Poop on adult hens' butt feathers

I have 3/5 adult hens with this. 1 died suddenly & thought this might be the cause. I dewormed & trimmed & it got better, but still present. The worst one, I tried soaking & just couldn't get her clean on my own. Her poo seems normal & skin looks good, but she sleeps with her tail straight up, while all the other hens sleep with their tails relaxed & more down. I'm worried I'll loose her. She is my oldest & more a pet than a farm animal She is 4 years old. Someone is laying chalky eggs. I suspect it's her. What do you think?

lot to learn said:

I have 3/5 adult hens with this. 1 died suddenly & thought this might be the cause. I dewormed & trimmed & it got better, but still present. The worst one, I tried soaking & just couldn't get her clean on my own. Her poo seems normal & skin looks good, but she sleeps with her tail straight up, while all the other hens sleep with their tails relaxed & more down. I'm worried I'll loose her. She is my oldest & more a pet than a farm animal She is 4 years old. Someone is laying chalky eggs. I suspect it's her. What do you think?

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We had a 2-yo Buff Orp with this issue. She seemed to be healthy in all other regards. Have you tried isolating her for a couple days to see if she is the one laying chalky? I would suspect she is. Have you consulted your local vet? I'd be interested to hear what they had to say.
Good Luck!

How would you clean a rooster with poopy but?
I purchased him yesterday and it's bothering me so much!

alicexx said:

How would you clean a rooster with poopy but?
I purchased him yesterday and it's bothering me so much!

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Welcome to BYC. You can use a pan or bucket with warm water and some mild soap, and clean him off with your fingers. if there is hard poop, you can pull off some of it with fingers, and then soak him for a few minutes. Try to just wet the vent area, not his whole body, and then dry him or bring him inside to finish drying completely. After he dries, check him for any parasites, such as mites or lice crawling around near the vent. Sometimes, trimming excess feathers near the vent can help to prevent soiling, but diarrhea can be a cause of this.

Very helpful. I just did a "Brazilian Butt Trim" on one of my hens. She had a ball of poop about the size of a ping-pong ball back there, and I figured it could not have been comfortable for her. Just caught her, held her upside down under my arm, and took the scissors to her. She didn't seem to mind, and went right back to foraging with the others. I'll keep an eye on her in case it happens again. It's too cold today to give her a sitz bath, but that may be in her future!

Ok I need to ask the obvious here... how do you trim a bird's butt? Do you trim it all the way down or is where you only go half way down so it doesn't bleed?

SallyF said:

Very helpful. I just did a "Brazilian Butt Trim" on one of my hens. She had a ball of poop about the size of a ping-pong ball back there, and I figured it could not have been comfortable for her. Just caught her, held her upside down under my arm, and took the scissors to her. She didn't seem to mind, and went right back to foraging with the others. I'll keep an eye on her in case it happens again. It's too cold today to give her a sitz bath, but that may be in her future!

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OMG! Literally just LOL’d ... Brazilian Butt Trim! Hahahahaha! Good one!

I have (had) 6 chickens, including 3 Silkies and 3 Cochins. Recently, I noticed that one Silkie and one Cochin had a lot of poop on their butts, so I did what I did a year ago—I held them in my lap, used warm water to soften the poop, and used a scissors to cut off the caked poop. The Cochin, who had been treated for that issue before, died in my arms within a minute of starting to clean her. The Silkie passed out cold. She revived, but she’s not been the same in the 6 weeks since that happened. Today, I found her dead in the coop. It’s been very upsetting (we’re very attached to our chickens). Any advice or thoughts on what may have happened? The other chickens seem fine.