Need HELP with pasty "constipated" butt!! Can I "Express bowel"????

mistymmg

In the Brooder
Jul 26, 2016
45
1
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I hatched my first batch of quail along with 3 pheasants.. I've had an ordeal, needless to say , read under the "quail passed" thread if you want to follow what I had going on.. Anyway, long story short.. There's one pheasant that had a bloody bottom on day 2 or so.. He's in the "injured" brooder with a quail.. Well, his bloody bottom healed & now he has what I assume is, pasty butt.. I've washed it several times with a warm wash cloth while holding his bottom under the faucet.. Cleans up good but his skin on his belly is black & it's hard.. Looks like he's compacted.. He does have tiny bowel movements but only on his bottom & they are white & runny.. He's getting probiotics, electrolytes & ground game bird feed.. How do I get him to have a bowel movement?? I've held his bottom under the warm water & tried massaging toward the opening.. (sorry my mind is blank at the moment & I can't think of the correct term).. I'm afraid he's not getting enough out.. He's not lethargic "yet".. But I don't want to lose him!! How do you "express" bowel without harming him?? I don't want to put too much pressure on him.. Ughhhhh

Sorry, I'm new to this & Thank you to Everyone that has helped me thus far, sorry my mind once again is blank of whom it was!!!
 
They don't make ex-lax for birds but as long as he's pooping something he's not plugged up. You're doing right by cleaning his butt to remove the blockage of poop but don't over do it. They're delicate and holding them under running water can make them go into shock. Dabbing at it with a wet q-tip or paper towel to clear the vent opening is all it take. Their butts don't need to be as clean as we keep our own butts. Cleaning their butt 1 time and fixing the reason they had pasty butt is usually all it takes.
When mine get pasty butt it's usually because they ran out of water for too long and dehydrated or the brooder was too warm. That's when I make it a point to get them out of the tote brooder they live in the first week they come out of the bator and get them into the wire bottom brooder cages where they have larger waterers and fresh air.
 
Thank you.. I've cleaned it once again.. It keeps just staying on & no poop drooping so in the bottom of the brooder..
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I turn the faucet to warm with a tiny stream & as I hold him with one hand I take the other to wipe with a rag.. I did hold his bottom in a tiny shallow bowl to see it it would loosen his muscles like recommended earlier.. But still nothing.. I was also recommended to take his food away until he pooped but forgot there's the tiny quail with him couldn't tell stand yesterday.. He's not flopping over like the 2 we lost did. He just couldn't stand up & laid with his wings spread.. He still lays the same way but he can actually get up & move now.. Therefore, I don't want to remove the food.. I've divided the brooders to where & can't anymore just for him because of the heat light.. I have 10 quail in one tote brooder, a red bulb, 100 watt with a top & openings cut with hardware cloth so I can lay the cutout pieces back over if it gets too chilly.. I have this other one with a red bulb. Also 100 divided in half with cardboard duck taped in the center so the light shines down on both sides.. 3 quail & 2 pheasants in one side then my "injured" quail & pasty butt on the other.. 100 watt red bulb & a fitted sheet covering 2/3's.. We lost 4 quail to I don't know what.. Wobbly (the last quail hatched) was born flipping & flopping, another had its umbilical cord pull his guts out & died within hours & one started flipping & flopping like wobbly 2 days later.. They both passed yesterday.. I've had bullies hence why the 3quail & 2 pheasants are together.. They were instigators. I was pointed in the right direction with food, probiotics, electrolytes, & red bulbs & thankfully all seem to be thriving.. My pasty butt is too sweet.. It just lays there like it knows I'm trying to help it.. Never throws a fit or try's kicking out of my hands.. The little quail doesn't mind when I pick him up to change the bottom layer 2 or more times a day.. Now, the other 2 pheasants & 3 quail (little Devils) will hardly get near your hand while changing the water & food or the bottom layer.. They jump, try to fly & scatter really fast!! I tried checking them for pasty butt however, they're really quick & kick & push with their legs until you almost drop them!! I've had So much encouragement from this site it's unreal!! There was (still are) times I wanted to throw my hands in the air & give up & then I see I'm not alone!!
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Thank you all so much!!
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I will just keep his bottom clean & hope for the best!!!
 
