Hi, I need some help. I have a 13 month old buff orpington, and five other girls. The one has chronic diarrhea. Looks healthy, eats well, comb and waddles are good. but her hind end is always coated in poop. If i clean it off, in 1 or 2 days it is covered again. They are in a 20 x 30 enclosed pen, and get veggie treats from the garden daily and let into the yard for fresh bugs almost daily. Thanks for the help. mike

Mike, are you feeding them pellets? I know if mine eat lots of greens and eat very little of the pellets their poop is very watery. Others I am sure will know more and give better info than I have. I also know that every chicken has different poop qualities so it may not be a problem for an occasional loose stool.

Mike, here in Belgium some feedstores sell the chicken grit as a mix of granite, oyster shells and charcoal particles. My hens have this mix free choice and they do eat the charcoal along with the rest.
Now the bag says charcoal is meant to make firm poop. Charcoal has lots of applications - like as a bacterial filter mass - and I know it is also used for diarrhea in some cases.
If you want to try it you'd have to use the kind chemists sell, not the one for BBQ :-)

Mike, a thought : does your hen really have diarrhea or may she be just a very messy girl?
One of my hens always makes very firm poops and still sometimes dirties herself.
If your hen is just messy, maybe you could trim some feathers around the vent but before you do, wait for a second opinion from one of the experts on this board.

Thanks to both of you!!, I feed crumbles, and many greens. Also i will try the charcoal, (the right kind), it can't hurt. I give oyster shell, free choice and the pebbles are plenty available. She could just be dirty, I'll try clipping her up a bit. Thanks again!!Mike