Poop on adult hens' butt feathers

[chickitty]

i use warm water and a cloth to wipe it off gently

 

[lhowland]

There is the issue with poopy butt, that the poop if left on can cause ammonia burns to the skin.

Imp

Oh dear, I think one of my girls may have this. Some background, I trim their butt feathers, since some of them seem to poop and it makes a trail in the feathers. Yuck! I have to trim rather close to this particular hens butt. I am very careful to not cut her skin, but she somehow gets the poop caked right onto her skin. She now has a very red, backside, no poop sticking but it looks dry and painful. Tonight I put bag balm on her and I am hoping her skin will return to normal looking. Or does anyone think I should call my vet and have her take a look? She is the one hen that is too big to get onto the roosting bars but I have placed a 4x4, and 2 different pieces of logs secured in place just for her. I am pretty sure she isn't using them though. She is so big we named her "Big Juicy".

 

[Imp]

Quote: I don't think you need to see a vet right away, if the skin is intact. Red and dry looking skin can be normal depending on the chicken, especially in the winter. Bag balm seems like a good idea.
A picture might be helpful.

Of course if it will make you feel better, a vet visit wouldn't hurt.

Imp

 

[5Leepy!]

a little poopy butt is normal but I had one Hen that had a ton of poop back there. After some investigating I found lice eggs at the base of the feathers around her vent. This prevented her from being able to move the feathers out of the way before she pooped. You might want to just make sure this isn't an issue for yours.

 

[mdguffey]

i have 2 barred rocks that wouldn't use the higher roosting bars for whatever reason, i did the same thing, i took a 2x4 and screwed a couple of stub 2x4's to the end to get it about 6 inches off the floor of the coop and they started using them right away.

 

[lhowland]

Thanks for the help everyone! I have looked closely for any kind of lice/fleas, her vent is fine, her skin is just very red below that area. I spoke to my vet this morning, her advice was as long as the skin isn't broken, hen is acting fine, she can possibly be getting ready to molt, or since she doesn't have feathers back there to protect the skin, that is another good reason why her skin is so red. I can take the hen to my dog vet, he is willing to look at her if need be but after talking to about it, I feel better to just keep an eye on it.

 

[blueeyedjeep]

My boy friend is makeing me downsize if I give some of my chicken away will it up set the others

 

[bellschick]

Didnt know any other way to post a question. What can u do for frostbite on chickens after they allready got it and turn black or white or brown? Or should I do anything at all?

 

[Eggcessive]

Didnt know any other way to post a question. What can u do for frostbite on chickens after they allready got it and turn black or white or brown? Or should I do anything at all?

Here is where to start your own thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/threads/add/forumId/10

 

[Chikky Chikky]

One of my Buff Orpingtons is getting the dirty behind too and I see that that may be normal. I washed her off but her vent (?) keeps pulsing like she's constantly trying to poo. I just turned them out to break down the garden and I thought maybe she irritated by too much food.

Thoughts?