well. Thanks.
My girl is still thriving and doing well. The diarrhea seems to be somewhat getting better, but we are still mid treatment for both the possible coccidiosis and worms. I’ll update you all in a couple days when both treatments are complete and I can start working on gut health. However, yours definitely sounds like coccidiosis with the possible blood in stool. I’ll attach a screenshot of what I used to treat with dosages. Good luck!
 

Attachments

  • A865679E-9B9A-4F05-98E4-8D063BD97DBD.jpeg
    A865679E-9B9A-4F05-98E4-8D063BD97DBD.jpeg
    424.6 KB · Views: 26

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom