Something wasn’t right with Fluff. Our normally energetic and ever-curious young chicken was standing away from the others, not eating and lethargic. When I took a closer look, I noticed her comb had a grayish hue and it was drooping to one side. As I wrote in a previous post, Shelter from the Cold, a comb is the bright red, irregularly shaped “crown” on a chicken’s head. Barely visible in baby chicks, combs and wattles start to expand and fill with blood as the birds approach sexual maturity and egg-laying readiness until they look like the iconic red appendages that distinguish chickens from other large birds.

A chicken’s red comb can be a barometer of their overall health. A droopy, grayish comb is not a good sign. So, when I also spotted a bright green poop dropping nearby, I really started to worry.

As a novice Backyard Chicken person, I didn’t know what to think – but I’ve heard terrible stories about fast-spreading infections and diseases that can quickly decimate a flock. I grabbed my laptop and typed “bright green chicken poop” into a search engine and immediately found links to videos, photos and narrative comments about what Fluff’s symptoms could mean and how they could be treated.

The potential diagnoses ran the gamut from contained and curable to highly contagious and deadly. My response ran the emotional gamut too. From stoic optimism – “she’ll be fine”, to panic – “how will I break the news to our grandson Leo, who selected and named Fluff when she was a week old if she dies? And what about our three other grandchildren if it’s contagious and all the chickens die?”

I needed to act fast!

I found a scholarly article from a reputable veterinary source that recommended putting aloe gel in the chicken’s water as a first step to treating an infection. Ironically, there is a cluster of aloe plants growing just outside our chicken coop, so I cut off a few aloe fronds, removed the thorny edges (they can be really painful), scraped out the gel and put it in their water feeder.

We continued with the aloe-infused water treatment for a few days, monitoring Fluff closely for any further symptoms – and ready to bring her to a veterinary hospital for antibiotics if needed.

But our homegrown remedy seemed to do the trick. Fluff’s appetite returned, the green poop disappeared and her comb was bright red and tall again. (The article I had read noted that as chickens become increasingly resistant to antibiotics, veterinarians have found that aloe gel can increase immune response and act as an antibacterial in poultry). Who knew?

Our sprawling bed of aloe plants originated from two small plants my father pulled out of his own backyard many years ago. Those hardy succulents have flourished without any help from me – I generally forget they are even there. Once a year, they produce beautiful coral flowers, but I never imagined they could also provide a life-saving cure for our chickens.

My father passed away in 2021 at the age of 94. I wish I could share this story with him and thank him for his amazing medicinal aloe plants, but I know he is laughing up in heaven at his impulsive daughter who decided to raise backyard chickens in her 60’s – without reading the manual first.

He may be gone from the earth, but like our bed of aloe plants, my father’s influence in my life grows larger every year. Time has removed the thorny edges from my memories (I was not an easy teenager/young adult) – and every year I become more appreciative of the seeds he planted in my life. Seeds of integrity, humility, loyalty and love of family. I just hope I can keep them alive.

“A righteous man who walks in his integrity –

How blessed are his sons after him.”

(Proverbs 20:7)