Finding straw in poop

[Dynamissa]

Well, I’ve noticed a couple
Of my girls have decided that eating chopped straw in the run is a good idea I guess? I’m sure they rest some of it pecking around and scratching in the run but my question is - is it too much?

If so what do I do? Remove the straw from the run? They like to break up pine shaving flakes an d eat that as well. Included photo is just. A small section of the poop. Is that enough actual fecal matter to straw?

These two tend to have very full crops at night but in the morning it’s empty. Just looking to see if this is something I should be doing something about or what.

Not sure what to put on the floor of the runo other than the straw. It’s been working okay until now… all the sand at Lowe’s and Home Depot are soaked and in broken bags and the stores that would sell it in bulk are closed for the winter. I also wouldn’t trust these idiots to not eat sand. But my run is damp from the tons of snow and ice,
Quick warm up’s into the 50s with rain and a completely full water table. Can’t just use the dirt because it’s mud.


Thanks for input.

 

[sourland]

Do they have access to grit? If not, I would provide some.

 

[Dynamissa]

Yep, they do.

 

[Debbie292d]

Maybe there's some nutrient they're lacking. Try giving them a vitamin supplement. We use Poultry Cell in their water on occasion, but in their all-flock crumbles, they get rooster booster granules mixed in. These are silkies so I'm a little more concerned about vitamin deficiencies though.

You could also try some leafy treats like kale or spinach.

 

[sourland]

You could try hanging a head of cabbage in their pen so that they have some roughage to peck at.

 

[aart]

What all and how exactly are you feeding them?
Do they have a good chicken ration available all day long?

 

[Dynamissa]

They currently have 20% all
Flock and 16% layer feed combo with grit and oyster shell provided and 7 places for them to get food from all day (and two places for grit and oyster shell both).

We aren’t allowed to free range so they are always in their run but they have enough space for the 5 of them.