Chicken bum messy after she started laying

[bwasb]

My Cuckoo Marans has recently started laying and her bum has been messy for about 4 days. It's not terrible, just some poo stuck in her back feathers. I've cleaned her up and checked her vent, and everything seems normal. She's eating, drinking, screaming at me, and running around like normal. Should I be concerned or is a messy bum expected? This is my first year keeping chickens, so I want to make sure I'm not missing anything.

Thanks!!!

 

[thecatumbrella]

Both of my Black Australorps had this. They had fluffier bums, and it almost seemed like the urates were looser and more separated from the stool (hence the dribbling down). Like yours, everything else checked out, so I just gave them a bit of a trim. If it's warm out, you can give them a booty bath, and then monitor.

Feel free to post some pics as well. And I'm assuming their stool looks normal, aside from the bits getting stuck to their feathers?

 

[Debbie292d]

When I start seeing this, I get out the probiotics. It usually means I've not been fermenting so I get a quart going and give them Hydro-Hen in their water. That usually clears it up.

Ones that are repetitive or get really bad, I just trim their feathers.

 

[thecatumbrella]

When I start seeing this, I get out the probiotics.

I'm going to try this next time! I have some poofy-bummed girls that are about to start laying, so poopy bum is likely.