caked up poo on rearend?

[waitin on eggs]

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post. I have a 27 wk old girl who's been laying for about 2 weeks. Today she did NOT lay, but is singing the egg song and in and out of the nest box all day. Unfortunately she is one I can't get close to in order to check closely. I can see caked up poo on her rear. Now when hubby gets home, should I take her off roost and clean and or examine her? If so what should I be looking for ? And if she seems like she wants to lay can I still pick her up ( I don't want to break an egg inside her or anything!!) And should I put her bottom in warm soapy water to wash her or just use a cloth. Please advise, she appears to be normal except no egg today.. Help

 

[Thinkingaboutit]

I have a hen with a caked rearend also and was wondering if we could just cut the feathers if we can't clean it off? Would this hurt the hen if we did cut those feathers?

 

[waitin on eggs]

okay I went out to coop to get a closer look and it is just matted poo on her but basically. I did look at her vent while down there, can anyone tell me what NORMAL looks like? She is a RIR It appeared to be a dull yellow skin color and she was flexing it appeared somewhat moist. But I have no idea what Normal looks like to compare it to. Also the person above asked about cuttiing the fur down there so it doesn't happen again, Will this hurt the chicken?

 

[boykin2010]

nope i do it with my silkie it helps A LOT

 

[Thinkingaboutit]

Thanks boykin2010, if I can't get the dried poo off I will cut the feathers so she is more comfortable. She does NOT like being handled at all.

Lisa

 

[Imp]

I also had a hen with dirty butt for years. I trimmed the feathers around the vent. It helped about 75%.(It was a lot easier than frequent cleaning.) The feathers will grow back so I had to do it a couple times a year. For some reason she stopped having dirty butt a few months ago.

Imp

 

[Happy Chooks]

Quote:
I do the same. Trim the feathers, and they won't have that trouble. Be careful not to get their skin though. I have to do it with my Barred rock and one of my Marans, they just have really fluffy rears.

 

[rilly10]

I agree also...I used to do this with my pomeranian! My husband used to call it giving her a butt crack lol!!! I have also had to do this with my silkie roo once. I trimmed him up, cleaned him really well, and now check him regularly so it dosn't get bad again. I know some people do this also to help with breeding, especially with the fluffy guys like cochins and silkies. If you have some one to help so one persom hold while the other trims and cleans it is much easier. Good luck!