Chick Poop Abnormal

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Question

Chick Poop Abnormal: I have three Buff Orpington chicks that are three weeks old (four weeks tomorrow). They all seem healthy and happy.

I recently took them out of a small brooder box and put them in to a bigger brooder box.

The other day I did not get to the farm store to get them more chick feed (Starter feed I believe) before it closed.

I fed them cracked corn and defrosted some frozen corn for them. This disrupted their diet and up until now they had been either pooping a solid brown color poop with a white cap or a more liquid consistency poop that is a bit darker in color.

Then today after feeding them more cracked corn (I was going to get feed a little later but I wanted them to have something to eat in the meantime) I took them outside for a little bit.

In their time outside they managed to poop a few times. One poop was two pieces and one piece had a greenish color and the other was orange.

Then later one chick pooped out pieces of corn but it looked as though the poop had blood on it.

I also noticed a dark red tint to one of my chicks poops. I want to make sure that they don't have cocciodisis or Cecal.

I can't tell them apart because they are all the same breed and age and look almost exactly a like. I don't know which to isolate because I am not sure who is pooping the green/orange poop, etc.

I did not give them any more cracked corn after bringing them inside and gave them regular chick feed. It would really help if I could avoid a trip to the vet. Thank you!

Answer
Baby chicks shouldn't have cracked corn or whole corn. As you noticed, it can go through completely undigested, meaning it has no nutritional value to them.

Chick Start does usually contain corn, but it's ground into a fine flour, barely recognizable, easily digestible (still little nutritional value).

Soaked bread, finely chopped fruits and leafy green vegetables would be a better choice if you run out of chick start.

The best way to find out what, if any, dangerous organisms might be in their droppings is to have them vet tested.

Chicks have a very basic digestive system and when their feed is suddenly changed from one thing to another, intestinal balance will likely be upset.

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