Trouble with Pudding Poop

[BagBegBog]

Hello,

All of my chickens seem to have come down with this trouble of pudding poop. It's been happening for two months now. Beginning about a month and half ago I took one of them to the vet for a fecal test. It came back with a small number of cocidiosis eggs, so I started treatment with Corid in the drinking water. The poop seems to be no better 6 weeks out from Corid treatment following the ratios here (from BYC) for severe down to preventative outbreak. I'm not sure what to do next. A few things:
-Chickens seem asymptomatic, except this poop.
-We have a flock of 5 and they are all eating, drinking, behaving normally
-Two new chickens we added in the midst of this came with "normal" poop, and now have the same pudding stinky poop the others do
-About 1/5 poops seem normal for most of the birds, though a pudding poo can come right before or after a normal poop (when it happens)
-Merging of new chickens seems to be settled, new pecking order established
-All of these pics are from the last 2 days

Should I take a fecal sample back in to the vet? Change treatment? Theories on what's going on here?

Thanks chicken fam!

 

[SourRoses]

I sometimes see poop like that on really hot days. When they drink more water to cool down it can cause watery poop. Is it hot in your area? What's the temperature like inside your coop? Do they have shade to cool off in?

Aside from temperature, what's the source of their water? Do you add anything to it that could potentially be messing with their systems? I.e. electrolytes making them too thirsty, or vinegar pushing the PH out of range?

 

[BagBegBog]

Thanks for your reply.

-It has been warmer, but it only just started getting into the 70s/80s in the last 1.5 weeks and the poop problem has been happening much longer.
-I'm not sure about the temp in coop, but it does cool to about 45-50 degrees at night here (PNW).
-They do have access to shade.
-I did add electrolytes one week (about 2 weeks ago), but it was the first/last time. I don't add anything else to the water (except Corid)
-I noticed a small corner of the waterer has a bit of rust, but I don't think that would cause it?
-I use this waterer (with nipples, not cups) and replace water weekly (or more frequent, depending on need). Could the water be getting too warm and making them thirsty? If so, I'm not sure this explains when temps were in 50s still (prior to last 1.5 weeks)

I've also wondered if I need to back off of Corid to see how things go?
Should I stop feeding them snacks? I typically will give them a handful of scratch (to share), occasionally a few blueberries (fresh, about 5 per bird), but monitor the amount.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

How long have you been giving Corid?

The poop in the photos looks like normal Cecal poop which happens about once out of every 8-10 "normal" poops.

Cecal poop gets bigger and stinker the older the bird gets.

What do you feed, including treats?

 

[BagBegBog]

I've been giving Corid for about 2 months now. I did the 27 day routine on the instructions, took a week break, the poop continued, and so I restarted it thinking they may need to be on a preventative dose for a longer time. The vet said coccidiosis eggs can live in the soil for a long time, and our birds dont have a layer of grass to help protect them from yucky stuff that may be in the dirt, so I thought I should keep up the dosage.

About 4/5 poops (for all birds) look like pics 2 and 4. More than I'd expect for cecal.

We haven't changed anything in diet since we started our flock about a year ago. Things used to be "normal", then this started happening. Their treats consist of occasional fresh or frozen fruit, meal worms, and scratch.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I've been giving Corid for about 2 months now. I did the 27 day routine on the instructions, took a week break, the poop continued, and so I restarted it thinking they may need to be on a preventative dose for a longer time. The vet said coccidiosis eggs can live in the soil for a long time, and our birds dont have a layer of grass to help protect them from yucky stuff that may be in the dirt, so I thought I should keep up the dosage.

About 4/5 poops (for all birds) look like pics 2 and 4. More than I'd expect for cecal.

We haven't changed anything in diet since we started our flock about a year ago. Things used to be "normal", then this started happening. Their treats consist of occasional fresh or frozen fruit, meal worms, and scratch.

I would stop the Corid.

Coccidia are found in the poop and in the soil. A chicken is generally always going to have a few Coccidia in the poop here and there. The only time to worry is when there is an overload.

You can't eliminate Coccidia from the ground. There are many different species which are specific, but there's some that affect dogs, birds and other animals.

Get them drinking fresh plain water and eating their normal feed. As temperatures rise, poop can become more loose because they drink more.

 

[BagBegBog]

Interesting. So it sounds like Corid was unnecessary. The vet mentioned there wasn't much Coccidia in their samples. I'll go ahead and stop the Corid, give them plain drinking water and keep them on their feed. Should I keep the treats away until this resolves?

I'm still at a loss for what is happening. I'd be likely to think it was a temperature issue if it started this week during what's been a very hot period, but it started in late March when the temperatures here were unseasonably cool. It did get a little hotter on a few days at the end of April, but the average temperature was 45F with a range most days of 30s-50s.

Perhaps I'm reaching here, but we don't use grit. Is that something that might help?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

The poops look like normal Cecal poops to me.

I'd give them their normal feed and treats like you normally do.
I prefer to provide purchased grit (crushed granite) free choice for my flocks. Depending on your soil, if your birds roam and dig, then they may find suitable grit on their own.

 

[BagBegBog]

I'll try some grit.
Cecal poop shouldn't be that frequent, though, right?

During the last two months there have also been stressful events including two of our birds being killed by raccoons (accidentally locked out of the coop overnight). Two new chickens were introduced before that happened, and another two were introduced after that happened. It's been almost a month now with fewer "disturbances", but I'm thinking stress could have played a role in this too.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

How frequent is it?