Arizona Chickens

[Timbers Run]

Also wondering when or if baby chicks should get dust bath materials. Mine are 6 days old & one of them seems to be trying to bathe already. Am I mistaking what it's doing??

 

[CaroleW]

Hi, We got our 7 chicks from Meyers hatchery on Tues. First time chicken owners. They are all doing great except 1. I cannot seem to stop pasty butt on one of the chicks. I've cleaned it 3 times and woke up this morning to it again. What am I doing wrong? It hurts the poor thing now because I've had to wipe her so much. I'm REALLY gentle but she is still sore. Can I put anything on her vent to help soothe her sensitive skin? What can I do to stop the pasty butt? Thanks!

I have used olive oil or vitamin E oil to soothe them after cleaning - but I don't have alot of chick experience only raised 2 or 3 batches - others might have better advice.

I definitiely agree with @Stacaroni on soaking the area (even if just really wet baby wipe folded over and over to hold the water/soap on it until it softens before gently getting it off).

 

[springvalley123]

Also wondering when or if baby chicks should get dust bath materials. Mine are 6 days old & one of them seems to be trying to bathe already. Am I mistaking what it's doing??

It sounds like they're succeeding in using their bedding to dust bathe, which is great. I've just let the chicks do that. I use pine shavings (fine not flaked) from TSC.

 

[springvalley123]

You do have to be very careful with their tender little bottoms. Are you soaking her before removing the poop? If not, you run the risk of tearing their delicate skin. Also, I wouldn't worry about it being pristine. As long as the vent is clear and the other chicks aren't pecking at it, it's not a huge problem.

I've read around here that probiotics can help. So, yogurt (live cultures), fermented feed, supplements for example.

Welcome to the thread.

In addition, I used a larger syringe (no needle) to drip/stream the warm water over the poop to soften it. Maybe put some on, then re-apply the water in about 10 minutes? depending on how wet they got. I was able to keep almost all the water in the vent area doing this.
On a humerous note, I had one that I was going to clean up, then another chick pecked it off! The baby with the pasty but sqwacked but seemed OK.

 

[arizona_chicken_noob]

Does anyone here use electric fencing to keep coyotes away from your birds? If so, I would love to hear about your setup. Pos/Neg configuration or a really large grounding rod?

 

[BlueBaby]

Hi, We got our 7 chicks from Meyers hatchery on Tues. First time chicken owners. They are all doing great except 1. I cannot seem to stop pasty butt on one of the chicks. I've cleaned it 3 times and woke up this morning to it again. What am I doing wrong? It hurts the poor thing now because I've had to wipe her so much. I'm REALLY gentle but she is still sore. Can I put anything on her vent to help soothe her sensitive skin? What can I do to stop the pasty butt? Thanks!

When I have a chick like that, I put a little drop of baby oil at the vent after cleaning it. No need to work that tiny drop of oil in as the vent will start puckering and work the oil in by itself.

 

[Stacaroni]

Is plain Greek yogurt ok? They are only 6 days old. Is it OK to give to chicks that young?

You can search the forums to be sure but my thinking is, in small amounts it's fine because it's easy to digest and has no chunks that would require grit to break down. (Eta - sorry for the delay, I'm on French toast duty!)

 

[CaroleW]

Does anyone here use electric fencing to keep coyotes away from your birds? If so, I would love to hear about your setup. Pos/Neg configuration or a really large grounding rod?

I've thought about it but our ground has been so hard in last couple years I didn't think it would work for many reasons (too hard to get into ground for posts/grounding rod, and our ferocious winds might short out the wires from a stray object on it, and the ground may be so dry the grounding rod wouldn't work?)

Maybe if your ground is softer than our it might work.

 

[arizona_chicken_noob]

I've thought about it but our ground has been so hard in last couple years I didn't think it would work for many reasons (too hard to get into ground for posts/grounding rod, and our ferocious winds might short out the wires from a stray object on it, and the ground may be so dry the grounding rod wouldn't work?)

Maybe if your ground is softer than our it might work.

Hehe it is absolutely not! That's why I've been looking at the Pos/Neg configuration, where you alternate the wires instead of having the current complete the circuit through the ground. The caveat however is that the critter needs to touch both wires instead of just 1. (I guess you install them close together - or do alternating rows on Premier1 netting)

 

[BlueBaby]

Hehe it is absolutely not! That's why I've been looking at the Pos/Neg configuration, where you alternate the wires instead of having the current complete the circuit through the ground. The caveat however is that the critter needs to touch both wires instead of just 1. (I guess you install them close together - or do alternating rows on Premier1 netting)

The thing is though, that a coyote can and has been known to jump a 7 foot fence.