Poop on fuzz (not vent) - treat or moniter?

[kirak74]

You all have been such a great resource and I'm so glad to have you all here.
A few of the chicks have little tiny pieces of poop stuck on their fuzz. It is not blocking their vent. I'm wondering if I should just monitor this or treat it. Will they pick this off on their own?

 

[azygous]

If it's anywhere near the vent, it needs to be removed. Since you haven't provided photos of the butts you're concerned about, you will be the one to judge if the poop clinging to the down is near enough and large enough for subsequent poops to build on. That would be the danger of not cleaning any and all poop you see as it could grow into a crust that would encroach on the chick's ability to cleanly evacuate new poops.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Little dingleberries on the fuzz provide a surface for the next poop that is passed to stick to -- and the next, and the next -- and that is when you end up with a massively encrusted vent area....and given how many times a day chicks poop it doesn't take long for that build up to occur. Given how easy it is to clean up at this point do it now and avoid the serious buildup ever happening.

 

[aart]

Depends...I've seen them get it off themselves, sure does need to be monitored closely tho.

 

[drumstick diva]

after cleaning them off a bit of Vasoline on the bum will make it easier to remove if there is a next time.