? about pasty butt

[runsw/scissors]

So, of my 20 remaining chicks roughly 8 of them have pasty butt. I just spent the morning dunking their their little bootays in warm water and peeling

poop off their feathers.

Is there anything I can do to prevent this from happening again? I am very inexperienced with chicks as I normally let my broodies do the work for me.

TIA!

 

[Fred's Hens]

How hot is the brooder?

 

[runsw/scissors]

The brooder is actually on the cool side. It's a large metal dog kennel with a heat lamp hanging. The chicks are able to zoom around and choose where they want to be. I really don't know the actual temp...

 

[chickensinwasillaAK]

Take a q-tip and dip it in Olive Oil, then rub this around the vent area. Get the oil on all those back door feathers and it'll prevent the poo from sticking. Just be careful not to press to hard, they are fragile...

 

[Happy Chooks]

How are the chicks behaving? Are they cheeping loudly and forming a pile? If so, they are cold. Being chilled can lead to pasty butt.

 

[bj taylor]

i have a couple that have some poop on their backside, but not what i would consider alot. how do i know when i need to do something for the chick.

 

[runsw/scissors]

They aren't piled at all. They have formed a large ring around the lamplight. They are also pretty quiet, it almost sounds like they are singing, just quiet peeps from them. Nothing loud or shrill, they move around quite a bit and are eating and drinking, and scratching around. They don't seem to be in any distress at all.

I'll try the oil trick for their little backsides. I am enjoying them so much!

 

[DanielHoover]

Pasty butt is caused by chicks getting chilled. Have you installed
four solid walls for wind draft protection, outside of the dog kennel?

 

[Happy Chooks]

They could have been chilled in shipment (assuming you got them shipped). Sounds like they are happy by your description, so you're doing good!

I never get pasty butt anymore, but I hatch all my own chicks now. They don't get chilled going straight from the incubator to the brooder.

bjtaylor........if it's just a bit, I wouldn't worry about it. But if it starts really crusting up, you want to remove it as it can build up and block the vent. (not good)

 

[DanielHoover]

Once I added rye grain to my hen scratch, and it clogged up my chickens and chicks.