That sounds encouraging, especially the lack of fluid in her body cavity and a bit of weight gain. Keep us posted!
Wet droppings (grey green)
- Thread starter rick
- Start date
rick
Active member
I was just gently massaging her crop (on a break from re pointing the chimney) and most of what was in there suddenly disappeared! I'm hoping thats a good sign!
that's good - kind of the opposite activity to poking stuff INTO holes to bung them up!
rick
Active member
It could go either way and I am poised to do do the right thing. At the moment she is eating for England but whether it is doing her any good is not so clear. Yes, I went for Synulox as tablets to bring her temperature down (so perfect digestion not to be expected) though her crop contents have moved through so the original reason (to make her fit for crop emptying) no longer applies, I think. Poop a better colour and a bit firmer. She is taking grit. Apart from things being a bit weird for her, not least the amount of unrequited attention, she is active and not showing any signs (that i can spot when tuned in) of undue discomfort.
I am wondering about this general weight loss at this time of year when the CLBs (younger, I know, but not a great deal younger) are fine apart from only two still laying. I'm not absolutely sure which two but the one that lays the slightly greener/blue eggs has stopped (I think that's Pom who has lost a fair bit of weight as well - she was a stocky CLB in the summer.)
Full on pro-biotics when the course is over and fingers crossed!
Ive been giving them a weak cup of tea (which they love, and high in antioxidants) and some cucumber to keep Bonnie's water intake high. It wont be for the want of trying!
For healthy hens, has anyone else noticed weight loss around autumn moulting time? It doesn't make much sense to me with winter approaching, to be losing weight, but maybe it makes sense to a bird with an insecure future once that years breeding is done??
I am wondering about this general weight loss at this time of year when the CLBs (younger, I know, but not a great deal younger) are fine apart from only two still laying. I'm not absolutely sure which two but the one that lays the slightly greener/blue eggs has stopped (I think that's Pom who has lost a fair bit of weight as well - she was a stocky CLB in the summer.)
Full on pro-biotics when the course is over and fingers crossed!
Ive been giving them a weak cup of tea (which they love, and high in antioxidants) and some cucumber to keep Bonnie's water intake high. It wont be for the want of trying!
For healthy hens, has anyone else noticed weight loss around autumn moulting time? It doesn't make much sense to me with winter approaching, to be losing weight, but maybe it makes sense to a bird with an insecure future once that years breeding is done??
I think it's scientifically interesting that you have recorded weight loss around moulting time, Rick, as i expect most keepers, myself included, don't actually weigh their hens on a regular basis, and just rely on feeling the keel of any birds who appear not to be thriving. Knowing their weights when healthy must be a great help when diagnosing changes. Undoubtedly, an almost complete change of plumage does take it out of them. They become unable to lay because of the nutritional demands of growing new plumage, and also there must be considerable hormonal change to cope with, - a sort of annual menopause for older birds who, in the wild, would probably become prey once their first two breeding summers were over.
However, not many are as lucky as yours - mine do get cucumber occasionally, but so far have never asked for cups of tea. Do yours get it in bed in the morning?
love and good luck to Bonnie xx
However, not many are as lucky as yours - mine do get cucumber occasionally, but so far have never asked for cups of tea. Do yours get it in bed in the morning?
love and good luck to Bonnie xx
chrismahon
Well-known member
Wet grey/ green droppings are normal for a moulting hen Rick. They eat their feather sheaths which fills their crop with effectively nothing they can digest- some also eat moulted feathers which can impact the crop. The result from the stress of the moult is a green tinge to the poo and as most of their crop content is water so are the poos. As they are effectively not really eating they lose weight as a result. Many of ours are in that condition at the moment. What can help is extra protein from a few sunflower hearts but it's important they have eaten grit or they will go straight through undigested. The probiotic course is a good idea as the gut flora will be severely depleted from lack of feed. Fortunately it's a lot warmer here so we don't do much to help them unless they are obviously struggling- our TNN's have been getting wet mash as they stopped eating anything except fallen figs!
rick
Active member
Hells Bells! You've said that before Chris - and I had forgotten!
Ive been so caught up in the dread of a repeat performance, when she went down to 2.2kg and really was in serious trouble. Ive been felling semi confident that she is going to be OK today and that has clinched it - so far as anything involving a chicken is predictable other than roosting at dusk!
Weighing them is pretty easy with digital kitchen scales and a mini perch on top though Bonnie's keel is pretty obviously sharp at the moment too. I guess it just quantifies things a bit better. It has been interesting to see that variations of 200-300g from day to day mean practically nothing - its the trend and whether it is diverging from the others.
When you search 'green poop' on the net you get 'eating greens' and 'liver failure' and not much between!
The tea is a bit of a laugh really (though it does perk them up and I love the way they get a beak full then really seem to savor it) Walking into the run with a mug of tea and a bowl of same and saying 'fancy a cup of tea girls?' is just funny!
