Loosing hope

[Wyorp Rock]

I saw some poops that looked clear and yellow tinted with scrambled egg looking stuff in the middle. Looked identical to pictures on the net. Birds are otherwise healthy looking though. However now one of my hens has its neck feathers being pecked out by the others. I sanitized it and put on some iodine then put some stop pick on to deter the other birds from continuing, the kept on plucking her feathers still. I can’t isolate her entirely because last time I did that upon returning the bird was killed by pecking. I have her in a large Rubbermaid tote with holes drilled with water and feed inside the main coop. Hoping for a good result but rather worried. Also while preparing this I had to put all four birds in my shed and I’m worried they might have ate some rat poop in there and I just compounded my issues

Can you post some photos of your hens and their poop?

What do you feed, including treats?

While yes, yellow urates or a yellow tinge to poop can often indicate something going on with the liver or a reproductive disorder, you would still want to go by behavior.

If a hen is eating/drinking, active, interacting with her flock, dust bathing, laying eggs fairly regularly, then generally there's not an immediate need for concern.

If possible, get a fecal float through your vet. Collect a sampling of fresh droppings and take them in, see if the hens need deworming.

Pecking can happen if birds are bored and sometimes if they have limited space or are in need of protein, other nutrients. If it's boredom, then hang some greens (Kale, Collards) or a small cabbage for them to pick at, this will entertain them. With smaller spaces, sometimes they get on each other's nerves, so having a few perches in the run, some barriers that block direct vision, a bale of straw, etc. will provide places for them to get out of the way of one another.
Extra protein can sometimes fill a need if nutrition/cannibalism is part of the problem. Egg, meat or fish a few times a week can be enticing and provide a bit of extra protein as well.

I'm sorry that you are dealing with all this. Rodents can be a challenge to control. Hopefully you'll be able to trap or get rid of them, they can be a constant battle.

 

[Nakulik]

Can you post some photos of your hens and their poop?

What do you feed, including treats?

While yes, yellow urates or a yellow tinge to poop can often indicate something going on with the liver or a reproductive disorder, you would still want to go by behavior.

If a hen is eating/drinking, active, interacting with her flock, dust bathing, laying eggs fairly regularly, then generally there's not an immediate need for concern.

If possible, get a fecal float through your vet. Collect a sampling of fresh droppings and take them in, see if the hens need deworming.

Pecking can happen if birds are bored and sometimes if they have limited space or are in need of protein, other nutrients. If it's boredom, then hang some greens (Kale, Collards) or a small cabbage for them to pick at, this will entertain them. With smaller spaces, sometimes they get on each other's nerves, so having a few perches in the run, some barriers that block direct vision, a bale of straw, etc. will provide places for them to get out of the way of one another.
Extra protein can sometimes fill a need if nutrition/cannibalism is part of the problem. Egg, meat or fish a few times a week can be enticing and provide a bit of extra protein as well.

I'm sorry that you are dealing with all this. Rodents can be a challenge to control. Hopefully you'll be able to trap or get rid of them, they can be a constant battle.

Luckily I haven’t seen any suspect poops lately and that’s good to know that they should be good by behaviour. I don’t have access to a vet or lab for any type of diagnostics as mentioned earlier. I feed a commercial layer ration with 16% protein. I give them bits of vegetables for treats, recently some pumpkin. I would assume they are bored as there is a foot and a half of snow on the ground and they have no interest in leaving their coop. Tried giving them some treats which wasn’t too effective but I’ll try to hang some collards (they’re actually alive under all this snow)

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Luckily I haven’t seen any suspect poops lately and that’s good to know that they should be good by behaviour. I don’t have access to a vet or lab for any type of diagnostics as mentioned earlier. I feed a commercial layer ration with 16% protein. I give them bits of vegetables for treats, recently some pumpkin. I would assume they are bored as there is a foot and a half of snow on the ground and they have no interest in leaving their coop. Tried giving them some treats which wasn’t too effective but I’ll try to hang some collards (they’re actually alive under all this snow)

Sounds good.

Boy! That's some snow, I can see why they don't want to go out.

Hopefully they will enjoy the collards.

To help stir up bedding in the coop and keep them occupied, you can also toss a small amount of scratch onto the bedding of the coop, they will have to scratch and hunt for small pieces.

 

[Sondraa]

Unfortunately with no vet service and no access to drugs in Canada it’s the worst day of my life rather frequently. Even when I wrongly suspect something and they turn out fine it’s a near miss on disaster as there’s nothing that I can do but sit and wait generally.

Why can't pet owners have access to drugs for their animals? Here farmers or commercial breeders do but not pet owners. Sounds like it is the same in Canada? Do Canadians have access to online vets? I haven't tried it yet but it's my plan if something should happen to my animals. Has anyone tried online vets abd do they prescribe when necessary?