Watery yellow poo? First-time chicken owner

[tabs_flock]

First time chicken owner here. I was cleaning up my deck when I noticed this poo. All three birds are behaving normally (eating, scratching, drinking) and did lay this morning but one did lay later than she normally does (by like an hour, so I wasn't worried). Looking the symptoms up online suggests coccidiosis? All the avian vets near me are slammed and I have a call out to the answering machine of the one near me.

I've added ACV to their water, but I'm wondering if I should treat as if they have coccidiosis or play the wait and see game. If it is coccidiosis what's the best way to treat? I don't want to lose anyone just because I'm not familiar with avian illnesses.

Am I overreacting or should I be worried? I just got a second coop so if I can figure out who's sick, I can quarantine if necessary.

 

[Perris]

that looks normal to me, and the laying cycle is >24 hrs, so normally a bird lays later each day until it gets quite late in the afternoon then she'll skip a day and start again laying early.
If they are eating, drinking, scratching normally, I wouldn't worry. It's new chicken parent anxiety perhaps, like checking on baby every few minutes just to make sure they're breathing

 

[Eggcessive]

Coccidiosis is usually seen in young chickens before they have built up a tolerance to coccidia in the soil and poop. It can affect an immune-compromised older bird, or if they have a chronic form, it can linger in them. Corid, the usual treatment in these parts, is fairly safe to use, even if there is not coccidiosis. If your local vet will let you bring in some chicken droppings, say when you are bringing in another pet for shots or a checkup, you may get a fecal float which could tell you if their are worms or coccidia seen.

 

[tabs_flock]

that looks normal to me, and the laying cycle is >24 hrs, so normally a bird lays later each day until it gets quite late in the afternoon then she'll skip a day and start again laying early.
If they are eating, drinking, scratching normally, I wouldn't worry. It's new chicken parent anxiety perhaps, like checking on baby every few minutes just to make sure they're breathing

Thanks for the reassurance. I'm definitely the sort to jump to the worst conclusion and I don't want to be a bad chicken mom! I'm sure that with time and experience I'll have a better idea of what I'm doing.

 

[Perris]

I'm sure that with time and experience I'll have a better idea of what I'm doing.

I'm sure of that too

There will be ups and downs along the way, but the closer you watch them, the sooner you'll come to recognize what's normal and what's not, and when you're not sure, there are loads of people here who can and will offer advice if you ask for it. Good luck with your flock!

 

[JustBabyMargo]

Would it be too much to ask for you to dissect it a bit? Looks like there may be some blood clots....

 

[tabs_flock]

Would it be too much to ask for you to dissect it a bit? Looks like there may be some blood clots....

Unfortunately I've already sprayed down my deck furniture, which I can't seem to keep them off of.

I can say that I did narrow down which hen it is. She is still laying and all behavior is normal- still scratching, foraging, eating and drinking. Today's #2s were a lot more solid than yesterday's, too. Hoping that means I either a) caught it early or b) was just overreacting.

It's probably a combination of a & b. I cut off access to the two points of standing water that they can get to and am keeping a very close eye on them. Fingers crossed!

 

[tabs_flock]

I'm sure of that too

There will be ups and downs along the way, but the closer you watch them, the sooner you'll come to recognize what's normal and what's not, and when you're not sure, there are loads of people here who can and will offer advice if you ask for it. Good luck with your flock!

Thank you! I wanted chickens for years but never had enough room or didn't live in an area where I could have them and I'm already stupidly fond of these feathered dorks. But I'm also a total newbie and I keep sucking up my courage to ask questions because I definitely don't have the answers sometimes!

 

[tabs_flock]

Coccidiosis is usually seen in young chickens before they have built up a tolerance to coccidia in the soil and poop. It can affect an immune-compromised older bird, or if they have a chronic form, it can linger in them. Corid, the usual treatment in these parts, is fairly safe to use, even if there is not coccidiosis. If your local vet will let you bring in some chicken droppings, say when you are bringing in another pet for shots or a checkup, you may get a fecal float which could tell you if their are worms or coccidia seen.

I was going to ask if I could send in a sample but all the avian vets were too busy/not answering their phones so I went the conservative route and got Corid and added it to the water... Now I'm just keeping an eye on behavior. Everyone's still acting like normal chickens so hopefully I'm just being paranoid.

They are still fairly young, only about 5 mos old. I brought home another 3 week-old chicks about 2 weeks ago and was worried I might have accidentally cross-contaminated something but the chicks are lively and healthy. And there were a few spots of standing water I was worried about so I blocked off access. Hopefully. It's all good and I'm just an extremely anxious and inexperienced Chicken Keeper.

 

[tabs_flock]

Just providing a general update for myself but feel free to comment-

Zelda's #2s are definitely getting more "normal"- more solid, less watery, no weird yellow stuff. Nobody else has any symptoms and all are behaving normally.

On the other hand, either Zelda or Link laid their first soft-shelled egg. It appears to have been laid overnight, as I found it below the roosting bar and not in the "usual" nesting box. They have access to oyster shell and this is the first time I've come across a soft egg like this.

It could be Zelda, who is the potentially sick but recovering bird. Going to keep an eye on Zelda and see if she lays this morning or skips today. All behavior still normal- maybe her body's been redirecting resources to fight off the infection. Maybe I'm still paranoid and somebody's having an off day.

It could also be Link, my scaredy-hen who takes great offense at the slightest provocation and hadn't laid yesterday due to me putzing about by her "secret" nesting box. This is my box of gardening gloves which lives on a metal rack with all my other gardening stuff. The soft egg was positioned under where she was roosting when I put them away last night; however they could have moved around. Evidence it wasn't Link: I already found Link back in her "secret spot" getting ready to lay.