# Diarrhea – what to do?



## Chickens2022 (Aug 1, 2021)

Hello,

Day 3 of our new chicken flock and already problems arise... At least one of the chickens has stinky yellow-ish poo. Is it because of stress and food change? Or do I have to act somehow? The chickens get pellets for food and water in a nipple drinker. So far, I also gave them a few (only a few) dried mealworms, and no green food like salad or apples.

Help, please.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I'm going to holler for @dawg53. He's the best at identifying and more importantly what the treatment should be.

How old? It helps if he hasn't seen your prior posts. 

dawg, note the German flag for treatment suggestions.


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## Chickens2022 (Aug 1, 2021)

They're about 18 weeks old.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I don't know where he is except outside while the weather is nice. I'll do some digging so maybe I can give you a hand until he shows up. 

Right now I suspect one disease but for the life of me I can't remember what it's called. I'll see if I can find the info.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Fowl cholera is what I was think of being a possibility. 

In Germany do they have vets that can give you a hand on diagnosing things like this?


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## Chickens2022 (Aug 1, 2021)

Hmm, don't you think that's a bit extreme? Where would they have gotten it? Actually, I'm a bit speechless about the whole situation. The breeder/seller makes a proper impression, the chickens are supposedly vaccinated, and they didn't leave their newly renovated, clean coop since they arrived. I mean, I did expect illnesses and other problems at some point, but on day three? I literally did nothing so far. That's a bit frustrating – before I'm even able to tell them apart they start getting sick and now I worry all day... 😔

I'll call a veterinarian tomorrow...


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

That is absolutely your best bet. They might want to know if you can bring a fecal sample in so they can observe under the microscope. 

Thing is, most of the time we don't know how they contract some of the things they do. Many times we can point at wild birds. 

And now to set your mind at rest. That could very well be what they call a cecal cleansing. I went looking some more. Mine never had a cecal cleansing of that color. They were always a more dark brown but evidently they can be that orange color too. 

Watch to see if she continues to do it. If it repeats then something is going on and needs further examination.

Sorry that I may have scared the pants off you. This doing things across a computer can make things difficult trying to give the right answer.


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## Chickens2022 (Aug 1, 2021)

I got a tip on reddit and it could be something called cecal poop. It would fit the description. Interestingly, I've never heard of it before, not even a hint, although I did read a lot about chickens and watched several YT-videos...
Here's a description: Chicken Cecal Poo | Chooks Chicken Farm


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Did you see my last post? It's what I suggested it very well could be. I've really never seen one that is orange. All of my birds left behind a really dark brown cecal cleansing (poop). All of them, no matter the breed. 

I wonder why there is such a color variation. Is it the food they eat? Or a breed I've never had? Or the move to the new home?


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## Chickens2022 (Aug 1, 2021)

Oh, indeed! 😅 Sorry, I somehow overread that paragraph...


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Happens. Especially when we're stressed.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

It's cecal poop. It stinks to high heaven and is normal especially in the mornings.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Never noticed the morning thing, dawg. I guess they waited until after I was done taking care of them in the morning and left it for me to see later.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

They like to do it first thing after they've first eaten....nasty nasty phew!


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## lovely_chooks (Mar 19, 2021)

robin416 said:


> Happens. Especially when we're stressed.


Yeah uhh always happens to me I’m always stressed


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## Chickens2022 (Aug 1, 2021)

The whole situation is getting better, thanks for the advice! 
When I walked into the coop on monday, it literally stank like **** and there were quite a few cecal poops all over the place. And that didn't happen the two days before. So it was a little shock for me ;-) Now they still leave some cecal poops, but not as much as on monday. If it stays like this, everything is fine. 

However, I'm still wondering why there is so little information about this phenomenon out there. You can find some information in English if you google it specifically, in German next to nothing... I read and watched several articles and videos for beginners, and nowhere did they ever mention: "oh, btw, chickens have an additional, especially stinky kind of poop, don't worry if that happens, it's cecal poop" That would have been helpful 😅


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Maybe because Americans are so crazy about their birds they learn everything they can and put it on the internet? I mean, we really are rather obsessive.

I realized I broke one of my own rules with your post. I saw the word diarrhea and went with it instead of doing what I should have, ignored that and take a look around first.


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## Poultry Judge (Jul 15, 2020)

robin416 said:


> Maybe because Americans are so crazy about their birds they learn everything they can and put it on the internet? I mean, we really are rather obsessive.
> 
> I realized I broke one of my own rules with your post. I saw the word diarrhea and went with it instead of doing what I should have, ignored that and take a look around first.


Americans, Interwebs, Obsessive, Crazy: all in the same sentence. Yup, that pretty much covers it...


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