Worms? General Worm Questions.

[saraiquimby1]

I agree that worming is not a bad idea. Can you post some photos of the bloody poop?
Is that coming from the 5mo olds or older hens? How long have the youngsters been on ground?

I will try and get pictures when and if it happens again.
It seems to be the older birds.
The younger chooks have been out there with them for about 6 weeks now. Maybe a bit longer.
Hard to tell because I’m not sure where everyone sleeps now that they are all out there

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I will try and get pictures when and if it happens again.
It seems to be the older birds.
The younger chooks have been out there with them for about 6 weeks now. Maybe a bit longer.
Hard to tell because I’m not sure where everyone sleeps now that they are all out there

A photo would be good.

I see in your profile that you are a Vet Tech? Can you take some samples to work with you for a fecal float?

 

[saraiquimby1]

A photo would be good.

I see in your profile that you are a Vet Tech? Can you take some samples to work with you for a fecal float?

I can. I don’t know why I didn’t think about that. Do it for my sheep and horses but it never crossed my mind for the chickens lol I’m keeping an eye out for another pile that looks strange and I’ll test it.
Thanks for your help

 

[saraiquimby1]

@Wyorp Rock and anyone else. I am taking a fecal in tomorrow to work, but in the meantime..this is what I"m seeing now, from both my adults and my juvenile birds. Their poop isn't formed anymore, it just looks like this splatter sort of poop in the poop boards overnight. I use PDZ and always have. You can see in the second picture that their are piles of normal poop but also this weird splatter. Thoughts?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Glad you are taking a sample in!

I see well formed poop. The splats are likely cecal poop.

Chickens have 2 types of poop:

• "Normal Poop" like you are seeing - that is formed with a white cap.
• "Cecal Poop" this is a loose, somewhat sticky stinky poop (like pudding). A chicken has a cecal poop about 1 out of every 8-10 poops.

Poop size, color, texture and stink can vary greatly depending on diet, how much water a chicken is consuming (hot weather=loose poop), their overall health, etc.

Please keep us posted on what you find out.

 

[saraiquimby1]

No parasites.
My chickens are giving me fits right now lol Now one of my gorgeous EE's that i THOUGHT was a female has taken to attacking us when we go in the coop. 5 months old. Not crowing. But meaner than snot.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

No parasites.
My chickens are giving me fits right now lol Now one of my gorgeous EE's that i THOUGHT was a female has taken to attacking us when we go in the coop. 5 months old. Not crowing. But meaner than snot.

That's good news!

If you have pictures of the EE I can take a look, I'm not very good about telling genders. There is also a "what breed/gender" forum that you can post on, the folks on there are very good.

Anyway, it's not a good sign if your cockerel is already attacking at 5months, you will need to decide what you need to do with him. A male like that is not to be trusted with children around. You may want to invite him to a nice dinner

 

[rebrascora]

Great to hear you don't need to worm them and waste all those eggs. I find that poop varies a lot and it is just a possible indicator that something is amiss. It is good to monitor it but I don't worry or reach for the medicine box unless they are acting unwell. I just keep a closer eye on them if they are producing unusual poop. I find that fermented feed helps to keep poops more healthy looking.
Your description as "gorgeous" suggests it is male. At 5 months male sex feathers (the ones that make them gorgeous) should be reasonably well developed. Do you have another rooster in the flock, as a dominant male will suppress a younger one from crowing? It could however be that you have an aggressive female... it happens. I have one that is not aggressive but is becoming very dominant with the other hens and is mounting several of them on a daily basis she is still laying daily (probably my best layer), so you do get females that display cock bird behaviour.