# liver disfunction yellow poop and soft shelled egg



## xanthin1 (Aug 18, 2012)

I have 8 almost 6 month old hens. 5 of them are laying (though I'm not entirely sure which ones). About the time the first started laying about a month ago, I noticed one of my hens had bright yellow (sulphur colored) spots in her otherwise normal grey-ish white-ish poop. I watched them for a few days, noone looked sick. But it kept happening, so I finally took a sample into my vet who tested it for parasites etc. Good news no parasites or bacteria, bad news was probably a sign of liver failure. I could bring the effected hen in for bloodwork to determine exactly what was wrong, but unfortunately that was too expensive. We are pretty sure we know which hen is pooping yellow (a golden laced wyandotte). She has always been on the angular and skinny looking side, but I can't be sure. I have 3 kids under 6, so I don't have time to watch the chickens long enough to determine which one is pooping yellow, but I'm pretty sure it is only one, as the piles under their roost in the morning are all normal except one, and it's usually the one on the end (pecking order?) and usually it's my wyandotte on the end.

Ok, so then this afternoon, we go to collect then eggs and one of them is softshelled. Bright yellow/orange in color. I've never had a soft shelled egg before (we had 5 RI reds a couple of yeard ago, no problems). Our chickens free range about 4 days a week and get layer ration with oyster shell in it, as well as tons of table scraps (3 kids under 6). And I'm wondering if it could be from my liver-impaired hen? Has anybody expierenced ANYTHING similar to this?


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## trey1432 (Jul 4, 2012)

http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/6...ow-poop-loss-of-weight-motor-skills-depressed

Maybe this will help


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## Energyvet (Jul 25, 2012)

The function of the liver is to eliminate toxins from the body do my first thought would be poisoning. Could be berries or something in the enclosure. Other than that, considering how young they are I would think maybe an abnormality at birth. Is the vet a bird vet? Would they be willing to see this hen?


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## atuzik (Jun 27, 2012)

One of my chickens is also very skinny and lays soft-shelled eggs, to the point that they never hold their shape. She also lays a lot of them at night while roosting. I haven't noticed the color of her poop yet, but she's still very energetic and eats and drinks like any other chicken. I was thinking she might have a parasite, but she's the only one with these signs and symptoms, and I mix DE in their food and dewormed them a few months ago. Is it expensive to have a vet's office test her poop? Thanks!


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## Energyvet (Jul 25, 2012)

Vets can charge anywhere from $10 to $50. I would call around to what's local and ask first if they see birds - then ask about chickens more specifically - and if they would run a fecal sample. Then see if they run it in house or send it off to a lab. The best case would be someone in house who knows what to look for in bird fecals and charges you $10 to do it. If you ask if they know how to read bird fecals, no matter if it's true or not, they will tell you yes they do and take your money. So... I think you want them to send it to a lab and make absolutely certain that they put the correct species - Chicken - on the form that goes with the sample. I have seen so many fecal samples sent off with wrong names, species etc. and the staff just doesn't care that much to get it right because it's not the routine dog fecal looking for round worms. Be that PIA and talk to the vet and make sure you are getting what you are paying for. Any lab should be able to read the sample correctly and it should maybe cost you $20. They don't have to see the patient to run the sample. If they insist on seeing the bird, move on. That's just my advice. If you have a vet you trust that has experience with chickens then you are good to go.


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