Chick has poop stuck on his butt!

[229Mick]

So my two day old chicks are doing well, but I noticed one of them has a hard crusty wad of poop right on her butt. I tried to get rid of it gently, but it is caught in her little fuzzy butt feathers, so it was hurting her as I was trying to remove it. Not sure if this is gong to block her up or something... Any suggestions on what I should do??

 

[Ashdoes]

Get a washcloth. Get it WET with warm, not hot, water. Hold it on the chicks butt, while the chick screams at you. Wait till the poo is all soft. Pull the poo off. Then keep an eye on her, cause she'll prob get it again. It will block her up if you leave it, and that's dangerous.
Good luck!

 

[229Mick]

Thanks! I managed to soften it up a little and took some small hemostats to break it up and then managed to remove the majority of it. I wasn't sure where the lump stopped and her little sphincter started so I wasn't at all agresive with it. She made a big poop after I was done though, so I took that as a good sign!

 

[RonC]

Rub a little olive oil on her bottom to keep it from sticking again. Adding 1-2 tablespoons of ACV per gallon to their water can help prevent it too. Being too warm can make it worse.