Diarrhea is a common sight in chicken among chickens. If you see it occasionally and your chickens don’t exhibit any other symptoms, there is no need to worry. However, if you notice unusual loose stools like the ones described below, contact a vet as soon as possible.
Loose dropping or chicken diarrhea is common in summer or hot weather since chickens drink lots of water. However, continuous diarrhea signifies a severe infection or disease that should be diagnosed.
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What does chicken diarrhea look like?
It is common for chickens to change the color of their droppings depending on what they feed. For example, if your birds are always in the field, they will eat lots of vegetation, and it is okay to see them leave green drooping behind. However, green runny chicken poop that does not go away should be considered before the chicken’s condition is affected.
Here are pictures of what chicken diarrhea looks like;
Sometimes, the stool’s color, texture, or general appearance can tell you what your chicken suffers from. So, let’s dive into the most common types of runny stool you might see in your chicken coop and what they mean.
- SUPPORT FOR SEVERE STRESS: Recover 911 is uniquely formulated with the right mix of probiotics, prebiotics, electrolytes, oregano and plasma to help alleviate symptoms of severe stress due to weather extremes, social hierarchy, predator attacks, molting, and exposure to germs.
- HELPS IMPROVE HEALTH OF CHICKENS: Recover 911 helps ease inflammation, digestive issues and dehydration triggered by severe stress, allowing for a quick recovery and reducing the risk of further stress.
- EARLY DETECTION AND TREATMENT: Recover 911 addresses signs of severe stress in backyard chickens, including extreme panting, appetite/thirst loss, egg reduction, dirty eggs, lethargy, self isolating, and pasty butt/diarrhea.
- CONTAINS USA-GROWN, LIVE BACTERIA: Recover 911 is proudly made in the United States. The probiotics used in our products are protected and preserved through a unique drying process, ensuring the bacteria stay alive and viable throughout the entire shelf life.
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1. White chicken diarrhea
If your chicken has loose droppings with a characteristic white color, it’s probably suffering from pullorosis. The Salmonella bacterium family causes the disease. It manifests itself quickly and displays symptoms like:
- The eyes are always half-closed or covered with film.
- The beak is almost always open.
- The head is constantly tilted down.
- Breathing difficulties.
- The chickens make a disturbing squeak.
- The poop is strictly white with a putrid smell.
To cure chicks of white nasal congestion, you should review their diet. There are probably too few sour-milk products, or they’re entirely absent. It is necessary to start feeding young chicks with low-fat homemade kefir or yogurt. It is also essential to take some organizational measures:
- Establish good ventilation.
- Disinfect the chicken coop regularly.
- Try to keep a consistent temperature in the chicken coop.
- Check if the chickens are too congested. If so, create more room for them.
Chicks that do not show disease symptoms continue spreading it to other coop chickens. As a result, it is important to have a clinical examination of the chickens to help you isolate the infected ones.
There could also be several other reasons that may cause white chicken poop; the causes should be well-identified before any action is taken.
2. Brownish or yellowish diarrhea in chicken
If your chickens have brownish, black, or dark yellow loose droppings, they probably suffer from coccidiosis. This infection spreads rapidly through the coop, and the sick chicken itself, its bowel movements, and even water or food can be a source of infection.
Common signs include:
- Yellowish drippings.
- Ruffled feathers.
- Diminishing appetite.
- Depression.
- General weakness.
- Yellowish or grey eyes.
Before proceeding with coccidiosis treatment, it is essential to prove it clinically. You must consult an avian vet if the chickens are also throwing up with the above signs. After that, you can start treatment with antibiotics. Most veterinarians recommend:
- Coccidiovitis.
- Regicoccin.
- Suldimethoxin.
On top of treatment, you must also pour hot water on the drinkers or food containers and clean and disinfect the environment.
3. Chicken diarrhea with blood spots
This type of poop is the most dangerous for chickens. If a mixture of blood and stool is noticeable, you must take quick action to save the bird. First, you must take the stool sample to a lab and examine it to determine which microorganism threatens the chicken’s life.
Runny chicken droppings with blood can mostly be seen when a bird is infected with coccidia, adversely affecting the integrity of the intestinal walls. As we saw above, coccidiosis is treated with antibiotics.
To treat a chicken with bloody bowel movements, follow the veterinarian’s orders carefully and administer the proper dosages of antibiotics. You should also provide the chicken with enough water.
