Weird Runny Poops

[ChickenChaser13]

Hello all. I'd love some help with my 1.5 year old Black Australorp hen. Recently, I've noticed that she's had some real funky poops. Some are really watery with a little solid poop mixed in. Two days ago, she pooped out a kind of runny green colored poop. This morning, I was in the coop and I saw her go again (I can tell it's her pooping because her back end makes a sort of squirting sound when she goes) and I managed to get a picture of it. Other than the poops, she acting normal. Eating and drinking fine. She's not lethargic and darts away when I go to pick her up. Her crop seems empty in the morning and full at night. She even goes outside even though it got below freezing and snowy here. Her vent area looks normal. I'm not sure how long this has been going on but since I noticed it 3 days ago, I haven't seen a normal poop from her. Some are more solid, some more liquidy, but none have been nicely formed that I've seen. I also haven't noticed it in any other of the birds too. A vet is not an option, as there is none around near me that sees chickens. I have 15 hens and a rooster that are all 1.5 years old and then I have 4 BCM birds that I hatched that are 16 weeks old. I feed them all 18% chick starter with oyster shells on the side. They have full access to free range every day. Alot of my birds are going through their first molt right now but I don't see any signs of this particular Australorp hen molting at this moment. They've never been wormed. The weather here was unusually nice for November in MN with highs in the 60s but over the last week, it got real cold and snowy quick so I don't know if that would be added stress to the birds. I haven't done anything for treatment yet, though I do have some probiotic packets I could add to their water if that could help. I kind of dug through the poop and I found this stringy looking thing in it. It didn't really seem like poop to me. That's what the second picture is of. Thanks so much in advance. Everyone here is so helpful.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Other than the poops, she acting normal. Eating and drinking fine. She's not lethargic and darts away when I go to pick her up. Her crop seems empty in the morning and full at night. She even goes outside even though it got below freezing and snowy here. Her vent area looks normal.

If she's not molting, is she laying eggs?

Not sure what's going on there, the poop isn't necessarily what I'd call normal, but you report she's acting normal, eat/drinking/crop emptying/active.

Look her over for lice/mites. See that she's eating her normal feed.

You can consider deworming if you think it's necessary. If not molting, then Safeguard would be o.k. IF molting, then use Valbazen.

 

[Sylvrfox]

If she's not molting, is she laying eggs?

Not sure what's going on there, the poop isn't necessarily what I'd call normal, but you report she's acting normal, eat/drinking/crop emptying/active.

Look her over for lice/mites. See that she's eating her normal feed.

You can consider deworming if you think it's necessary. If not molting, then Safeguard would be o.k. IF molting, then use Valbazen.

That stringy thing looks like a roundcworm. But I’m new to this and dealing with the same issue in my flock.

 

[Sylvrfox]

That stringy thing looks like round worm. I’m new here. But I’m dealing with the same thing in my flock of 4 hens.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Ah, yes. I think I see a couple of maggots. I would have assumed the OP new what those were since they had a thread asking about them a while back. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/worms-found-in-poop.1549217/

Clean out your droppings boards entirely, then start looking at the fresh poop this hen expels. If there's maggots in her fresh poop, then you have a bigger problem going on. Inspect around her vent and under it for any wounds that maggots may be in.
Otherwise, it's probably just maggots crawling from bedding/droppings boards and cleaning up with eliminate them.

For Roundworms Only, Fenbendazole (Safeguard) dose is 0.23ml per pound of weight given orally once, then repeated in 10 days.

To treat other worms including Roundworms, but not Tapeworms then give the Safeguard at the same dose for 5 days in a row, no repeat.

 

[ChickenChaser13]

If she's not molting, is she laying eggs?

Not sure what's going on there, the poop isn't necessarily what I'd call normal, but you report she's acting normal, eat/drinking/crop emptying/active.

Look her over for lice/mites. See that she's eating her normal feed.

You can consider deworming if you think it's necessary. If not molting, then Safeguard would be o.k. IF molting, then use Valbazen.

Thanks for your help. Honestly, I can't recall the last time she laid an egg. Over spring/summer, I would often see her in the nesting box but she always came out without having laid one. For all I know, she could have never laid an egg in her life. I never really paid attention to who lays what but over the last several months, I have started to keep on eye on it. I have a brown leghorn of the same age who's never laid one.

No signs of lites or mites. No maggots either. Vent area looks clean. It's 20 degrees here so I'm not certain which pests thrive in cold temps like that. When I picked her up, I noticed she has lots of new feathers coming in around her head and neck area, so she probably is going through her molt. She's still acting normal, pecking, scratching, and eating and drinking fine.

I'll just have to keep on eye on her. Could it be the poop is due to stress from the molt + the change in temperature? I may have to pick up some dewormer to have on hand. Nearest farm supply is 30 minutes away from me. I know they have Valbazen in the cattle section.

I got another pic of her poop that she passed when I was out there. Color is brown but looks more of the same. Watery with some semi-solid bits in it.

 

[ChickenChaser13]

That stringy thing looks like round worm. I’m new here. But I’m dealing with the same thing in my flock of 4 hens.

I've always thought roundworms were longer and thinner from pics I've seen. But I've never dealt with them before so I'm not completely sure. Do roundworms move when they are excreted? This pic I took was seconds after the hen pooped it out.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Did you see something moving in her poop?

Yes, a molting hen can often go off feed or feel bad, but they would still have some solid poops.

I'd see what her overnight poops look like, see if there's any worms moving or anything odd overnight.

This somewhat looks like a maggot, but it could be something else.

 

[ChickenChaser13]

Did you see something moving in her poop?

Yes, a molting hen can often go off feed or feel bad, but they would still have some solid poops.

I'd see what her overnight poops look like, see if there's any worms moving or anything odd overnight.

This somewhat looks like a maggot, but it could be something else.
View attachment 3324791

I didn't see anything moving. Haven't seen any worms in her poop. There wasn't any solid poops from her overnight from where she was last roosting. I saw some wet stuff absorbed into the bedding. It looked like the poop in the picture without the stringy stuff from my original post.

I guess I'll start by worming her and see where that goes. I'll pick up some Valbazen today. I saw that the dose is 1/2ml. Do I do it for the 5 days straight or once and then again 10 days later? Can I mix it into a scrambled egg and give it to her that way?

 

[ChickenChaser13]

Also, when I was putting them away last night, I saw her poop again and it was clear and watery. She made the squirting sound and pooped right on top of a cement block I have in there and it looked to be pure liquid.