Cleaning a Chicken.

[awyman]

My hen has stopped laying eggs. So her butt now just has got matted up with poop. I’m really not sure why? Anyone ran into this problem? If so, how should I clean it off, and prevent it from happening again?

 

[LizzzyJo]

Every so often, one of mine will get hard poo on her. I trim it off with scissors. I am not sure if this is the best approach, but it works for me. I do it very carefully and often it is a two person job.

 

[chicklove14]

I would recommend putting her in a warm water bucket and letting the poo go into the water.

 

[Criticalicious]

What caused her to stop laying? Have you checked for vent gleet? I usually put on disposable gloves then gently wash the dried poop with warm water until it comes off.

 

[awyman]

What caused her to stop laying? Have you checked for vent gleet? I usually put on disposable gloves then gently wash the dried poop with warm water until it comes off.

I’m not sure why she stopped laying. She just got diagnosed with bumble foot but we’ve already treated it. So I’m not completely sure what the problem is.

 

[aart]

Pics of dirty butt would help.
Then get it cleaned up....not fun but a bath/soak might be best.
You don't want fly strike to strike.
Do your other birds have loose poops too?

 

[chkva]

I had that happen to one of mine that had a fluffier butt then the rest... I put a towel over her and had a bucket of warm water with a washcloth and just gently scrubbed it all off. When you wrap a chicken in a towel either covering their head or just covering their body, it calms them down.

 

[awyman]

Pics of dirty butt would help.
Then get it cleaned up....not fun but a bath/soak might be best.
You don't want fly strike to strike.
Do your other birds have loose poops too?

I’ll get a pic later tonight. She’s our only hen left, her butts been like this for like a week. I feel like she’s been upset. She lost her companion a couple weeks ago.

 

[aart]

She’s our only hen left, her butts been like this for like a week. I feel like she’s been upset. She lost her companion a couple weeks ago.

How was the other bird lost.......thinking there may be an illness at play.

 

[awyman]

How was the other bird lost.......thinking there may be an illness at play.

We think it was a respiratory illness. She hasn’t shown any symptoms though. She’s had it rough these past couple weeks. Losing her companion, getting diagnosed with bumble foot, and now her butt is a poopy mess. She can’t catch a break. She’s still eating and drinking fine. We’ve already treated her Bumblefoot. Plus she’s free range, I’m just not sure what’s going on.