Wet spot in poop tray below roots and no eggs!

[rossco17]

I have 7 chickens, 4 of which are speckled sussex only about 7 months old (I know at least 2 of them are laying). The other 3 in our flock are 18 month old australorps that usually lay consistently daily.

However, the past few weeks we're getting only 2-3 eggs per week total. And in that same time frame I've been seeing somewhat large wet spots in the sweet pdz below their roosts. That is in addition to regular looking poop. Could this be diarrhea? Or some other health issue? They're all behaving normally - eating, drinking, etc. One australorp is going through a decent molt.

Not sure what to do, if anything. I am in Maine where the daylight right now is in high demand, if that matters. Not getting too cold yet, though.

Thanks for any help

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

I saw a wet spot in the pdz today too. I’m curious as to what it is as well. I still have eggs, but we’ve only had the chickens for two days now.
I did see some wet poop elsewhere, but from the photos of what looks normal it was in the realm of normal.

 

[aart]

Sometimes they have juicier poops....or could be an egg remains.
How deep is your PDZ?
Can you tell who is juicy from where they roost at night?
Maybe check some butts for dirty feathers.
What and how exactly are you feeding?

 

[rossco17]

PDZ is about an inch deep. The wet spot is pretty large - lt looks like someone poured a cup of water and created about a 8" diameter wet spot. Cannot tell who is doing it - none of them have messy butts.

I'm feeding them organic layer pellets in hanging feeders, and I throw in black oil sunflower seeds on a daily basis as a treat - they go crazy for them.

thanks for your reply

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

After reading here, I looked at where the wet spot was in the coop and right above that was a very wet poop area. No pdz wet today though.

 

[aart]

PDZ is about an inch deep. The wet spot is pretty large - lt looks like someone poured a cup of water and created about a 8" diameter wet spot. Cannot tell who is doing it - none of them have messy butts.

I'm feeding them organic layer pellets in hanging feeders, and I throw in black oil sunflower seeds on a daily basis as a treat - they go crazy for them.

thanks for your reply

Was there any poop in the wet spot there at all?

 

[rossco17]

Was there any poop in the wet spot there at all?

Yes, there is normal-looking poop, and a large wet spot surrounding it. I've noticed that this is now happening in several spots on the tray consistently. And very very few eggs lately. Almost never from my 4 new layers. Something is going on.

 

[aart]

Yes, there is normal-looking poop, and a large wet spot surrounding it. I've noticed that this is now happening in several spots on the tray consistently. And very very few eggs lately. Almost never from my 4 new layers. Something is going on.

Might want to get a fecal done, from a reputable lab that will report the species and numbers of parasites that might be present.

 

[FiddleChics]

Yes, there is normal-looking poop, and a large wet spot surrounding it. I've noticed that this is now happening in several spots on the tray consistently. And very very few eggs lately. Almost never from my 4 new layers. Something is going on.

@aart - I've read a lot of your posts on this and was wondering if you could help me too... I found 3 wet poop spots under the roost on the droppings tray. A picture is below. Then, I treated the entire flock for worms (I usually wait for the first frost - but did it today instead, after finding this. I used Ivermectin Sheep Drench... as per the local expert at Tractor Supply... (I called him). He said worm them early... 4cc's in 1 gal of water. Tomorrow I'll give them all Pro-Bios. This seemed good, but I'm worried... I started reading here... and saw the yellow/white... but couldn't that just be the urate? Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated... (the red... is a feather, not blood)

 

[aart]

but couldn't that just be the urate?

Not sure, could be worms
(tho, IMO, best to have a fecal done before assuming worms)
or something else.
You saw this before you gave them the wormer?