Chicken Poo

[ChcknLady]

My chicks are 4 days old and they have a bit of poo stuck to their butt fuzz. The vents are still open at this point (the poo seems to stick to the fuzz below). Many people say it will fall off, some say to trim the fuzz that has poo stuck. What should I do? I don't want it to eventually block the vent. Please help!

 

[Guitartists]

I either soften it with warm water on a rag and clean it off or when I have to, just grab it and pull it off.... not the nicest as I'm sure it feels about as nice as a wax

But the upside... it works just the same and then they don't get more

 

[keljonma]

Even if it isn't blocking the vent, it isn't healthy. The poo can build up and block the vent.

I would wipe it off with a warm, damp soft rag. Don't let the little ones get too wet and dry them off immediately. They won't like it. So hold each one after cleaning them a bit, and maybe offer a bit of yogurt w/active cultures ... you will end up with some nice lap chickens.

 

[gutshall]

We had 3 of the 27 with this last year. I simply took a damp paper towel and blotted to moisten and gently whiped it away. 1 of my girls did have a tiny peice way away from her vent that didn't want to come off. So we left it and she was fine...it came off on its own. Good Luck

 

[ChcknLady]

Thanks for your help everyone. I have blueberry yogurt with active cultures, will that be okay? just in a shallow dish?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Quote:
If it has bits of blueberries in it, I'd want them tro have grit before I fed it to them. Just a nervous precaution. Only a little bit and watch to see if it causes the runs. Shouldn't be a problem, but you can tell I'm cautious.

 

[gutshall]

I am also very careful with their feed for the first week. I kept mine on chick crumbles and water with a chick booster until they were 7 days. After that we tried a few crumbs off the tops of broccoli left over from dinner as a treat, but since they are so tiny I didn't want to bind them up or give them the runs. I think my husband gave them a bit of yogurt around day 10 or 12 and they were fine with it then.

 

[ChcknLady]

I am only feeding them chick starter,fresh clean water with a lil TM in it, and they have chick grit available to them. They are all very alert and happy looking just have poo stuck. I have fed them no "treats" or anything other than starter but they may have eaten some pine shavings (their litter). I'm really worried about this though.

 

[keljonma]

I just add electrolytes or Poultry Drench to the water for chicks.

Personally, I don't use terramycin on my flock ever. But if you are going to use it, I would think you'd want to save it for when they are ill. Just like in people, antibiotics can be abused in chickens. Then they won't work as well when really needed.

 

[ducks4you]

Have you tried using some (human) antibiotic cream? When I tried to remove some of that....stuff...a few days ago, I think I hurt my chick a little. At least, this softens it up and helps some.

I decided not to try that the nitrofuricin that I keep around because it says on the label: Use ONLY on dogs, cats and horses!!!

BTW, the chick is fine and NOT bald in one spot!