2 questions

[lilrosc]

I have 2 questions about my chicklets:

1) when does pasty butt stop? Two of my chicks, the BO and Campine, need to be cleaned at least twice a day because poop just sticks to them. Initially it didn't seem to block their vent, but it builds up and then might, I don't take the risk. They are 6 days old (roughly, MPC says they hatch on Mondays) were vaccinated against Merek's and get medicated feed. They only get feed at this point, though seem to eat their bedding. What else can I do, or does it stop on it's own? I know the Campine seems to be getting quite sick of constantly having her butt in water...

2) in terms of grit... I recently moved into a family members spare house and there is a large pile of sand outside from when they filled in their pool. I have no clue how long it has been there (maybe five years) or what sort of sand it is, or if anything creepy lives in it. But I was wondering if I could take a bit of it as their sand pit/grit supply. My thinking was that free range and ancestral chickens probably did not get fine grain play sand from home depot, and would eat whatever is on the ground. Any opinions on that?

Thanks.

 

[TouchO'Lass]

I'm really new at this myself, but this info may help. I was having the same prob with PB with a couple of the Polish.

I live in a REALLY small town and finding even something as simple as grit usually means at least a 30 mile drive. I've talked a lot with a friend who's raised chickens here for at least 10 years; she said I could use the sand from the sand bags I've had in the back of my truck (snow weight) for the last two winters AND she said grit was a must to help get rid of the pasty butt.

The sand was wet and had a couple of green patches (mold!), tho, so I put some in a cake pan, popped it in the oven and turned it on to 350*. Turned it off once it reached 350*. By the time the oven had preheated then cooled down the sand was dry and clear of mold. I ran it thru a sifter, put a shallow pan in the brooder and they MOBBED it!

Pasty butt cleared in a day and I've had to add a second small pan to keep them from fighting over it. I've been doing that for 4 days now, and the ladies are happy as, well, birds!

IMHO! It seems the pool sand would be fine if sterilized. Just be sure to use a dish they can't turn over onto them-little-selves. I use the hard rubber lids from my pyrex bread pans. They're about 5" x 8" and maybe 1/4" deep.

Good Luck!

Whoops! Forgot to mention: Baking sand does not smell very good!