Dirt pica???

[Dynamissa]

Lately my birds (21 weeks) have dug into the run floor heavily, scratching it up which is fine but.

I’ve noticed today that the majority of them suddenly don’t want to touch their feed and their poo is mud colored… are they eating the dirt alone?? Like they will eat scrambled eggs (I’ve been told not to feed it because one of my girls died of fatty liver…) and some wet crumble but only one or two of the 5 I am noticing at the feeders at this point..


Would this happen to a whole flock?? They are in cluck and co organic (18%) with no treats right now per instruction ... or they would be if they were touching it at all. They have had darker colored poo on this feed than what they did on mannapro/dumor as it is a darker colored feed… I assume

Super concerned because they aren’t hefty birds to begin with and I’ve been feeling like they are a bit skinny but I’m not sure.

One has had watery poop for a bit but it’s normal overnight (getting. Fecal test tomorrow) and two more are loose, only the Orpingtons have had normal poops in a bit.

Would I use poultry cell or nutridrench for a boost either way in this situation while i try to figure out why they aren’t using the feed??

Could this be pica or..? Would their poops look normalish of they were only eating dirt, like formed, or not? Ugh these birds

I see the one with the watery poop plucking at the little roots she’s dug up. Is that a normal /okay food source? I know it’s not *enough* … but … also she gets bullied away from food a lot, she’ll eat from my hand… but she is skittish around feeders. I have 3 feeders and 5 birds. The bully gets into everybody’s business and will run from one side of the run to the other to get to the other feeding station and mess with whoever is over there. I’m looking for clutter to break up LoS but… I don’t want to think these poor things are so hungry they’re eating dirt and roots when food is available. I don’t know what to do ever since the one pullet passed away everything has felt like it’s gone downhill and I’m losing sleep over these birds. I love them but I’m at my wit’s end.. and they are my daughter’s technically. She’s 5 but you know how they are. She’s in denial Cookie is dead already…

I’m sorry this is a huge brain vomit rant but I’m sleep deprived and anxious as hell. I was happy because it looked like everybody was going to sleep with full crops but now I’m afraid they’re all full of dirt..

 

[Debbie292d]

Hi,

Sorry for your loss of Cookie. It's hard to lose a chicken, especially one we're bonded with to some extent.

Do your chickens get out to get some grass/weeds? If not, I'd start supplementing them with some kale or some similar greens once or twice a week. In the summer, we grow kale, and in the winter we'll buy a bunch a couple of times as they just need a few leaves at a time.

Like they will eat scrambled eggs (I’ve been told not to feed it because one of my girls died of fatty liver…)

Scrambled eggs are very nutritious so go ahead with that as a treat. That wouldn't be considered fatty unless you're cooking them in butter or fat. We just use cooking spray in a frying pan so no fat. Mealworms and corn are fatty though.

Would I use poultry cell or nutridrench for a boost either way in this situation while i try to figure out why they aren’t using the feed??

We give ours a vitamin boost every day via Rooster Booster granules in their feed. That's fine to do. You could also try some probiotics, like either the powders for the water or some Greek yogurt. That would help their digestive system.

The fecal test you're getting may shed some light on the issues they may have, such as perhaps worms or something else. Please let us know the results of that.

If they'll eat wet crumble, I guess I'd find a bigger dish and make up enough of it for a day's worth. We do that as a treat here, and they sure love that!

 

[Dynamissa]

Hi,

Sorry for your loss of Cookie. It's hard to lose a chicken, especially one we're bonded with to some extent.

Do your chickens get out to get some grass/weeds? If not, I'd start supplementing them with some kale or some similar greens once or twice a week. In the summer, we grow kale, and in the winter we'll buy a bunch a couple of times as they just need a few leaves at a time.


Scrambled eggs are very nutritious so go ahead with that as a treat. That wouldn't be considered fatty unless you're cooking them in butter or fat. We just use cooking spray in a frying pan so no fat. Mealworms and corn are fatty though.



We give ours a vitamin boost every day via Rooster Booster granules in their feed. That's fine to do. You could also try some probiotics, like either the powders for the water or some Greek yogurt. That would help their digestive system.

The fecal test you're getting may shed some light on the issues they may have, such as perhaps worms or something else. Please let us know the results of that.

If they'll eat wet crumble, I guess I'd find a bigger dish and make up enough of it for a day's worth. We do that as a treat here, and they sure love that!

Unfortunately we are not allowed to free range our girls by ordinance… but I’ll give kale a try.

I have poultry cell liquid — should I swap it for granules or put it in their water?

I’ll be sure to follow up here. I’m thinking of making an emergency vet appt. For one of them to glean more info - I don’t want to chance waiting a week for a normal one if I can help it. Since Cookie passed they all have been acting strange like digging up the dirt floor and going off crumbles and just … yeah.

How many eggs should I scramble for 5 21 week old pullets do you think? I have a ceramic pan so I don’t use anything to scramble them up.