Rambling? You want a ramble? Read this. ;)

Sounds like your problem may be brooder related. I don't know how you do it, but this is how I do it and what works best for me. You may want to try it with your next hatch. Your milage may vary.

After they hatch I leave them in the bator for a couple of days, because that's the perfect place for a chick to rest from the hatching process and build up it's strength the first couple days of it's life.

Then I put them in a tote brooder for about a week. I don't like heating the whole tote with a big red light because it will over cook them. I use a regular 60w light bulb in 1 end of the tote hanging about 6" from the floor, which only warms the area directly under the lamp and I put the feeder & waterer at the other end. That way, if they get hot they can move away from the light & cool off and when they get cold they go stand under the light and warm up. They will self regulate their own comfort zone. If they cheep loudly and pile on top of each other under the light they are too cold so simply lower the light an inch or so. If they are scattered around the edge of the light then it's too hot so simply raise the light an inch or so. When they are in a close little group under the light then you have it just right. Being unable to escape the heat will cause agression & picking and being able to expose themselves to cool temps will make them feather out faster.

They spend all day & night running back & forth from the light to the feed & water, growing, exercising & getting stronger. This is the time when the weak & failure to thrive birds cull themselves, which is only 1 or 2 chicks out of 100. This gives them a good head start in life and prepares them for the outside wire bottom brooder cage that has the same 60w bulb setup for the next several weeks of their short lives.

Hope this helps.
 
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Sounds like he could be improving if he's passing stuff :)

If he's eating and drinking under a warm light, he could be healing from the pecking and just need some more time until he's regular again - runny poo can also be from stress so perhaps he's in recovery mode? :D

*crosses fingers*!
 
Well, this am there was poop on the floor.. Not sure if it was the quail or the pheasant but I'm happy either way.. I fed them some boiled egg yolk.. (Which do you give anyway? Whites or yolk??)
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They had both the other day but some reasons I felt the yolk was better?? Who knows? lol.. The others are of course full of Poo!! The time was about 7 1/2-8 hours between these pic's..
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The little quail is wobbly now after the egg.. This happen to the ones that passed also.. Each time I would try egg they couldn't walk afterward??? What's up with that?? Is the egg killing them????
 
Every time I eat too many boiled eggs it makes me feel sick & wobbly, that's a lot of protein, it may affect baby quail the same way. If you noticed they get sick & die after they eat egg then stop feeding eggs. A good feed & water is all they need.

When I have a weak puny chick I put him back in the bater for several hours, that usually recharges him. The bigger, more active peasants may be trampling the smaller weaker quail chicks. They're like 3 x the size of the quail. Maybe you should separate them for couple of days until the quail get stronger and more active and can avoid getting knocked over by the peasant. It doesn't take much to injure a quail chick.
 
Nice set ups!

Egg is a great treat for adults but I think it only has like 9% protein in it?? *edit - duh me, I was thinking of the human daily protein percentage, don't mind me lol I'm not sure what protein percentage it would have for a tiny chick* Yes it has awesome nutrition (you were right about the yolk!) but it isn't balanced with everything they need to grow fast out of the egg.

I would stick with the quail grower with the balanced nutrition and high protein, his reaction could be a vitamin deficiency... If anything I would peel off the egg membrane and feed that to him, perhaps dry it and crunch it up with the feed, it has super great anti inflammatory ingredients like chondroitin and glucosamine so if little chick is suffering from some inflammation causing those strange poos maybe?? from being pecked, it couldn't hurt as long as he doesn't consume more than 10% of what he will eat that day - making sure he still gets his vitamins and protein from the balanced game bird feed :)
 
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