One of my 6 day old black silkie chicks seems to have a problem "evacuating" his poop - It all seems stuck around his butt - not sure if it is just stuck to his feathers or worse..... any thoughts/ideas/experiences thanks
Use a wet paper towel and clean it off carefully... and soon... we all gotta poop! Make certain it's getting plenty of water.
I don't know how to do the links. But a similar question was on yesterday under "Health/Emergencies" and several people gave some good advice. You might want to check it out... I wasn't sure if one of my little girls was blocked or not either, but while trying to wash it off (I held her rear end under warm water and worked at the clump), I could see her pink vent area above the clump I was working on, so she wasn't blocked. Many responders warn about picking out the peices if fuzz is coming out to, because that could hurt them. Most say just keep working at it. Hope the link works, but if not then look through yesterdays posts for the info. I mentioned. https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=245394
I found cleaning the butt easiest with a bowl of warm water, dunk the rear end under for a minute...then take a tooth pick and gently work the stool off. Dont use the pointy end. Worked great, and saved her life!
That is great advice. And I know from personal experience, the chick will be very unappreciative and squawk the whole time. Hold it close and keep it warm afterwards. Best of luck to you.
Yea, that's the age for it! It's called "pasting" and the chick could die if it's not cleaned off. Follow directions above (warm paper towel or bowl of warm water With the dull end of a toothpick). Be patient, it can take a while to get it all off without tearing off the down and giving your baby a bald butt! Made that mistake before.
I started off with using warm wet towels to get off pasty butt. I've found that just takes too much time. getting a glass bowl (glass holds heat better) and putting warm tap water in it is the fasted way to go. Then pick up the affected chick and hold them such that you can dunk their butts. I usually thread my thumb around their backs but under their wings. You have really good control over them and they look like they're sitting in a hot tub with their wings outstretched over the edges (my thumb). It's so cute! Anyways, soak them that way for a few minutes and then you'll find that the paste can be worked off with a thumb and forefinger. You'll also remove less down this way, I've noticed. Dan
