Yellowish tinted poo?

[citychicks99]

I have a RIR hen and rooster and last week, I noticed a yellowish tinted dropping on my step. Their poop usually dries pretty quickly but I noticed that this dropping looked about the same for a few days and when it finally dried, there was still a bit of a yellowish tint to it. I have also seen some of their droppings with the yellowish tint very watery and some of it gets stuck to their butt. This kind of poo happens occasionally. I'm still seeing a lot of healthy poo and they're eating and acting normal otherwise. I do leave them fresh water, free choice chicken feed, grit, and oyster and egg shells for the hen.

I have dewormed them in November with Fenbendazole and again in December because I thought I was supposed to but realized later that I didn't need to do that.

The only thing I can think of is that we've been letting them free range in the backyard and they love drinking very old water from buckets that have been sitting there for years. I just emptied out the last bucket that they can reach easily. We still have two large buckets of very old and disgusting water that I'm not sure what to do with yet because I saw a nasty maggot with a tail in it once. I don't think they can access those though. They seem to still try and drink from puddles but at least these are shallow and I know the water isn't too old.

Should I just keep a close eye on them and wait a week to see if they still have those droppings now that most of the old water is gone? Are these occasional poos normal?

 

[Eggcessive]

Are the chickens all acting normally and eating/drinking well? If you could get a few poop samples and take them in to your regular vet for a fecal float, they could rule out worms and coccidiosis. Fenbendazole 10% is usually given either for 5 days in a row to treat most all worms, or it is given once and again after 10 days to treat only roundworms. Dosage is 0.25 ml per pound given orally undiluted. I would try to remove any buckets that collect old water. Wild birds and pigeons can carry canker and other diseases that can affect chickens. Probiotics once or twice a week might help with gut health.

 

[citychicks99]

Are the chickens all acting normally and eating/drinking well? If you could get a few poop samples and take them in to your regular vet for a fecal float, they could rule out worms and coccidiosis. Fenbendazole 10% is usually given either for 5 days in a row to treat most all worms, or it is given once and again after 10 days to treat only roundworms. Dosage is 0.25 ml per pound given orally undiluted. I would try to remove any buckets that collect old water. Wild birds and pigeons can carry canker and other diseases that can affect chickens. Probiotics once or twice a week might help with gut health.

They are acting normal and eating and drinking normally. Fenbendazole was given to them for 5 days and again 3 weeks later. I give them yogurt every other day.

There are swallows and rats around here that get into their food. I bought a rat repellent feeder but have been waiting for their new house to be finished so I can mount that. I may do that sooner for their health's sake since the walls are put up but not the door. My rat traps also killed a rat the other day. It took a few weeks to get one.

I'll call around about a fecal float test.

 

[citychicks99]

Does anyone know if there's a difference between getting a fecal test from the vet vs getting one from the state? I had called my regular vet last time and they referred me to this avian clinic. They told me that I would have to bring both birds in for a checkup before they would do the test. It's $68 per bird for the checkup and $66 for the test but I would only need one. Their first availability is the first or second week in March. The state lab would do it for $15. I think I just mail them the poo. Would they give me information on treatment? Aside from the price, I don't think I'd want to wait that long for the bird vet. My gut says to just start treating them for cocci tomorrow and maybe mail the state lab their poo.

 

[citychicks99]

Does this look like a worm in the egg? I'm going to ship out their poo later today when I get off work.

@Eggcessive

 

[Eggcessive]

No that doesn’t look like a worm, but probably is normal. Many skip the fecal float because of unavailability or the cost, and go ahead and treat for coccidiosis and worm with Valbazen or SafeGuard Liquid Goat Wormer. My regular dog vet will do it for me if I just bring in a sample. If you state vet is willing, that sounds like a good deal.