cleaning poopy vent area

[scoretzm]

One of my girls has some hardened poop around her vent that is difficult to clean. I have washed the area, and gotten rid of most of the poop; but there are bits still stuck to the shaft of some feathers that I'm having trouble cleaning off. I don't want to stress her out too much, so I'm looking for a solution that would soften the poop enough to clean away.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Does she have a good area for dust-bathing? I have never given a dirty chicken a water bath.

 

[scoretzm]

Does she have a good area for dust-bathing? I have never given a dirty chicken a water bath.

My hens have everything they could possibly need to be healthy and happy; so I'm not sure how she got to be so badly poopy. I have 36 hens, and none of them have ever been this bad. I mean, it was so bad she could hardly move. It must have been painful for her. I was thinking of some kind of oily substance to clean the remainder of the poop; but I'm worried about making things worse.

 

[Sally PB]

Clip the feathers under the vent short. Fewer feathers sticking out to catch the poop.

 

[Sofainthefog]

Mine will let me hold her in a tub of water (no soap) to soften hardened poop on her feathers (it takes a while) but you can also fill a small bin with a lid, and cut out a hole for their head so they are in a sort of chicken bath tank. Seconding what Sally said, I also have read a lot of people who have issues with their chickens rear end feathers getting soiled just trim them (same as wing clipping, they don't feel it/it doesn't hurt them) and that solves their problem. It might help you to do that first, and then soak her skin area if there's any left there.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

You could try dawn brand dish soap after her hair cut. It works on baby poop so maybe it will work on a chicken lol

 

[ChicNmom]

The best thing my husband did was to put a kitchen type faucet on our utility sink.

It's deep enough that none have tried to get out. I put on dish washing gloves, soap up the backside and the rub with my hand.
Then spray rinse and blow dry.

The really messy chickens seem to like getting cleaned up and the warm water probably feels good.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

Sometimes those real fluffy butts get some poop caked on no matter how great the set up is. It just happens. I find it happens to my fluffier chickens. I snip off any dried on poop that doesn't come off on its own. If it's close to the shaft, I just rub it between my fingers with a gloved hand. I only wash a chicken if they have a runny vent. I use baby shampoo or something similar that is more gentle since the soap would also come in contact with the skin and your not trying to remove oilfrom skin or feathers.