Chicks and Pasty-Butt

[delawaregirl09]

What causes it?! I hatched eight chicks four weeks ago exactly and they never got it. I had them on paper towels until they were stable on their feet, then I put them on shavings. They never got pasty butt.

Now, I have 24 new babies, hatched on Tuesday and Wednesday of this last week. I have to clean six-eight of them twice a day. i dont get it. I did the same thing on both groups. I feed them medicated chick starter and they have clean water. I had some pasty butt last year when I hatched 250 chicks, but I didnt have to clean them everyday. Whats up with this? Am I doing something wrong?

 

[goldnchocolate]

I had that happen to me last year and I think that my brooder was hotter than I thought. After much research on here I found that vitamins in water and too warm of a brooder can be the cause of pasty butt. I changed the water and raised up the heat lamp and the pasty butt disappeared. Hope your chicks are alright!

 

[delawaregirl09]

thank you so much goldnchocolate! I wondered if the brooder temperature could be the cause. I will raise the heat lamp, they have been flocking to the edges lately.

 

[Matt A NC]

too hot, too cold, stress, basically anything that stresses their system in the least and you will be cleaning butts.

Matt

 

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i am actually worried about this as I have never had chickens before.. so starting from scratch.. lol but what exactly is it that I will be looking for!

 

[goldnchocolate]

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i am actually worried about this as I have never had chickens before.. so starting from scratch.. lol but what exactly is it that I will be looking for!

When you first get your chicks just keep an eye out for poop sticking to their behinds. If it dries it will block their little hinny-holes and keep them from being able to poop. They can die if you don't catch it and fix it as soon as possible. If you do see any pasty butt just wet it gently with some warm water to soften it up and try to get it off without tearing their feathers or skin off. Just do it slowly and carefully.​

 

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Thanks cathy!!

 

[delawaregirl09]

I hold them carefully and soak their behinds in warm water so I can pull it off real slow without tearing out their little fuzzies. I keep them in front of a heater, close enough to stay warm and happy before I take them out into the brooder.

 

[lb2duncan]

I just brought mine home today and two had some poo sticking to their rear fluff. I carefully rinsed with some warm water and cleaned gently with Q tips. Will re-check in the AM. So happy with them. They are so cute! I'm thinking this was all brought on by the stress of being shipped.