Diarrhea for about year

[K-Hill]

I've had 10 chickens for about 2 years. Black Australorps and RIRs. They have eaten NCO (organic) feed the whole time. They eat almost none of the powdered supplements. Wet or dry, it matters not. I also tried crumble and pellets. No change. They have access to crushed oyster shells and oyster shell flakes.

Except for what falls from the sky, our property and home are chemical-free. They have free-ranged the whole time. I've cleaned their sleeping area daily the whole time.

Their lives are peaceful and free. They have had diarrhea for about the past year. A vet tested 3 bird poop samples and said they were free from parasites. In addition to diarrhea, their egg production has gradually fallen off. Some days are zero. The most they lay is 4. Some of the shells are so thin that if another bird climbs in, it smashes. I often find a shell-less, splatted egg in the morning which was dropped from a (nighttime) roost bar. I've resorted to lining their 4x6 sleeping area with medical disposable table covers for ease of cleaning and so I can see what's going on.

It seems like they might have egg drop syndrome. It is primarily spread by wild water fowl which has never landed here. No water or pond, here. I don't know what to do. And, if I start over with new birds, how will they not get it, too?

 

[azygous]

What is your location? Tell us what are the ingredients in the organic feed? Tell is what all types of table scraps or other things the chickens eat.

Your location will tell us if your chickens are molting and also if the climate is contributing to this issue. Are you using any supplements added to the drinking water or feed?

 

[K-Hill]

Thank you...

Ingreds are: Organic Field Peas, Organic Corn, Organic Wheat, Organic Oats, Fish Meal, Calcium Carbonate, Organic Alfalfa Pellets, Hydrated Sodium Calcium Aluminosilicate, Organic Flaxseed, Organic Vegetable Oil (Organic Sunflower or Organic Flax), Monocalcium Phosphate, Organic Dehydrated Kelp Meal, Salt, DL Methionine, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Menadione Dimethylpyrimidinol Bisulfite, Riboflavin Supplement, D-Calcium Pantothenic Acid, Niacin Supplement, Choline Chloride, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Manganese Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Dried Aspergillus oryzae Fermentation Extract, Active Dry Yeast, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation product, Dried Lactobacillus casei Fermentation product, Dried Lactobacillus plantarum Fermentation product, Dried Enterococcus faecium Fermentation product, Dried Bacillus licheniformis Fermentation product, Dried Bacillus subtilis Fermentation Product.

No table scraps. Occassional organic cucumber or organic grated broccoli stems. (Occasianal)

No water additives.

Location is an hour west of Asheville, NC.
Diarrhea and soft/shell-less eggs for a year.

Thanks, again.

 

[azygous]

Flax seed and flax or sunflower oils do cause loose stools. As long as your chickens are behaving normally, active, eating well, etc, loose stools are not anything more than a sloppy inconvenience. You might experiment with another feed mixture that doesn't include flax.

If you have stretches of hot weather, that can cause loose stools when the chickens drink a lot of water.

You are in the northern hemisphere, so your chickens, at age two, will be going through their first adult molt. Egg quality and quantity decreases during this time. It should pick up again in late January with good quality eggs.

 

[K-Hill]

Thank you.

Would you care to share what you're feeding?

(Their diarrhea and drop in eggs has been going on for a year in all types of temperatures and times of the year.)

 

[azygous]

I've fed Purina Flock Raiser all these years to my mixed flock with oyster shell for the layers.

 

[K-Hill]

Thank you