[ChristyRose]

I've started a new thread as it started of with one of my hens having diarrhoea and a mucky bottom and then I realised that maybe the wettness on the floor is maybe watery diarrhoea?  They dont seem to have worms.  What is this watery stuff?
The one I took to the vets today did a very watery poo while we were there and the vet said he couldnt see worms but treated her for them anyway.
What else would cause it?

[helens-hens]

Hi there. 2 things come to my mind. Firstly if the hens have been drinking a lot in the hot weather then this can make the poos watery. Another possibility is vent gleet (I think this is related to thrush) where a hen excretes a considerable amount of a whitish liquid.

I am sure some others will come along with other ideas.

I mentioned in your other thread about egg yolk peritonitis (EYP) and you said that your vet had done an internal examination and could find no eggs inside. However when this happens, from what I understood from my vet, the yolk (and it is just the yolk) settles somewhere else in the abdominal cavity, I am not sure that, at least in its earliest stages, that it would be detected with an internal examination. I am sure everything will be fine but it is something that my vet alerted me to a month or so ago and so do keep an eye on her.

[ChristyRose]

Ah yes, I do remember him saying something about that now.  I got the impression from him that it mainly happens in older birds?  He said my ex batt is getting quite old now.  He said their abdomens usually swell up?  I lost an ex batt a few weeks ago and took her to a couple of vets and they couldnt find anything wrong with her.  She gradually deteriorated over about 10 days and in the end I had to have her put down.  The vets thought it might have been a tumour.
When I went out this morning and found this one withdrawn I thought "Oh no".  I've had them a couple of years and I felt that they were starting to get old and coming down with illnesses.  I know they're not as hardy and ususally dont live as long but they are well looked after.  I've had the other girls longer and they are still all going strong and never get ill.
I know taking in ex batts is about giving them improved life for however long they have.  But it is sad when they start to go downhill.
Hopefully she'll pull through.  Just wish I knew what was wrong.
If she had got peritonitis from the egg yolk but shes not laying eggs - how does that work?

[helens-hens]

I am just thinking back to your original post, you mentioned that she had what looked like egg white dripping from her vent. Was it white or colourless?

When you mentioned about the egg white I immediately thought of a broken egg. If it is colourless then that sounds like egg white but if it is white then that sounds more like the vent gleet

[ChristyRose]

Well, there was something dripping from her vent but I thought it was colourless like egg white before you cook it.  Well, I thought it must have been the white because the others were so interested in it but the vet told me that shes definately not laying and he said that chickens will be interested in anything!!
I'll see how she is in the morning.  Thanks for all your advice.  I was worried it might be some sort of virus.

[helens-hens]

Let us know how she is tomorrow

[ANHBUC]

How is she today?

[ChristyRose]

She seems alot better.  Shes out with the girls and eating so I dont know what was wrong with her yesterday.   

[ANHBUC]

I have a Bovan Goldline which lays soft shelled eggs occasionally and she is down in the dumps when she has one in the pipeline so to speak.  You don't always get to see the soft shelled eggs as all of the hens will eat them including the soft shell given half the chance.  The coop floor can appear wet from the white of the egg.  Once the softie is laid she is her happy self again.  She laid one today in the nest box and it sometimes seems to be linked to windy stormy conditions which we had yesterday.  Hope this information is of some help to you.

[Helenaj]

If it re-occurs and you think it may be vent gleet (a white watery discharge from the vent that smells a bit), get some Canestan cream - it works really well against vent gleet as it's basically a thrush infection. Wash the vent area with anti bacterial soap and spread the cream liberally in and around the vent.

[ANHBUC]

Another softie laid by one of our bovan goldlines today in the nest box, just wet sawdust left as they had eaten the egg.  Sick of these high winds disrupting her egg laying.  None of our other hens are ever affected which is one good thin I suppose.

[ChristyRose]

The vet said that she isnt laying anymore but she seems right as rain now.  Very strange.  It does seems to make sense what you are saying.  Maybe she was trying to lay a softy and it broke inside her which is why there was stuff dripping out of her?  Except for what the vet said.
I cleaned the house out today and I've never seen such a wet slushy mess of chicken poo.  It was like farmyard sludge.  No proper formed poos in it!!  Its like the roof of the chicken house has been leaking!!  I just dont understand it.  They are moulting though.  Would this give them diahorea?
They all seem quite well though apart from the moulting which I know can make them abit under the weather.  I've been letting them do abit of free ranging in the garden this past week.  Could they have been eating something abit dodgy?  I thought chickens were quite good at not eating anything bad for them.

[ANHBUC]

They are not supposed to eat ivy but mine did when they were young.  I had to clear loads so they could not get at it any more.  If you haven't used any weed killer they should be alright.

One of the other members may have come across this before so hopefully they will give you some more advice.  A lot of the time it is trying to rule out the more obvious things first.

I've started a new thread as it started of with one of my hens having diarrhoea and a mucky bottom and then I realised that maybe the wettness on the floor is maybe watery diarrhoea?  They dont seem to have worms.  What is this watery stuff?
The one I took to the vets today did a very watery poo while we were there and the vet said he couldnt see worms but treated her for them anyway.
What else would cause it?

What did the vet use to treat for worms?  Usually flubenvet is used added to feed for one week.

[ChristyRose]

No he gave her ivermectin as it treats scaly leg aswell.  I was worried that she might still be laying but he said she wasnt.
They do have ivy in their run on the wall but I've never seen them eat it. Its been there for years all the time they've been there.

[ANHBUC]

It was at the beginning of the year when mine were eating the ivy as the new leaves were growing.  They don't seem to bother now when they occasionally free range in the rest of the garden where there is still ivy.  Probably because there are plenty of other tasty treats for them to demolish.