watery/ green poo

[MeekerMomma]

I have two chickens with watery poo and one of the two has green in the poo. I have a good hunch what one has the green but the other with the watery poo I'm not sure yet. I'm not sure what could be causing it or how to treat them. Under the roosts there were two "puddles" in the sand. I say puddles but just fairly big wet spots.
The only things that have changed recently are. I put vinegar with the mother in the water. I started giving them cottage cheese to help with my 3 egg layers. and we added the three new egg laying hens about two and a half weeks ago. They might be molting but I'm not sure. there are ALOT of feathers in the coop but they are all small fluffy ones and I don't see any bald spots on the chickens. How to I treat this and would could be causing it? Thanks for you help.

 

[BantamLover21]

I have two chickens with watery poo and one of the two has green in the poo. I have a good hunch what one has the green but the other with the watery poo I'm not sure yet. I'm not sure what could be causing it or how to treat them. Under the roosts there were two "puddles" in the sand. I say puddles but just fairly big wet spots.
The only things that have changed recently are. I put vinegar with the mother in the water. I started giving them cottage cheese to help with my 3 egg layers. and we added the three new egg laying hens about two and a half weeks ago. They might be molting but I'm not sure. there are ALOT of feathers in the coop but they are all small fluffy ones and I don't see any bald spots on the chickens. How to I treat this and would could be causing it? Thanks for you help.

Green droppings are typically caused by chickens not eating much (besides grass clippings, etc.). Particularly watery droppings are caused by chickens eating little or drinking a lot due to heat (how hot is it where you are?) or illness.

This is what I would do: First, check all of your chickens' crops in the morning. At that time, they should be flat and small because the bird has not eaten. A hard crop is impacted, and if the crop is big and balloon like, then the bird has sour crop. In the case of impacted crop, treat by massaging the mass, giving olive oil, and by limiting the bird's feed until the mass goes down. Sometimes, you will have to do surgery on the crop to remove the blockage, but that is only in extreme cases. I don't really have any experience with Sour crop, so I can't give you any advice there.

Also, how old are your birds? Do you know if they have ever been wormed? If they haven't been, I would consider worming them with a broad-spectrum wormer like Valbazen, SafeGuard (its sold for goats), or the Worminator (it contains Flubenvet, and is what I use). Don't use Wazine or Ivermectin, as those are only effective on certain types of worms. You can find most of those wormers at livestock supply stores, and the Worminator can be ordered online from here: http://www.twincitypoultrysupplies.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=584

While I don't think external parasites would cause this, they could be playing a part in stressing out your hens, making them suceptible to problems. Check each bird for mites/lice by looking on the skin and feathers under the wings, neck feathers, and near the vent. Mites will show up as small moving black or red specks, and lice will appear as larger moving yellow blobs. If your birds have any mites/lice, treat by dusting them with poultry dust, 5% Sevin dust, or by spraying with a mite/lice spray. You might also consider cleaning the bedding out of the coop, spraying the walls and floor down with vinegar or liquid Sevin, and then putting in fresh bedding.

If it is hot where you are, then your hens are probably stressed out and drinking a lot of water, which is causing the change in droppings. You can help them in the heat by putting ice cubes in the water, misting them with a hose, and by putting some poultry vitamins/electrolytes in their water. Try to minimize any other stresses, such as loud noises nearby and animals walking around.

 

[MeekerMomma]

Thank you that was very detailed and very helpful! I'll check them in the morning. (how to catch them is yet to be seen. lol)

 

[MeekerMomma]

I free range do you think I should keep them in so I can mist them and they will also be closer to food and water?