Poop monitoring is not fun, and it is definitely not easy. But unfortunately, if you want productive and healthy chickens, you must embrace it as part of your care routine and get good at it.
| Color of chicken diarrhea | Cause and meaning |
| Smelly loose brown | Cecal droppings |
| Black chicken diarrhea | Bleeding Internally |
| Red-brown chicken droppings | Cecal cell shedding |
| Greasy loose yellow droppings | Internal worms and parasites |
| Foamy, yellow diarrhea | Viral or bacterial |
| White loose droppings | Urates |
| Chicken diarrhea with mucus or blood | Coccidiosis |
| Foamy diarrhea with different colors | Worms |
| Green chicken diarrhea | Necrotic enteritis and Coccidiosis |
| Greenish loose chicken droppings | Newcastle disease and gut infection |
| Whitish diarrhea that is sticky and pasty | Gumboro infection |
| Watery diarrhea in hot weather | Too much water intake while cooling down |
| Brown watery loose droppings | Bacterial infections + Over drinking water |
| Creamy or white chicken diarrhea | Fluids from the Cloaca vent called Vent gleet |
14 Causes of diarrhea in chickens + Solutions
Loose droppings are more common than all other ailments in young chickens and are especially characteristic of broiler chickens. Although it might be alarming for a novice chicken keeper, it is mostly normal. In fact, smelly droppings that look like cecal poops should make up around a third of the droppings you see in your chicken coop in the morning.
Below are several causes of chicken diarrhea and their solutions:
1. Overindulgence
The most common cause of loose stool in chickens is excess feeding. Just like human beings, chickens can overindulge in a meal they enjoy. They might find their way into your garden and devour your vegetables with no one to control them. The result? Runny poo!
Solution: This is not a serious threat to your chicken and will rarely be fatal. Nevertheless, supportive treatment is required, although diarrhea should run its course within 24 to 36 hours. Ensure your chicken can access fresh water with added electrolytes and vitamins within this period.
2. Heat stress
On hot days, a chicken will drink more water than usual to cool off, sometimes up to 4 cups. All that fluid and a decreased appetite can cause your chicken to have watery poop.
Solution: This is not a serious threat, and treatment is relatively easy. Ensure the chicken access cool, clean, fresh water with added electrolytes and vitamins. It also needs to rest somewhere cool. Standing it in cold water will help bring the temperature down. Providing shade and a fan blowing cool air will also help immensely.
You can encourage the chicken to eat by making a feed mash (mixing water with regular feed until you have mashed potato consistency.) That way, it will eat and get hydrated at the same time.
3. Antibiotics
Most antibiotics cause chickens to have diarrhea. This is because antibiotics kill both good and bad bacteria, clearing the gut of good bacteria.
What to do: If your chicken takes some antibiotics, ensure it has enough water with electrolytes and vitamins. You should also provide it with a sufficient, quality feed.
4. Coccidiosis
This disease is caused by a parasite that affects the intestinal lining and gut integrity. It primarily affects young chickens aged between 4 and 8 weeks, although it is common in older chickens.
Coccidiosis impairs the chicken’s ability to absorb nutrition, causing health challenges such as anemia and weight loss. One of the most notable characteristics of this disease is yellow or brownish-red (bloody) loose stool. The disease needs prompt treatment, or the affected birds will likely die.
What to do: You can contact a veterinarian or buy chicken feed with coccidiostat at the feed store. Treatment also includes clean food and water with added electrolytes and probiotics. The brooder area should also be kept extremely clean to avoid reinfection.
5. Toxic ingestion
Chickens are curious creatures and eat anything and everything that looks appealing. While poisoning is rare, it does occur. They are vulnerable to mycotoxins produced by moldy feed or damp bedding. They can also be susceptible to other plant toxins.
Help: When using compost manure, ensure they are buried deep below the surface. Rotting carcasses can produce botulism, which can cause severe chicken diarrhea.
Since it is difficult to know precisely what they have eaten, it is crucial to monitor them closely. If their condition persists, contact a vet.
6. Worms and chicken diarrhea
An overload of intestinal worms can cause gut damage, giving your chicken runny poop. The easiest way to find out if worms are behind the watery droppings is by taking a fecal sample to your vet. They should be able to perform a quick, simple test to determine if your chickens have an intestinal worm overload.
What to do: Worms in chicken poop can sometimes be difficult to see. Therefore a proper microscopic check will help in identification. If present, you will have to deworm each one. There’s a wide variety of worming medications in the market: choose one and follow its instructions.
Advice: There’s also usually an egg withdrawal period, in which you cannot consume eggs from treated chickens. Worms in chicken eggs can be harmful, especially if they are poorly cooked. Since the period varies between treatments, determine how long you must wait with the treatment you choose.
7. Infectious coryza
A bacterial infection of the upper airways of the chicken causes this. It is infectious and spreads from bird to bird rapidly. Severe signs will leave your chickens with closed eyes and an open mouth. As a result, you should pay special attention to the cleanliness of your coop.
Help: The disease is treatable with the appropriate antibiotics, so you need to consult a vet. If possible, you should also isolate infected birds to contain the spread. Also, as we saw above, antibiotics might cause diarrhea, so keep that in mind as you administer the treatment.
8. Kidney failure
Kidney failure in chickens can be caused by a diet that is too low in phosphorus and high in calcium. Decreased water intake or a viral infection can also be a causative factor.