Ive been so caught up in the dread of a repeat performance, when she went down to 2.2kg and really was in serious trouble. Ive been felling semi confident that she is going to be OK today and that has clinched it - so far as anything involving a chicken is predictable other than roosting at dusk!
Weighing them is pretty easy with digital kitchen scales and a mini perch on top though Bonnie's keel is pretty obviously sharp at the moment too. I guess it just quantifies things a bit better. It has been interesting to see that variations of 200-300g from day to day mean practically nothing - its the trend and whether it is diverging from the others.
When you search 'green poop' on the net you get 'eating greens' and 'liver failure' and not much between!
The tea is a bit of a laugh really (though it does perk them up and I love the way they get a beak full then really seem to savor it) Walking into the run with a mug of tea and a bowl of same and saying 'fancy a cup of tea girls?' is just funny!
chrismahon
Well-known member
The penny dropped (le centime est tombé) with green poos when Chester attacked Jean-Claude and beat himself up on the run wire. His poos went bright green immediately, so obviously not an infection but a stress reaction to his chest injuries. Since then we've only put green poos down to internal infection once (treated with Baytril) as all the other cases were either dietary (savoy cabbage is a favourite) or degrees of stress from an injury or usually moulting. You can even see a colour change in Spring when cocks start to get very territorial.
We don't actually weigh ours Rick, just judge from the keel bone and a perception of weight compared against others. Some hens are naturally light- usually the best layers. Of course they weigh more when laying anyway as they have eggs in process and are eating far more so more in the digestive system. We have two young Marans, both lay very well even during their current moult (egg every two days not every one though) and both are just skin, feathers and bones! Poos are perfect so its not due to worms -we've stopped worming ours regularly as it appears completely unnecessary here, perhaps due to the heat and dryness?
We don't actually weigh ours Rick, just judge from the keel bone and a perception of weight compared against others. Some hens are naturally light- usually the best layers. Of course they weigh more when laying anyway as they have eggs in process and are eating far more so more in the digestive system. We have two young Marans, both lay very well even during their current moult (egg every two days not every one though) and both are just skin, feathers and bones! Poos are perfect so its not due to worms -we've stopped worming ours regularly as it appears completely unnecessary here, perhaps due to the heat and dryness?
rick
Active member
Well that is the proof of the pudding if there ever was one!chrismahon said:
Bonnie's poops are still not perfect but a good colour and getting less watery all the time. She was producing quite a worrying watery mud coloured cecal poop but to be honest any is better than none and i am sure she will sort herself out now.
I've always been worried that they don't get enough exercise. I throw down scratch but they find it all in 10 mins max and then don't really have a purpose for foraging behavior. I'm going to try a hopper of bedding (Auboise), with a handful of scratch and some mealworms mixed in, that they can spread during the day but will take more time and effort. The idea is to have the hopper (a council recycling bin) empty through a gap at the bottom into an enclosing frame so they have to scratch out the contents of the low frame into the wider run before more comes out of the hopper (carrying the goodies with it.)
Ive been regularly replacing a fairly shallow scattering of Auboise in the run for a while now. Not the most efficient use of it, I know, but it was the exercise gained by putting a pile of Auboise in the middle with a few treats in and letting them spread it themselves that gave me the idea.
chrismahon
Well-known member
I think you are quite right to try and keep them entertained Rick. Problem is chickens are quite determined when it comes to food and have very long memories- we used to rattle the treats feeding scoop over a year ago and ours still go crazy when they hear that sound. You may find they empty the hopper in preference to eating pellets and then won't eat pellets in the hope that the hopper will be refilled- 'holding out for the good stuff' as it's previously been called. We give treats very infrequently and completely at random, which avoids the eating issues. We have also found we need to keep them in the runs in the mornings to make them eat pellets, otherwise they spend all day eating rubbish.
Love the new avatar, Rick!
rick
Active member
Glad you do Marigold. I quite liked 'Betty Colour-Bars' but 'JRPG Chicken' - always good!
I'm at home tomorrow (more pointing - its the clambering around on a ladder that will be good to be over) so will get to see how long it takes them to empty the Auboise bin. I think it must be at least 4 hours so they probably have to stop for sustenance as it will be a bit like running round the block for a couple of crisps! Or maybe it's like a video game and they have neglected bodily needs for just one more mealworm!
Ive just got to figure out now how to turn spent Auboise into fuel logs because, although it has been a boon for the council green waste compost... (also I have working chimneys now...)
I'm at home tomorrow (more pointing - its the clambering around on a ladder that will be good to be over) so will get to see how long it takes them to empty the Auboise bin. I think it must be at least 4 hours so they probably have to stop for sustenance as it will be a bit like running round the block for a couple of crisps! Or maybe it's like a video game and they have neglected bodily needs for just one more mealworm!
Ive just got to figure out now how to turn spent Auboise into fuel logs because, although it has been a boon for the council green waste compost... (also I have working chimneys now...)
