Hot weather causing poop problems?

[Amelise]

Today it’s 97 F in Texas. Recently, two of my girls (both of which have always had naturally just a bit runnier poops) are getting small buildups of poop around their vents. I have three pullet ameraucanas and one 3 year old EE. Two of my ameraucanas have perfectly clean vents but the EE has urate (white and crusty) buildup around her vent and one of the Ameraucanas keep developing poop balls directly under her vent opening. Her skin is also pretty irritated and dry around that area.

Besides this, all girls seem to be dealing with the heat pretty well and haven’t shown any signs of heat exhaustion. They also have the option to go into the garage, which is currently almost 10 degrees cooler than the outdoors, but they would rather scratch around in the shade and bathe under bushes.

Should I be worried about the state of my two girls vents? Their fluff gets to dry back out and look normal, but often theyre having poops that make that area wet.

My girls currently are free ranging about 4 hours a day with access to food and water, and they eat purina all flock feed with grit and calcium supplemented on the side.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Birds will drink more in warmer weather and it can cause looser stools. Are you giving them any additional treats like fruit?

Some birds can be lazy when defecating and they don't always hunch up enough to miss their bottoms. You may just need to clean them up occasionally.

 

[DLA]

Birds will drink more in warmer weather and it can cause looser stools. Are you giving them any additional treats like fruit?

Some birds can be lazy when defecating and they don't always hunch up enough to miss their bottoms. You may just need to clean them up occasionally.

You can also trim the feathers a little back there so stuff doesn't catch as much, makes washing and drying easier too.

 

[Amelise]

Birds will drink more in warmer weather and it can cause looser stools. Are you giving them any additional treats like fruit?

Some birds can be lazy when defecating and they don't always hunch up enough to miss their bottoms. You may just need to clean them up occasionally.

They’re getting fruit and veggie scraps about once or twice a week. They each get about a small handful of scratch every day.
I gave all of them baths about 3 weeks ago and for those two I was talking about they’re already dirty again. The one who keeps getting poop balls directly under her vent I trimmed those few feathers directly under the vent.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

They’re getting fruit and veggie scraps about once or twice a week. They each get about a small handful of scratch every day.
I gave all of them baths about 3 weeks ago and for those two I was talking about they’re already dirty again. The one who keeps getting poop balls directly under her vent I trimmed those few feathers directly under the vent.

Try cutting out the fruit maybe. That can cause looser stools.

 

[Amelise]

Are veggies ok or should I cut back in those too?

 

[Amelise]

Try cutting out the fruit maybe. That can cause looser stools.

Are veggies ok or should I cut back in those too?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Are veggies ok or should I cut back in those too?

Depends what kinds. Anyone with a higher water content can make droppings more watery. You should know in a short while if it makes a difference or not. If not I would assume it's just an increase in water intake due to the warmer temperatures.

 

[dawg53]

Stop fruits and veggies in hot weather. Layer feed only. You can give them plain boiled white rice (cooled) for a couple of days which should settle their innards and firm up feces.

 

[Amelise]

Stop fruits and veggies in hot weather. Layer feed only. You can give them plain boiled white rice (cooled) for a couple of days which should settle their innards and firm up feces.

Ok! Fruit and veggie scraps will be going into the compost bin for now.