Chicken Health Monitoring -- Case Study
Hello everyone.
Recently I wrote an article about reproductive health in chickens.
I thought I would detail a recent experience of mine with my flock as a case study. This case study will refer to information available in the article that can help identify and treat possible reproductive or other issues -- and minimise your uncertainty and stress.
Case Study
My Flock
My flock is a hodge-podge of rescue hens and young birds hatched by two broodies. It currently comprises the following:
The symptoms alerting me to a potential issue was a slow to empty crop and some abnormal poop. One morning when letting my flock out and having checked everyone's crops, I found Evie hadn't quite digested all her food overnight. A brief cuddle and massage allowed the food to pass from the crop and no further intervention was required. However some days later, during my rounds cleaning up the yard, I saw perhaps four or five abnormal poops. The poop was heavy in urates, greenish in colour and pellet shaped.
Excessive urates can indicate dehydration or kidney issues. Green colour can indicate liver problems, diet changes or heavy metal toxicity. The pellet shape can indicate infection and heavy metal toxicity.
Heavy Metal Toxicity Risk factor: In the past the soil in my yard was tested positive for lead. Constance and Whitetail have been treated with DMSA for lead toxicity. I have remediated the soil but the other hens in my flock may still be affected by lead.
Suspects
Constance is always under close watch for reproductive issues, particularly infection, because she has had reproductive surgery. It would be dangerous for her to resume active lay because she no longer has the physical apparatus to develop yolks into proper eggs and lay them. If her ovary releases yolks they would enter the abdomen and pose a risk for infection (Egg Yolk Peritonitis).
Narcissa has potential reproductive issues or kidney issues. She stopped laying suddenly awhile back and showed consistent tenderness upon palpation of her abdomen. I put her on the implant to pre-empt any escalation in her symptoms but couldn't afford further diagnostic tests at the time e.g. blood tests or ultrasound. Since being on the implant, Narcissa has shown less tenderness in her belly. She often has more water in her crop at roost time than the rest of the flock. Drinking more is a sign of potential kidney issues. Narcissa is also a heavy egg production breed hen and has had issues with soft shelled eggs and eggs with stress lines in the past, both of which are indicators for reproductive disease.
Both Constance and Narcissa also tend to stop and rest with their tails pointing down when things are winding down in the yard in the evenings. Having downward tail posture can be an indication of a relaxed/at rest chicken but it can also indicate abdominal discomfort. So this was not necessarily a cause for concern, but a sign to take along with everything else.
And of course, Evie had a slow crop the other morning. Evie is also my only hen currently laying, averaging one egg every two days. She is generally a robust hen.
Actions
I was concerned mainly for Constance and Narcissa so I brought them inside and checked their temperatures. Both were within normal range which was reassuring. I also did a quick look over of both of them. Bellies were squishy and normal, bums were clean and body condition was good.
That night I made precise note of what position everyone was on the roost so that the following morning when scooping poop, if any were abnormal, I could identify the specific bird who produced it. I also checked crops to make sure everyone had eaten properly. Constance's crop is always a little smaller, and as noted above Narcissa's is usually more mushy/watery. That's normal for both of them and not a cause for concern.
In the morning everyone had empty crops and poop was all normal so I resolved to watch and wait.
Over the next week or so there wasn't any escalation in symptoms. I also stopped seeing the abnormal poops in the yard. However, I did notice some foamy yellow poop from some of the younger chicks. Foamy yellow poop can be an indication of worms. Worms can back up the digestive tract and cause slow crop. I have my flock on a three monthly worming schedule. The chicks had never been wormed.
Worms Risk factor: We'd had a huge amount of rain recently (17ml overnight) during otherwise dry weather. Wet conditions favour worm populations in the environment. Wet conditions also favour the coccidia protozoa. Wet/humid conditions favour mites.
Worms Risk factor: Unfortunately my yard is also visited by wild birds.
Worms Risk factor: My flock is kept on the same ground year round.
Outcome
I generally try to pay close attention but after this sequence of events, I was paying particularly close attention. I then discovered tapeworm segments in some poop, most likely from Sweet Pea considering the size and her location to the poop when I was finding it. Sweet Pea is young and still growing, but she had shown slowed weight gain in the past week. I have previously had persistent troubles with tapeworm in the environment.
Because of multiple symptoms within my flock, even though Sweet Pea may have been the only one carrying tapeworm, I decided to worm the whole flock. I used an in-feed flubendazole powder wormer which treats all poultry worms including tapeworm if treated at the correct doubled dosage (and follow-up treatment a fortnight later). Within a few days of treatment, I stopped seeing tapeworm segments in poops. I also stopped seeing yellow foamy poops from the chicks.
Conclusion
Because chickens hide their illnesses, one has to be alert to subtle signs and changes to identify issues early.
In this case study I had a selection of
I was able to perform certain actions, including
In the end it turned out that I needed to worm my flock ahead of schedule. My flock free ranges in my backyard so they are always on the same soil. And wet weather bursts create the conditions for parasites to thrive.
Worming with a complete wormer for the whole flock was the best path of action for me to preserve my flock's health and also control the worm population in the environment.
I hope you enjoyed reading and were able to learn something useful from this article.
Wishing you a safe and healthy flock!
Maggie
Hello everyone.
Recently I wrote an article about reproductive health in chickens.
I thought I would detail a recent experience of mine with my flock as a case study. This case study will refer to information available in the article that can help identify and treat possible reproductive or other issues -- and minimise your uncertainty and stress.
