Dirty bum?

[hensinmaine]

Has anyone had any experience with a layer with a dirty bum?

This winter, my buff Orpington had some poo stick to the feathers below her vent. I washed it off and blew her dry before sending her back out into the cold new england weather.

It happened again a few days later and has been a kind of consistent thing for her for over 6 months now. She always had a little feces stuck in her rear feathers. Once in a while, I have to cut out a clump.

None of the other hens shows similar signs or diarrhea or anything. She's a happy girl. Friendly. Calm. Laying consistently.

Any ideas why?

 

[GitaBooks]

It could be a chronic condition, but it could also be she eats different foods or she has fluffier feathers.

 

[aart]

Some chickens just have fluffier butts and the poops stick.
I had a few cochins that had this problem, they usually preened it off but occasionally I'd have to intervene
You could clip some feathers from below her vent so it's less likely to happen.
Especially in summer it can create a situation where fly strike could become a (very serious)problem.

 

[AV8RChick]

I have the same issue with my Orpingtons. I trim their butt feathers down every so often and it seems to have solved the problem.

 

[ctrygran]

I have about 25 hens that are in a very large fenced in area and are sooo happy. They also a nice big house with covered areas. I have noticed that, especially in the summer when they get fresh veggies out of the garden they tend to have dirty bums more often. Never thought about trimming feathers. Good idea!