Weird poop and lethargic behavior

[Heliostar15]

My easter egger, 2 years old, hasn’t been laying the past few days, granted it’s very hot outside. She usually runs up to greet me and get lots of pets, but she only standing in one spot and doesn’t react when I touch her. She’s been pooping like the image below. It’s only been happening for the past 2 days but I know how long these guys hide symptoms for. If anyone knows what it is and how I can treat it, please help

 

[Eggcessive]

The yellow urates in her poop and the red or blood tinged mucus could be signs of a liver problem from reproductive problems or cancer, or worms, or coccidiosis. Hard to pin it down exactly. Has she molted this year yet? Molting hens stop laying usually. Have you wormed your flock recently? Is she drinking plenty of water and eating? Is her crop emptying overnight by the next morning, and filling up with food and water during the day? How does it feel? Empty, full, firm, squishy or doughy? Pictures of her might be helpful.

 

[Heliostar15]

The yellow urates in her poop and the red or blood tinged mucus could be signs of a liver problem from reproductive problems or cancer, or worms, or coccidiosis. Hard to pin it down exactly. Has she molted this year yet? Molting hens stop laying usually. Have you wormed your flock recently? Is she drinking plenty of water and eating? Is her crop emptying overnight by the next morning, and filling up with food and water during the day? How does it feel? Empty, full, firm, squishy or doughy? Pictures of her might be helpful.

She did a very soft molt recently. she was eating fine yesterday, and is eating today, you can see in this video. But before I brought out the treats she was just standing there, out of it. Her crop isn’t completely empty, it feels squishy, you can feel a little food in it. I do natural deworming with foods like squash, and ACV, I know they do not work as well but that is what I have access to at the moment.

 

[Heliostar15]

Well I cant attach a video but in it she’s eating, very gently not crazy like normal, and she is a underweight but she always has been even though she has lots of food, and she is at the bottom of the pecking order of a flock of 5. we recently lost the head of the flock, a 4 year old barrred rock. She was lethargic and couldn’t stand, and had a seizure of sorts. Which this has happened in our flock before but years appart. Which is what I do not want to happen to this girl

 

[Eggcessive]

Videos can be uploaded to YouTube, Vimeo or similar site with a link posted here. Some chickens may look like they are having as seizure as they die. Is that what happened to the barred rock, or was she having seizures before that? Sorry that you lost her. Are you near enough to a feed store to get a medicine wormer? Squash and ACV will not treat worms. The bloody mucus can be worms or coccidiosis. The yellow urates in her stool concern me. Is she eating and drinking? Check her crop again in early morning when her crop should be empty, to see if it has emptied, or if it is still squishy. Note if she has a bad odor from her beak when you check her crop.

 

[Heliostar15]

Videos can be uploaded to YouTube, Vimeo or similar site with a link posted here. Some chickens may look like they are having as seizure as they die. Is that what happened to the barred rock, or was she having seizures before that? Sorry that you lost her. Are you near enough to a feed store to get a medicine wormer? Squash and ACV will not treat worms. The bloody mucus can be worms or coccidiosis. The yellow urates in her stool concern me. Is she eating and drinking? Check her crop again in early morning when her crop should be empty, to see if it has emptied, or if it is still squishy. Note if she has a bad odor from her beak when you check her crop.

She is more active and awake this morning! Still doesn’t want to be touched, her crop isn’t emptying all the way, but it is more firm and smaller than yesterday. It doesn’t smell sour either. We have ordered Healthyflock tabs for clean water and The Poultry Store Dewormer TM and a Natural Biotic.

 

[Heliostar15]

This was her yesterday, i’m glad there is a clear improvement- the poops are also getting better, they are still very small but look and smell normal. I read somewhere chickens can “shed intestinal lining” idk if this is actually true but it seems to match her symptoms.

 

[coach723]

Chickens do occasionally shed intestinal lining. It's generally caused by some kind of irritation in the digestive tract. It can be from eating something different, they can find a new plant and eat a bunch of it, but if it's happening more than just occasionally, then a cause should be investigated. Internal parasites are a common cause. And sometimes that can lead to a secondary bacterial infection as well. If you suspect parasites, and you can't get a fecal test done, then I would recommend that you use a chemical wormer. The herbal stuff is fine for prevention and general health, but they just won't treat an actual load of parasites. I learned that the hard way a long time ago. The chemical wormers are generally pretty safe, and they are effective. Safeguard liquid goat wormer and Valbazen are both really commonly used and are effective against most of the common parasites. I use them regularly, I have never hurt a bird with them. If you do a search for the ingredients of the product you ordered, it contains: black pepper, common nettle, sweet chili pepper, garlic and oregano. The latin names on the label sound far more impressive, don't they? Honestly, if parasites are the issue, those aren't going to get rid of them. Parasites can also cause the crop to slow and back up. I can't say for sure if that is the issue with this bird, but if she were mine, in my flock, I would worm her to see if it helped. If it didn't, then there may be another health problem going on.

 

[Heliostar15]

Chickens do occasionally shed intestinal lining. It's generally caused by some kind of irritation in the digestive tract. It can be from eating something different, they can find a new plant and eat a bunch of it, but if it's happening more than just occasionally, then a cause should be investigated. Internal parasites are a common cause. And sometimes that can lead to a secondary bacterial infection as well. If you suspect parasites, and you can't get a fecal test done, then I would recommend that you use a chemical wormer. The herbal stuff is fine for prevention and general health, but they just won't treat an actual load of parasites. I learned that the hard way a long time ago. The chemical wormers are generally pretty safe, and they are effective. Safeguard liquid goat wormer and Valbazen are both really commonly used and are effective against most of the common parasites. I use them regularly, I have never hurt a bird with them. If you do a search for the ingredients of the product you ordered, it contains: black pepper, common nettle, sweet chili pepper, garlic and oregano. The latin names on the label sound far more impressive, don't they? Honestly, if parasites are the issue, those aren't going to get rid of them. Parasites can also cause the crop to slow and back up. I can't say for sure if that is the issue with this bird, but if she were mine, in my flock, I would worm her to see if it helped. If it didn't, then there may be another health problem going on.

Thank you very much for this information! I will definitely look for safeguard. I haven’t see any worms or really anything in the poop so I’m just hoping it was the intestinal lining, she seems to be on an upswing but I will keep an eye on her and post an update tonight

 

[coach723]

Worms usually don't show up in the droppings. Sometimes, with a heavy load, you might see a roundworm or tapeworm segment, but usually not. The parasites live their entire life cycle inside the bird and are digested when they die. More common symptoms are runny, mucousy droppings, increased intestinal shed, weight loss, listlessness, sometimes crop issues, sometimes a reduction in laying. Many times there are no symptoms at all, or so minor as to not be noticed. I deal with roundworm a lot, often my first and only clue is a sick looking dropping on the poop boards in the morning. When they don't feel good, they hide it really, really well. It's survival instinct in the flock. And weight loss often goes unnoticed because all those fluffy feathers hide it. I try to pick my birds up when ever I get the chance, I check their feet and body condition quickly, and off they go. I will often worm one of my birds if they look off or I feel a noticable weight loss. Because I know it's an issue for my flock. Had a hen yesterday that looked off, and when I picked her up she felt very thin, so she got wormed. The fact that I could even pick her up without her being on the roost at night was also a sign that she's not feeling well. Sometimes symptoms are subtle.