Crusty butts on hens...

[RustyBucketFarmGirl]

So my mixed flock of 15 1-3 year old hens have some crusty butts all of a sudden. Pop seems to be clumping on their fluffy butt feathers and i find my self removing unwanted pop more often then i care. I have examined them for mites and lice and don’t seem to see any. They are all eating well and acting normal. I naturally worm them with pumpkin regularly but that is about all the treatments i have done.
Is it just a coincidence? Or do i have something going on?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Has their diet changed? Did you add new stuff to their diet?

 

[natblitz]

I see the same thing with one of my chickens. I notice that she doesn’t seem to drop her bottom plumage when she poops as my other girls do. From what I have read it is normal to have some soiled feathers. But I’m always cautious and looking out for signs of something actually being wrong!

 

[RustyBucketFarmGirl]

Months ago we switched feed because the co-op was out of what we use. Luckily i had enough of the old feed that i could mix it before using it full feed. But then i ended up staying with this one. I don’t recall at what point in the switching process that i noticed.

 

[Eggcessive]

Look for lice eggs and live lice on the skin, since the clumps of eggs can cause the droppings to cling to them. In most flocks there may be a few dirty vents while others look normal and clean. It is good to remove the dry clumps or trim excess feathers. If it is really bad, a shallow soapy warm bath in a bucket would work to clean them off. In hot weather, soiled vents can attract flies and maggot infestation, known as flystrike.

 

[RustyBucketFarmGirl]

I am removing the dry clumpy poo. I am doing a full body check on the hens i have been working on and there does not appear to be any signs of lice or mites. They look good in every aspect other than the crusty butt.

my old farm neighbor said he though it was a sign of worms. So i did his old school method of creating a mash with their food and water and mixing in some DE. Hoping that takes care of it.

 

[Eggcessive]

If you can get some Valbazen online, or some SafeGuard Liquid Goat Wormer from TSC, you can worm them with something that will work. I can give you the dosages. DE becomes ineffective when wet. It does not worm and it will not treat a insect infestation. It is very overrated. Poopy bottoms usually happen if the chicken has a bit of runny poops for whatever reason, drinking a lot of water, too many greens, crop problems, but worming is fine to do occasionally.

 

[RustyBucketFarmGirl]

If you can get some Valbazen online, or some SafeGuard Liquid Goat Wormer from TSC, you can worm them with something that will work. I can give you the dosages. DE becomes ineffective when wet. It does not worm and it will not treat a insect infestation. It is very overrated. Poopy bottoms usually happen if the chicken has a bit of runny poops for whatever reason, drinking a lot of water, too many greens, crop problems, but worming is fine to do occasionally.

Thanks i will look into valbazen

 

[Eggcessive]

Valbazen dosage is 0.09 ml per pound or about a 1/2 ml for a 5 pound hen, given orally, and again in 10 days. Here is a link for it:
https://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail...j_X9ZRDndYgLmGt5NxAYpndBHHt0ZFekaAuLcEALw_wcB

 

[Eggs2chicks]

Could it also be like a yeast infection? I had that with mine and gave them plain yogurt and it helped clean the issue up. So every once in a month they get yogurt as a treat too.

I checked for worms in their poop, bugs and anything else it could
Have been and found nothing