Weird, yellow tinged chicken poop?

[marissajaynee]

Noticed weird yellow-tinged chicken poop and yellow discharge from one of the hens. She seems slightly off, but otherwise out with everyone else, foraging and such. Oddly enough she went after one of the eggs in the coop and broke it when I went to check on her this morning which hasn’t happened before. Is the yellow discharge something to be concerned about? Poops look normal otherwise as far as consistency goes.. I think there’s a piece of corn from her feed. I assume if she was egg bound she wouldn’t be up to walking around and doing things? Is it worth soaking her in epsom salt just to be safe? Also thought it was vent gleet initially… since she’s really red and irritated. any guidance would be helpful…

@Wyorp Rock

 

[marissajaynee]

Noticed weird yellow-tinged chicken poop and yellow discharge from one of the hens. She seems slightly off, but otherwise out with everyone else, foraging and such. Oddly enough she went after one of the eggs in the coop and broke it when I went to check on her this morning which hasn’t happened before. Is the yellow discharge something to be concerned about? Poops look normal otherwise as far as consistency goes.. I think there’s a piece of corn from her feed. I assume if she was egg bound she wouldn’t be up to walking around and doing things? Is it worth soaking her in epsom salt just to be safe? Also thought it was vent gleet initially… since she’s really red and irritated. any guidance would be helpful…

@Wyorp Rock

@Eggcessive

 

[Eggcessive]

She could have some reproductive problem with the evidence of yellowish urates in her droppings. They are normally the white caps in poops. How old is she? Does she normally lay eggs? Is she overweight or underweight? Cannyou feel of her lower belly between the legs to see if it is enlarged, spongy, or tightly full? Is her tail up or down in position?

 

[marissajaynee]

She could have some reproductive problem with the evidence of yellowish urates in her droppings. They are normally the white caps in poops. How old is she? Does she normally lay eggs? Is she overweight or underweight? Cannyou feel of her lower belly between the legs to see if it is enlarged, spongy, or tightly full? Is her tail up or down in position?

She is 4. She wasn’t laying regularly over the winter and I am not 100% certain she is laying regularly now. Unclear when her last egg was. When I was trying to get that picture of her bottom I pressed on her abdomen and she didn’t like it. Felt soft/spongy, not hard. Her tail is kinda down and she is all “tucked in” with her neck, looking uncomfortable. Tail is up. We noticed this maybe 2 days ago that she just seemed off. She had soo much dried poop stuck to her vent I cleaned her off the best I could. Ever since, it’s been easier to notice the yellow discharge.

 

[Eggcessive]

It is very hard to know exactly what is going on until after one dies and you can do a home necropsy to look at the organs. If a vet could help with X-rays, that would be good, but most of us don’t go that route. I have done necropsies on several hens who has the similar symptoms, and if you see yellow fluid when you open the abdomen, it is a sign of ascites from either reproductive or liver disease. It also makes the urates yellowish. Some hens had internal laying masses of egg material, some had cancer, and some had fatty liver disease. I would try to keep her comfortable, eating and drinking. Antibiotics may or may not help.

 

[marissajaynee]

It is very hard to know exactly what is going on until after one dies and you can do a home necropsy to look at the organs. If a vet could help with X-rays, that would be good, but most of us don’t go that route. I have done necropsies on several hens who has the similar symptoms, and if you see yellow fluid when you open the abdomen, it is a sign of ascites from either reproductive or liver disease. It also makes the urates yellowish. Some hens had internal laying masses of egg material, some had cancer, and some had fatty liver disease. I would try to keep her comfortable, eating and drinking. Antibiotics may or may not help.

Yes, we typically do not go the vet route. From what I read on here through different articles and googling, liver disease or reproductive disease definitely came up so I’m sure you are right. Although I’ve worked as a death investigator for years and have witnessed many autopsies, I am not sure I could do a necropsy myself, although very interesting I’m sure. Do you think we need to separate her? Antibiotics would only be available through a vet… I assume anyways. So that is probably not likely.