Tube of tissue in poop

[loseidman]

Hello,

One of my hens was a bit listless today and has lost her appetite. She is drinking water and stubbornly broke out of her isolation area in order to roost tonight, so she still has some energy.

My real concern is that this morning I noticed a tube shaped mass in her overnight poop. It is off-white and translucent, a couple of inches long, and maybe 1/4 inch in diameter (photo attached). There was no blood. Does anyone have any idea what this is? I'm quite worried.

Thank you all!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hello,

One of my hens was a bit listless today and has lost her appetite. She is drinking water and stubbornly broke out of her isolation area in order to roost tonight, so she still has some energy.

My real concern is that this morning I noticed a tube shaped mass in her overnight poop. It is off-white and translucent, a couple of inches long, and maybe 1/4 inch in diameter (photo attached). There was no blood. Does anyone have any idea what this is? I'm quite worried.

Thank you all!
View attachment 1273245

Hi @loseidman Welcome To BYC

Do you provide oyster shell free choice?
What type of food/treats do you feed?

That looks like a soft shell egg. These are very difficult to lay and can make a hen feel unwell. If she is still droopy in the morning, offer her some poultry vitamins, extra calcium (Tums, Caltrate) and see that she is drinking well.

Laying one soft shelled egg, could just be a glitch, but I would keep a watch on her for a few days. If she continues to have problems, then you will need to investigate further.

 

[azygous]

It's probably just intestinal lining or something sloughing off the oviduct. Monitor her behavior. Strange stuff in poop isn't necessarily cause for panic.

If she's acting normal in the morning, I wouldn't worry further.

 

[loseidman]

Thanks so much for the calming words. I will check her this morning before work.

By the way, the girls do get oyster shells free choice, along with their layer pellets, scratch, dried worms for treats, and then some veggies, fruit leftovers, grass, leftover yogurt, cheese, breads...

Thanks again.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thanks so much for the calming words. I will check her this morning before work.

By the way, the girls do get oyster shells free choice, along with their layer pellets, scratch, dried worms for treats, and then some veggies, fruit leftovers, grass, leftover yogurt, cheese, breads...

Thanks again.

I hope that you find her better this morning

If she continues to have troubles, she may be eating more goodies than her normal feed or she may need more calcium. Depending on the protein content of your layer feed, it's best to limit treats to no more than 5-10% of daily intake, this way nutritional content is not diluted.

I love to give mine "stuff" and it's hard to not be heavy handed at times, they are such beggars