Boarding chickens with Poopy Vent, Purple poop? Not getting better...:(

[Microwave Girl]

About two weeks ago, P and K got extremely stressed out, (I put them outside in a dog crate while I was cleaning) and didn't truly calm down for about 12 hours. A few days later, the poopy vents started. Sloppy poop on the run floor, poop encrusted around the vent and in the feathers, won't sleep on roost.

I treated with an epsom salt bath (1 cup to a large stock pot) and apple cider vinegar in the water (2 TBsp in their 1.5 gallon waterer). Chicken K is laying again, sleeping on roost, still gets the occasional poop stuck in her feathers, but is mostly alright. Chicken P improved for about 3,4 days, (went back to laying, little to no poop stuck) then regressed again (no laying, poop encrusted, no roost, the whole thing) . I've done the whole treatment twice now on Chicken P and every time she gets better for 3 or 4 days, and then goes back to ill. Then, yesterday, I found this poop:



???? Why is it this pinky-purple? The ENTIRE poop is that color, not streaky, like I'd expect if it was blood. I checked this morning, and there is no more purple poop, so is this a once off, or a sign of something more sinister?
Any ideas? Any advice? Chickens P and K aren't actually mine (I'm taking care of them for somebody) so this is especially stressfull.

Oh, also, Chicken P has a v e r y sharp keel, even though she eats fine, has no mites, and her feather condition is good. Chicken K's keel is normal. They're both eating normal layer crumble, with the occasional treat of mealworms. Also, Chicken P tends to hold her wings limp, not held away from her body exactly, but not tucked up on her back like Chicken K either.

Thanks in advance!

 

[MysteryChicken]

Looks like blood mixed with poop, & urates. Or it's stained by something like berries.

Have you given them anything that would stain?

If it's not staining by fruit, then it's blood.

 

[Microwave Girl]

I've given them nothing in the past week but food and water. So, it must be blood, I guess. Any idea why?

 

[MysteryChicken]

I've given them nothing in the past week but food and water. So, it must be blood, I guess. Any idea why?

Coccidiosis comes to mind, but there's other things that might be the cause.

I'll tag in some other's who maybe able to help.

@Wyorp Rock

@azygous

@Eggcessive

 

[azygous]

It isn't blood. I've seen such poop from my own flock on occasion. I don't know precisely what caused the pink tint, but it was not pervasive and didn't repeat as a pattern or trend.

Soils contain many different minerals, yellow, brown, black, and red, and they will become much more deeply hued as a chicken digs below surface soils. Of course, the chickens are always consuming these mineral particles as grit and also as insects. A concentration of these minerals will sometimes temporarily stain poop an unusual color.

Depending on what the chicken consumes, mineral soil, vegetative matter or food, their poop will take on the color sometimes. (Feed red cabbage and stand back in wonder at the magenta poop!) That's why poop varies so much and why you can't go by poop alone as a symptom. Go on behavior. Chickens that are active, vocal, and eating well are just fine.

 

[Microwave Girl]

Thank you! I think my next step is to treat them both with corid and see if that takes care of it.

 

[azygous]

I don't think you understood my reply. It is not blood in that poop you posted. No need to treat for coccidiosis unless your chickens are acting sick and lethargic.