Signs + solution: Common symptoms include dehydration, depression, pale combs, loose droppings, and emaciation with loss of muscle mass. You should consult your vet if you suspect your chicken has kidney failure.
9. Egg yolk peritonitis
Unfortunately, this disease is commonly fatal. It is caused by a malfunction in transferring an egg from the ovary to the infundibulum. As a result, the yolk is internalized and can quickly become infected. As a result, the runny poop will look like egg yolk.
Help: This usually leads to septicemia and peritonitis, so quick intervention by a veterinarian is vital to give your chicken a chance.
10. Prolapsed vent
This disease is quite noticeable. The vent can be pushed out of the chicken’s body and become a prolapse. It’s often caused by an abnormally large egg, among other things.
What to do: This is an emergency and needs quick vet intervention. The chicken must also be separated from the flock; otherwise, they cannibalize it.
11. Viruses
An abstract from Springer Link explains that; “Birds are important hosts for many RNA viruses, including influenza A virus, Newcastle disease virus, West Nile virus, and coronaviruses. Innate defense against RNA viruses in birds involves the detection of viral RNA by pattern recognition receptors.” Diarrhea is one of the common symptoms among all these viral infections.
Help: All those should never be treated at home. Consult an avian vet and strictly follow the treatment measures after a proper diagnosis.
12. Marek’s disease
Marek’s disease is a deadly chicken virus caused by the herpes virus that can cause diarrhea in chickens. It ranges from non-pathogenic (not causing disease) to highly pathogenic (causing serious illness and even death.) All this depends on the strain.
Some chickens do not show any signs of the disease and may simply be immune to It, or the strain caught is non-pathogenic. Signs may also vary between birds; one rarely exhibits all the symptoms. However, the most common symptoms are:
- Occasionally the chicken will have temporary paralysis, which will cure itself.
- Diarrhea.
- Twisting of the head to one side or backward.
- Difficulty in breathing.
- Darkened or purple-ish comb.
- Blindness or chicken closed eyes.
- Lesions around the feather follicles.
- Weight loss.
Solution: Fortunately, vaccination of chicks will lower their chances of catching the virus and lessen its severity should there be an outbreak. The vaccine helps the bird build immunity and strengthens it against other viruses.
However, part of the problem is that the disease constantly mutates and attacks in new, more severe strains. As a result, your chickens might be vaccinated against Marek’s disease but not against the infected one.
13. Infectious bronchitis
Infectious bronchitis is a highly contagious viral disease affecting chickens of all ages. It is caused by a single-stranded RNA virus of the Coronaviridae, primarily affecting chickens.
Young chicks are the most adversely affected by infectious bronchitis and display symptoms such as sneezing, coughing, and rattling. Occasionally, there is also facial swelling.
Signs: In adult chickens, loose stool and loss of appetite are the predominant symptoms. Egg production also decreases sharply because the disease sometimes damages the reproductive tract.
Help: The easiest way to prevent infectious bronchitis is through good ventilation, draft-free environments, and optimal temperature. Immunity may also be developed by administering a vaccine.
14. Fowl cholera
Also known as avian cholera, this is a highly contagious disease caused by the Pasteurella multocida bacterium. It is seen worldwide and was one of the first infectious diseases recognized in the 19th century.
Common signs include:
- Coughing.
- Diarrhea.
- Loss of appetite.
- Dejection.
- Nasal, ocular, and oral discharge.
- Sudden death.
- Lameness.
- Ruffled feathers.
- Swollen joints.
Help: Although the disease is treatable with medications like tetracyclines, sulphonamides, and penicillin, it often recurs after stopping it. As a result, the best way to manage it is through long-term medication.
Conclusion
While it is very common to see chicken diarrhea in their free-range areas or where they sleep, it is important to look for the type and how the chicken behaves. The first alarming sign should be a lethargic chicken with severe diarrhea. In most cases, this is always a viral infection that needs a professional diagnosis. If you cannot get the chicken to a vet, take its stools for a check-up.
- SUPPORT FOR SEVERE STRESS: Recover 911 is uniquely formulated with the right mix of probiotics, prebiotics, electrolytes, oregano and plasma to help alleviate symptoms of severe stress due to weather extremes, social hierarchy, predator attacks, molting, and exposure to germs.
- HELPS IMPROVE HEALTH OF CHICKENS: Recover 911 helps ease inflammation, digestive issues and dehydration triggered by severe stress, allowing for a quick recovery and reducing the risk of further stress.
- EARLY DETECTION AND TREATMENT: Recover 911 addresses signs of severe stress in backyard chickens, including extreme panting, appetite/thirst loss, egg reduction, dirty eggs, lethargy, self isolating, and pasty butt/diarrhea.
- CONTAINS USA-GROWN, LIVE BACTERIA: Recover 911 is proudly made in the United States. The probiotics used in our products are protected and preserved through a unique drying process, ensuring the bacteria stay alive and viable throughout the entire shelf life.
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
