Pasty Butt Question

jennyf

Songster
Apr 24, 2016
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121
Missouri
Do folks allow any crusted poop on butts before intervening? Obviously if there's any accumulation they come in for a wash off, but do you leave a little crust (I'd say 1/4 to 1/2 pea size) alone to watch? I can't believe I am asking these questions.
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with chickens you'll ask alot of funny questions. i havent had many problems with pasty butts. only cleaned one hens butt, and it was quite the pain. might just be lucky, they dont seem to get much buildup there so far there are other threads on this subject here if no one else chimes in.
 
Yes, you want to clean even a small dab of poop from the fluff around the vent on a chick. It doesn't take long for subsequent poops to build up on that first tiny dab. In no time, the accumulation can encroach on the vent itself, inhibiting the free evacuation of poop from the vent. Then you have a constipation situation which is a lot more difficult to resolve and can even kill.

A Q-tip dipped in warm water or mineral oil will soften and remove most crusted deposits. If a chick is prone to repeated crusty deposits, moistening the area around the vent with mineral oil or coconut oil or olive oil will help prevent them from sticking to it little butt.
 
We had one of our first chicks end up with pasty butt when it came to us from the farm and yard store. Hers was pretty bad and had to be cleaned at least three or four times a day. Took awhile to get cleared up but if your diligent it will usually clear up without to much problems.
 
Thanks everyone! They are 1 week old Cornish X chicks. There's 15--I'd say I'm cleaning a crust off about two on average daily. Not usually the same ones as far as I can tell, and not a lot. I'll keep checking butts--they're pretty funny--I keep patting butts to see who's crusty and they jump like I'm goosing them...
 
Eh, most the time yes, it should be removed as soon as observed...once they are a bit older, they might clean it off themselves, but keep watch.

Yes, poops are full of information.....better than some information being full of poop....haha!

Good visual references for all kinds of poops,
just don't jump to any terrible conclusions too quickly:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/02/whats-scoop-on-chicken-poop-digestive.html
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/?topic=17568.0
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Giving fermented feed, and giving the chicks a plug of sod are great ways to prevent PB. Also, be sure the brooder is not overheated.
 
Thanks everyone! They are 1 week old Cornish X chicks. There's 15--I'd say I'm cleaning a crust off about two on average daily. Not usually the same ones as far as I can tell, and not a lot. I'll keep checking butts--they're pretty funny--I keep patting butts to see who's crusty and they jump like I'm goosing them...
Well, you are 'goosing' them!! haha!

By 1 week pasty butt is usually gone, might be different with CX-I've never had them, too much heat should definitely be considered.
Hopefully soon you can quit pickin' butts.
 
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I don't know about anyone else's opinion on this method, but the organic farm I shop at has chicks delivered in large amount and the give them a little compost for the garden. They buy a variety called Vermont compost Fort Vee (in case you want to look up and see what another kind might have in comparison). They swear by it when it comes to helping resolve and prevent pasty butt. You don't want to give a lot, just mix a little into thei food. Not sure what anyone else thinks of it, just what they told me when our first came in with it.
 
I don't know about anyone else's opinion on this method, but the organic farm I shop at has chicks delivered in large amount and the give them a little compost for the garden. They buy a variety called Vermont compost Fort Vee (in case you want to look up and see what another kind might have in comparison). They swear by it when it comes to helping resolve and prevent pasty butt. You don't want to give a lot, just mix a little into thei food. Not sure what anyone else thinks of it, just what they told me when our first came in with it.
This would be a good option for someone who doesn't have access to soil in their own yard. Vermont compost is an excellent product, and it is made with chicken power (in addition to earth moving equipment.) They bring in compostables by the truck load, including restaurant left overs, and have chickens who work the material. A by product of their operation, including waste management is: an excellent compost, eggs, possibly fresh chicken meat, and employment. So, Vermont compost would be a great option b/c it is inoculated with common flora to a chicken's gut. But, I doubt that it would be any better in the long run than simply giving them soil from your own yard.
 

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