As for wet crumbles - I usually pick it up after an hour. It’s not warm here but I don’t know how long it should stay out.


Thank you for the ideas.

 

[Eggcessive]

Make small amounts of wet feed. You can leave it out for a few hours, and then wash the bowls. I might try a small bag of their old feed. I once tried a store brand of feed that was dark in color, and very different from the usual Purina, Nutrena, Kalmbach, or Dumor feed they were used to. They hated it and would not eat it. You could put some of the old in one container and the old feed in another, and see if they will eat the old. Is any one hen acting ill? Are crops empty in morning, and filling during the day.

 

[Dynamissa]

Make small amounts of wet feed. You can leave it out for a few hours, and then wash the bowls. I might try a small bag of their old feed. I once tried a store brand of feed that was dark in color, and very different from the usual Purina, Nutrena, Kalmbach, or Dumor feed they were used to. They hated it and would not eat it. You could put some of the old in one container and the old feed in another, and see if they will eat the old. Is any one hen acting ill? Are crops empty in morning, and filling during the day.

No one is acting sick.

One of them had a bit of doughiness this morning… she had it once before like she didn’t drink enough the night before. There were poops under her spot overnight. Gave her a half teaspoon of coconut oil and she drank some water and it loosened up. But she didn’t poop anything this morning when I was watching, as if she didn’t eat when she woke up (she didn’t)

She’s being chased off the feeders.

I’m going to pay extra attention to her today, see if she poops normal(ish) and maybe hand feed her a bit.

I didn’t smell anything strange when I sniffed her mouth… but I’ll be picking up some monistat later to have on hand

 

[Debbie292d]

Unfortunately we are not allowed to free range our girls by ordinance… but I’ll give kale a try.

I have poultry cell liquid — should I swap it for granules or put it in their water?

I’ll be sure to follow up here. I’m thinking of making an emergency vet appt. For one of them to glean more info - I don’t want to chance waiting a week for a normal one if I can help it. Since Cookie passed they all have been acting strange like digging up the dirt floor and going off crumbles and just … yeah.

How many eggs should I scramble for 5 21 week old pullets do you think? I have a ceramic pan so I don’t use anything to scramble them up.

As for wet crumbles - I usually pick it up after an hour. It’s not warm here but I don’t know how long it should stay out.

Thank you for the ideas.

Very welcome!

Wet crumbles they recommend removing after 4-6 hours. It's in the 50s at night here, so if I make it late in the day, I leave it overnight, then they clean it up the next morning if they hadn't by that point.

Ironically, some folks ferment crumbles and that's keeping them wet, in a jar or bucket, covered with water, for three days! I ferment grains but not feed as that gets too mushy.

Scrambled eggs here go far, about 8 - 10 eggs gives around 20 or so a nice treat. So, maybe two or three for yours. They will go nuts at first, then it dies down, but it will all be eaten.

Poultry Cell in the water is fine. You could do one or the other (granules in the feed) but I wouldn't do both for too many days in a row. We've always mixed in about 1/2 the recommended dose of the Rooster Booster granules into their feed. Yet, if one or more seem off, I'll mix them up an ice cream pail of Poultry Cell water. They have a 5-gallon nipple bucket in the coop, so I don't change that whole thing, just a gallon of it for a day or two.

 

[Dynamissa]

Very welcome!

Wet crumbles they recommend removing after 4-6 hours. It's in the 50s at night here, so if I make it late in the day, I leave it overnight, then they clean it up the next morning if they hadn't by that point.

Ironically, some folks ferment crumbles and that's keeping them wet, in a jar or bucket, covered with water, for three days! I ferment grains but not feed as that gets too mushy.

Scrambled eggs here go far, about 8 - 10 eggs gives around 20 or so a nice treat. So, maybe two or three for yours. They will go nuts at first, then it dies down, but it will all be eaten.

Poultry Cell in the water is fine. You could do one or the other (granules in the feed) but I wouldn't do both for too many days in a row. We've always mixed in about 1/2 the recommended dose of the Rooster Booster granules into their feed. Yet, if one or more seem off, I'll mix them up an ice cream pail of Poultry Cell water. They have a 5-gallon nipple bucket in the coop, so I don't change that whole thing, just a gallon of it for a day or two.

How many times a week do you think on the eggs? I’ve just been feeding them back to them.

 

[Debbie292d]

How many times a week do you think on the eggs? I’ve just been feeding them back to them.

I don't think there's a set number of days they should or shouldn't get scrambled eggs, as it's considered a treat to them, and they're healthy for them. We just give them to them once a week, but more often would be fine. Scrambled eggs are way healthier than storebought scratch, cracked corn, mealworms, bread, etc. that people use for treats. They are high in protein and so many other vitamins and nutrients, so it would be so much healthier if they'd replace the less nutritious things more often.

I just wouldn't give those every day due to possible overload of a particular vitamin or mineral. I'd give at least a day break between them.