Dirty bottom won't come clean

[gel2727]

Hi. I brought 4 chicks home today, and one of them has hard clumped poo on it's bottom. I tried pulling it off, but its really stuck, and I was afraid of hurting her. I tried wiping it with a damp cloth, but it just won't come off. She's a really sweet chick, I don't want her to get sick, how can I get this off? Is it ok to give it a snip? Thanks.

 

[Judy]

You can snip but it's probably stuck to the skin too. Just soak it til it softens. I hold them under a slow stream of running water -- warm of course! Then wrap them in a towel and hold them til dry.

Vaseline after it's clean will help it come off easier if it happens again, and protect the skin, and make it feel better.

Good luck with your chicks!

 

[Mahonri]

What ddawn said.

 

[chickcritty]

Hi. I'm new at this chicken thing, but I've been reading the posts for about a month on here and it sounds like the chick has pasty butt and you will want to make sure you remove it so the chick doesn't get backed up. Try soaking the chick's rear in warm water. I would be afraid to cut it off, thinking I might cut something I'm not supposed to. Good Luck

 

[gel2727]

Thanks for your help, I'll try that.

 

[DODALDO]

You must you must you must clean the chicks butt

yes this happens and you need to clean it I lost one of mine to that same problem, didn't catch it in time. the wifey put me on chick butt patrol,

 

[countrybum]

I do as dawn stated:

Run their bottom under warm water and wipe with a rag until it is all off. I then place them in a warm area with a heat lamp until the bottom is dry. If you do not get it off it will cause the chicken to get compacted and die.

Warm water softens the stool quickly.

Good luck with her.

 

[big greg barker]

Funny you should bring this up. We just got done picking through 50 chicks 10 minutes ago. I had a small pail of warm water that I held them in to soften the poop, then wiped it off with a cloth. Handed them to S.O. to dry off. The ones that were pasted up promptly "plopped" into her hand. Oh yay!!
This routine will also be good to get them used to being handled and will make them more trusting of you, especially where you only have four and will be more pets than potential food.It would be good to do this daily.

 

[NotTheMomma]

Soak a cotton ball with peroxide and hold that onto the poop. The foam will dissolve the poop, with no pulling of feathers, and no burning of the skin. Be sure to dry the chick well afterwards, and you can apply vaseline, or mineral oil to prevent it from sticking again.

Good luck!

 

[gel2727]

Thanks to you all, the running water worked like a charm. Gonna go get some Vaseline today. Thanks again!