Case Study
My Flock
My flock is a hodge-podge of rescue hens and young birds hatched by two broodies. It currently comprises the following:
- Six hens
- Two have active contraceptive implants (Whitetail and Narcissa)
- One has had surgery to remove her reproductive tract (Dragon Constance)
- One is currently laying (Evie)
- Two are broodies having hatched chicks (Lillith and Yinny)
- One pullet (Sweet Pea)
- Four chicks approx. 4 weeks old (Yinny's chicks)
- Two chicks approx. 1 week old (Lillith's chicks)
The symptoms alerting me to a potential issue was a slow to empty crop and some abnormal poop. One morning when letting my flock out and having checked everyone's crops, I found Evie hadn't quite digested all her food overnight. A brief cuddle and massage allowed the food to pass from the crop and no further intervention was required. However some days later, during my rounds cleaning up the yard, I saw perhaps four or five abnormal poops. The poop was heavy in urates, greenish in colour and pellet shaped.
Excessive urates can indicate dehydration or kidney issues. Green colour can indicate liver problems, diet changes or heavy metal toxicity. The pellet shape can indicate infection and heavy metal toxicity.
Heavy Metal Toxicity Risk factor: In the past the soil in my yard was tested positive for lead. Constance and Whitetail have been treated with DMSA for lead toxicity. I have remediated the soil but the other hens in my flock may still be affected by lead.
Suspects
Constance is always under close watch for reproductive issues, particularly infection, because she has had reproductive surgery. It would be dangerous for her to resume active lay because she no longer has the physical apparatus to develop yolks into proper eggs and lay them. If her ovary releases yolks they would enter the abdomen and pose a risk for infection (Egg Yolk Peritonitis).
Narcissa has potential reproductive issues or kidney issues. She stopped laying suddenly awhile back and showed consistent tenderness upon palpation of her abdomen. I put her on the implant to pre-empt any escalation in her symptoms but couldn't afford further diagnostic tests at the time e.g. blood tests or ultrasound. Since being on the implant, Narcissa has shown less tenderness in her belly. She often has more water in her crop at roost time than the rest of the flock. Drinking more is a sign of potential kidney issues. Narcissa is also a heavy egg production breed hen and has had issues with soft shelled eggs and eggs with stress lines in the past, both of which are indicators for reproductive disease.
Both Constance and Narcissa also tend to stop and rest with their tails pointing down when things are winding down in the yard in the evenings. Having downward tail posture can be an indication of a relaxed/at rest chicken but it can also indicate abdominal discomfort. So this was not necessarily a cause for concern, but a sign to take along with everything else.
And of course, Evie had a slow crop the other morning. Evie is also my only hen currently laying, averaging one egg every two days. She is generally a robust hen.
Actions
I was concerned mainly for Constance and Narcissa so I brought them inside and checked their temperatures. Both were within normal range which was reassuring. I also did a quick look over of both of them. Bellies were squishy and normal, bums were clean and body condition was good.
That night I made precise note of what position everyone was on the roost so that the following morning when scooping poop, if any were abnormal, I could identify the specific bird who produced it. I also checked crops to make sure everyone had eaten properly. Constance's crop is always a little smaller, and as noted above Narcissa's is usually more mushy/watery. That's normal for both of them and not a cause for concern.
In the morning everyone had empty crops and poop was all normal so I resolved to watch and wait.
Over the next week or so there wasn't any escalation in symptoms. I also stopped seeing the abnormal poops in the yard. However, I did notice some foamy yellow poop from some of the younger chicks. Foamy yellow poop can be an indication of worms. Worms can back up the digestive tract and cause slow crop. I have my flock on a three monthly worming schedule. The chicks had never been wormed.
Worms Risk factor: We'd had a huge amount of rain recently (17ml overnight) during otherwise dry weather. Wet conditions favour worm populations in the environment. Wet conditions also favour the coccidia protozoa. Wet/humid conditions favour mites.
Worms Risk factor: Unfortunately my yard is also visited by wild birds.
Worms Risk factor: My flock is kept on the same ground year round.
Outcome
I generally try to pay close attention but after this sequence of events, I was paying particularly close attention. I then discovered tapeworm segments in some poop, most likely from Sweet Pea considering the size and her location to the poop when I was finding it. Sweet Pea is young and still growing, but she had shown slowed weight gain in the past week. I have previously had persistent troubles with tapeworm in the environment.
Because of multiple symptoms within my flock, even though Sweet Pea may have been the only one carrying tapeworm, I decided to worm the whole flock. I used an in-feed flubendazole powder wormer which treats all poultry worms including tapeworm if treated at the correct doubled dosage (and follow-up treatment a fortnight later). Within a few days of treatment, I stopped seeing tapeworm segments in poops. I also stopped seeing yellow foamy poops from the chicks.
Conclusion
Because chickens hide their illnesses, one has to be alert to subtle signs and changes to identify issues early.
In this case study I had a selection of
- Symptoms -- slow crop and abnormal poops
- Suspects -- Constance, Narcissa and Evie
I was able to perform certain actions, including
- Checking crops at roost and morning
- Checking poop in coop and in the yard
- Taking temperatures
- Checking body condition
- Palpating bellies
In the end it turned out that I needed to worm my flock ahead of schedule. My flock free ranges in my backyard so they are always on the same soil. And wet weather bursts create the conditions for parasites to thrive.
Worming with a complete wormer for the whole flock was the best path of action for me to preserve my flock's health and also control the worm population in the environment.
I hope you enjoyed reading and were able to learn something useful from this article.
Wishing you a safe and healthy flock!
Maggie
