Disturbing De-Pasting Find

[Reyvaughn]

My EEs have been having some pasty issues since I got them home and put them in with the older chicks. I cleaned them the first and 2nd night they were here, but two I had to cut the feathers and poo off the first night. Tonight I noticed 4 of them had dirty butts again. The first one looked pretty uncomfortable and it looked like her poo covered and closed the 'exit'. I put her butt under running water in the tub and gently rubbed and tried breaking up the poo - I know not to pull. Once I got the exit cleaned, I went down to the mass under the exit. Every time I rubbed, she'd squirm and chirp. She has a wound there and something sticking out. I don't know what it is and I didn't want to mess with it and hurt her. So, I dried her, blu-koted and put her back in. I watched her while I was doing treat time with the EEs and the new BAs and she wasn't interested in the hard boiled egg. She looks a little lethargic, but still gets up and runs around. I am concerned one of the others may have grabbed a hold of her and was pulling and maybe caused her damage. I read here on the forums that their insides can be pulled out - is that true? Could this have happened to her? The thing sticking out is about half the size of the end of a ball point pen. I did see one of the BAs messing with someone's butt earlier, but I can't remember which EE it was.
I was so happy that I haven't lost a chick yet, but now I'm worried.

 

[onthespot]

Yes, they can end up with a "rough navel" if the yolk is not completely absorbed before they come out of the shell. A couple weeks ago I had one like that. It had about a 3/4 inch yolk "stringer" hanging off, but I left it in the incubator until the next day and it dried up quite a bit, and sorta stuck to the belly. Three days later I was examining chicks and I had forgotten about the rough navel. I thought it was poop stuck and I gave it a tug and well... not good. I euthanized it immediately and just beat myself up for forgetting and being so rough. Poor thing! I think it could have made it just fine otherwise. It was plenty vigorous, eating, drinking, running around just like the others. Boo hoo!

Just take the best care you can of the one you have. The rest is out of your hands. It will either make it or it won't. Good luck!

 

[ADozenGirlz]

I just re-read your post. I mis-read it the first time. You really do need to segregate the injured chick so that the others don't peck her to death.

If many of them have pasty butts, you may have it too warm in the brooder. You didn't say exactly how old they are, but if they're a week or two old, 85-90 degrees is the maximum temp you want to have in the brooder. Just a thought.

Good luck with her.

 

[Reyvaughn]

The 8 EEs are 4 days and the 15 BAs are one day. The brooder is 95 under the light and the light is at one end of a 4' long box. Only 4 of the EEs have pasty butt.
The protuberance isn't bloody or bleeding, it's just sticking out. It's pink though, that's why I blue coated her. No one is bothering her, they are less than 3' from me and I am watching them closely. She's up and pecking/searching/eating for egg pieces now. I clean and refill everyone's water at least 6 times a day. These guys' water is raised on a stone so it stays cleaner. I'm going to add some apple cider vinegar or molasses to help them. The BAs are being kind of disruptive considering their size. I moved the EEs to be in a calmer enviroment since the 1-3wk chicks were pecking, chasing and jumping on them (my BLHs are flighty).

ETA: Now that her feathers are dry, you can't even see it. Maybe it is just a piece of her umbilical cord and the poo made it irritated?

 

[ADozenGirlz]

Quote:
That sounds to me like a belly button that is still healing. Pink is normal. Red and gooey are not. ACV is fine but I wouldn't add molasses to the water, that could cause other problems.
You sound like a good chick-mama. I'm sure they'll be fine under your watchful eye.

 

[Reyvaughn]

I hope that's all it is. I'd hate to lose her.
She's eating but I haven't witnessed her drink in the last 30 min. I said I was watching them closely, lol!

 

[mother o' chicks72]

yeah, i'm going to guess it's an umbilical cord. it can take a while for them to fall off just leave it there and it'll fall off

 

[wolftracks]

I had this problem with a chick I bought once. Skip the molasses, but everything else is fine.

I dabbed Prepartation-H on the chick I had with this problem. Only took a couple of times and she was fine. It helped a lot and since you have it clean now it would be fine to use it.

 

[Reyvaughn]

Thanks everyone! She seems fine today, so I am guessing there was no serious damage done. She's eating, drinking, scratching, preening and running around with the others. I was afraid I was going to come downstairs to a dead chick this morning. I think I am seriously pushing my luck at this point - 37/37 still alive and this being my first time having chicks.