Cleaning chick vents

[montverdechick]

Hello all! I am new to the site and a new "momma" as well. I have 24 chicks that just arrived on Friday. 3 Rhode Island Reds, 3 Red Sex Links, 3 Dominiques, 3 Amerucanas and 12 New Hampshire Reds (they will go to my cousins farm next weekend). I am trying to make sure that I check their vents for blockage (I am noticing a little build-up on their rumps), but it seems that the NH Reds are the ones that I am cleaning. Is that typical? Could it be that their feathers are longer and they catch the feces more? I am feeding them Purina Starter feed and they get fresh water daily. Anything else to recommend to make sure their feces are normal?

Thanks! I'm looking forward to learning more with your assistance.

 

[silkiechicken]

It depends on the chicks but if it is just thoes ones, they might have had an extra stress some time in their trip towards you compared to the other ones. Just keep their bums clean and they should be fine. You can try tossing in a bit of chick scratch as I've heard it's helped with pasty butt, but I usually just use starter and limit the treats as that can make for runny poo.

 

[bigzio]

I would not give new peeps scratch of any kind. Stick with the chick starter and the pasting on the butts will improve in a couple days. Using a warm wash cloth and going slowly is the answer. Good Luck.

bigzio

 

[montverdechick]

Thank you both. I have been using warm water and wet toweling, it takes a few minutes per bird, but it helps. Can't get it all off, but at least the vents are clear. Thanks again.