Are silkie chicks more prone to pasty butt?

[Mims]

I have 30 chicks right now. Of all of them, only my 2 silkie babies keep getting PB. Mainly one of them, the other has only had to be cleaned twice. I'm having to clean the white one every day, for the last week or so. Is this normal, since they're fuzzier, or is there something going on with this one? Is there anything I can give it to help it get over this?

It seems to be fine otherwise.

 

[lnhackford]

I'm a first timer, but this happened to me as well. All of my chicks are just over 7 weeks now, and everyone is alive and well. I'm not sure why it happened to the silkies more than my polish, but I just wanted to share that you are not alone in this situation. I assumed it was because their little behinds were more fluffy too.

 

[PierreYohann]

What's PB?

 

[Mims]

PB = Pasty Butt

 

[Mims]

Thanks, Inhackford. Good to know!!

 

[TRMFAM]

First timer here too and we purchased 25 chicks of 6 different breeds...4 of the 5 silkies had PB and only one of the other breeds. I did put some olive oil around the vent to help prevent the waste from sticking...it did seem to help. I also added Apple Cider Vinegar to the drinking water as I have read many places it will help. All the girls are 3 weeks old now and we haven't seen any PB since day 4.

We did lose one of our silkies on day 3 (day 4 of her life)...she was never able to go to the bathroom...would not eat or drink. Sad tale, we nursed her with nutri-drench and applesauce / honey and egg yoke, nothing worked. I have come to learn it was a failure to thrive issue and she probably had something not quite right in her intestines.

 

[chick n pup]

I just received 5 chicks last week and 1 was a Silkie who also seems prone to PB. PB can be caused by many things: stress, being too hot, being too cold, illness. In my case, my Silkie might not have gotten enough heat. As Silkies are so much smaller than large fowl chicks, they have less ability to generate heat and retain heat. I think their feathers don't offer a ton of protection to them as well. You might want to try some probiotics in their water as well as some finely ground oatmeal with their starter feed. When cleaning off their feathers, I like to run lukewarm water on the dried poop until it softens, then work it gently off and dry them using the low setting on a blow dryer. I apply a little antibiotic ointment to their vent to try to prevent any droppings from sticking to their feathers, but Vaseline will work as well. Just try not to use anything that would go rancid over time like cooking oils. I hope this helps and that your Silkies grow out of their PB issues.

 

[TRMFAM]

Thank you for the Vaseline information...I was originally using that and read several posts saying to use olive oil instead. I like the Vaseline idea better...

 

[Mims]

Thank you all for all the info. She seems to be doing better since the last bout, so maybe she's getting past it.