chick will pasty butt

[jolenesdad]

I have put Vaseline on top of it to soften and then been able to clean it off. The Vaseline around the vent protects the bare skin that may be left and also prevents more from sticking.

 

[Criticalicious]

I recommend wearing gloves if you have them, since you're handling poo. You can get a bag of 100 at Walmart for around $4.

 

[cluckmecoop7]

Thanks EVERYONE! That really helps me.

I will tell you how it go's!

 

[Criticalicious]

Also, it was hinted at, but once it's clean, you'll need to dry the chick as best you can. Towel dry, then hair dryer dry a bit, then under the heat source. They can get chilled very easily and wet feathers don't hold in heat.

You may want to add probiotics to their diet if you haven't already. I prefer fermented feed, but Tractor Supply sells probiotics specifically for chicks as well.

 

[cluckmecoop7]

Thanks.

 

[cluckmecoop7]

One more question:

How long until the chick dies?

 

[rebrascora]

If it can no longer pass poop, it will die in a matter of a couple of days. You really need to act as soon as possible.
It is the urates that clog the vent up and prevent the regular poop from passing. Urates are the equivalent of our urine. In birds, the urine passes from the kidneys to the cloaca as a liquid but the body then reabsorbs some of the fluid and the urates are evacuated with regular poop as a white chalky solid, which is the white capping you see on bird poop. If the chick is too hot and becoming dehydrated, the body will reabsorb more water from the urine to conserve it and the urates become more chalky and solid than usual and start to cake the inside of the cloaca until eventually a plug forms and the bird struggles to pass poop or urates and usually it cheeps a lot as it strains to pass waste. Once the digestive system is blocked, toxins build up and food is unable to be processed and the chick will either starve or die of toxic shock

 

[Chickassan]

Not long, not being able to crap will kill them quickly since they do it so much.
They can expire in a day easily.

One more question:

How long until the chick dies?

 

[cluckmecoop7]

Well, I did it!

From 1 to 10 it probably was 7. Like some of you said, the chick DID complain a lot! It was so hard to hold the chick still. I used a qtip and a wet/damp cloth. I also dipped that chicks butt in a small pan/tray thingy. Only the very end.

When we put in back in the brooder she went strait under the heat plate! I'm going to check on her in about 20 minutes and see if she is doing alright.

Thanks again everyone who posted for their help!!

 

[rebrascora]

Well done. Hope you oiled it up good to help prevent reoccurrence.