Chicks look healthy but I think I have a problem

[potagergirl]

I am on day 2 of having my chicks they are 4 days old.
One past last night I'm not sure why but I suspect it was pasty butt as I found
3 this morning with hard spots over their openings which I cleaned right away
with warm water and baby shampoo. I dried them as best I could and put them
back under the lamp. That was this morning.
It is now after 5pm I've checked all the chicks again and everyone seems to be
fine however::: they have a lot of dried poop on their underside. Yes it is on their
underside and not blocking their openings in any way.
I am trying to keep all the chicks as natural as I can so if you have any suggestion
as in do I need to worry about this?
Is there a trick to stopping it?
Do I clean it off like I did the pasty butt?

Currently I have them in a very large plastic tub 20 total.
I started with electrolytes in their water yesterday and changed it to ACV with mother
this morning. Not a lot about 1 tsp in 1 quart of water, maybe it's to much and making
them over poop?

The container itself has newspaper on the bottom, covered with paper towels and a little
fresh straw I've broken up for them to lay on. They have spread it around and it looks kind
of wet from all the poop and urine. I will be cleaning it here in a few minutes to put fresh
together without the straw and with the paper towels so I can monitor more easily how much
they are all really going.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

thank you,

 

[JeanR]

Have you placed a thermometer under the lamp for heat for your chicks. 95f for about a week, then drop about 5 degrees a week until outdoor temp is 70-75 or they are well feathered. If they are too warm, they will drink more water than eating feed and get poopy bottoms. Are their feeders with starter crumbles easily available for all chicks,so they will have a good balance of feed and water?

Keep them clean--and good luck with their growth. Early stress will be gone, and they should be lovely little ones!

 

[potagergirl]

Oh yes I am using a red light, the temp is 95 and I did notice it went up to 100 yesterday when it got real hot out. I moved
the light up till it went back to 95.
I have the feeder with the starter crumbles, its one of those round ones with the head holes (really don't like it).
So I need to go ahead and clean them. I wondered that it just doesn't seem right for them to be dirty.

 

[donrae]

I think they need more space and better bedding. It sounds like they're simply physically not able to get away from the poop. 20 chicks in a plastic tub is a lot! I've got 24 in a galvanized steel livestock trough and it's getting time to split them into two groups cause they're getting crowded. I think they need a lot more space, and shavings or something more absorbent to manage the waste.

 

[potagergirl]

yes I was telling hubby that. Tomorrow we are going to get a second tub and light setup.
I think we found the problem though. I took one part at a time out and when I washed the
thermometer and dried it off the temperature had not changed. So I ran pure hot water on
it and it still did not change. I got one of my garden thermometers out and put in the tub
the poor things have been living under heat of about 85 degrees =(.
The one I had was a new thermometer it should have worked.

It's always the basics....now I feel like a bad chicken mommy and I've only had them 2 days.

 

[ChaoSS]

85 isn't going to hurt them. Give them heat, give them room to get away, and they self regulate pretty well. My brooder box is two cardboard boxes taped together with a hole cut between them. If they are hot they move away from the heat, if they are cold they get under the lamp and huddle if needed. Consider that they get shipped across the country with no heat other than each other and usually do ok.

Give them plenty of room, get them some shavings to absorb their droppings and see what happens.

 

[aart]

Also, long shot, but be sure you're not seeing the scab from the umbilicus(belly button)....you don't want to pick at that.

 

[potagergirl]

Thank you all so very much!!! I was very upset all night and spent more time with the chicks then I did in bed.

I watched videos on how to clean the chicks and they showed the umbilical scab which I was glad about I would have
thought it to be dirt to get rid of.

I only bathed a few one at a time last night keeping my water warm, blow dryer on low and using a cloth for each one. Then I did a few
more this morning. I'm concerned about doing all of them at one time to where they can't help warm each other if they are cold. I know
it makes the process longer but I think it probably best for them.

This morning: I found a nice large toddler pool with a deep edge (no boxes it rained yesterday and they were all soggy).
The pool is a great size makes me happier. The farm store also had large pine shavings not just the ones that look almost
like sawdust. I got the big ones which I am very happy with.
I've scrubbed the pool and settled a few inches of large pine shavings in it and placed the light over it with the old garden
thermometer and the now new digital waterproof thermometer directly below the light.
I then mixed a bit of plain yogurt with their chick starter and put it in a cup and had each one eat a little in my hand before
placing them in the larger, rounder, brooder pool. They have a nice big area to walk around in now compared to the tub which
though it was big it was tall and not enough bottom to it for space.
I feel much better with this set up and if for some reason the sides are to low I can always put boxes around the pool when they get bigger.

I think they look better today. They seem happier with peppier chirps and peeps. Do you think I'm going in the right direction?

 

[ChaoSS]

Yup. Bigger is better. I've seen pictures on here where someone has their birds in a pool with chicken wire over the top, there was a piece of wood or something in the middle two feet high or so so that it made more of a tent with the chicken wire so they have room when they are bigger. Keep in mind that you will need to do something to keep them from flying out pretty soon.

 

[aart]

Thank you all so very much!!! I was very upset all night and spent more time with the chicks then I did in bed.

I watched videos on how to clean the chicks and they showed the umbilical scab which I was glad about I would have
thought it to be dirt to get rid of.

I only bathed a few one at a time last night keeping my water warm, blow dryer on low and using a cloth for each one. Then I did a few
more this morning. I'm concerned about doing all of them at one time to where they can't help warm each other if they are cold. I know
it makes the process longer but I think it probably best for them.

This morning: I found a nice large toddler pool with a deep edge (no boxes it rained yesterday and they were all soggy).
The pool is a great size makes me happier. The farm store also had large pine shavings not just the ones that look almost
like sawdust. I got the big ones which I am very happy with.
I've scrubbed the pool and settled a few inches of large pine shavings in it and placed the light over it with the old garden
thermometer and the now new digital waterproof thermometer directly below the light.
I then mixed a bit of plain yogurt with their chick starter and put it in a cup and had each one eat a little in my hand before
placing them in the larger, rounder, brooder pool. They have a nice big area to walk around in now compared to the tub which
though it was big it was tall and not enough bottom to it for space.
I feel much better with this set up and if for some reason the sides are to low I can always put boxes around the pool when they get bigger.

I think they look better today. They seem happier with peppier chirps and peeps. Do you think I'm going in the right direction?

Good move! You've got 3-4 days before they start trying to go over the sides......find your cardboard or whatever to make those sides higher soon.