Dried poop on Chicks' Bum

[ChickyChickGirl]

I just got new chicks and already am starting to see dried poop on their bum and I know it hurts them but I can't get it off very well just by wiping with damp cloths. What's the best way?

 

[Judy]

Ah, good old pasty butt -- just to tell you the term usualy used here for this, for search purposes.

It;'s rather stubborn stuff to get off. I prefer to hold them under a stream of gently running warm water. Takes a few minutes, but doesn't hurt them or pull feathers out. After cleaning, put a little lubricant around their vent to discourage future poops from sticking. You can use Vaseline, veggie oil, Crisco, even Neosporin -- whatever you have.

Pasty butt is constipation, usually related to shipping stress and dehydration. Be sure they are not too hot, and try to keep their water clean, maybe elevate it, or add a paper olate under it to keep the shavings away a little better.

Good luck!.

 

[ChickyChickGirl]

Thanks so much! I'll try the running water but she can be really squirmy. I'll check the temperature too. Thanks again!

 

[Judy]

They always calmed down for me after a minte or two under the water, like it was soothing.

 

[Tatubela]

Hello, I'm new to BYC and I'm also about to get my First baby chicks within a week. At a local "raising chickens 101" class I attended it was mentioned you shouldn't get chicks wet as they just won't dry off and get very sick or die. Mostly the advice was for keeping an eye on the waterer and make sure chicks can't go in it an drown...so based on your advice it is Ok to rinse their butts, correct?

 

[K9Dave]

I used the running warm water method and they do fine. I did it during the day and then just put the chick outside to air dry while she free ranged. I put a latex glove on, let it get kind of soft under the running warm water and gently pulled it off. It was kinda like a bandaid removal. It did pull slightly but was over in a second and the chick was not harmed. Good luck

 

[Judy]

Hello, I'm new to BYC and I'm also about to get my First baby chicks within a week. At a local "raising chickens 101" class I attended it was mentioned you shouldn't get chicks wet as they just won't dry off and get very sick or die. Mostly the advice was for keeping an eye on the waterer and make sure chicks can't go in it an drown...so based on your advice it is Ok to rinse their butts, correct?

Well, that''s not actually bad advice at all. They need to be kept warm, especially in their first week or so when pasty butt usually occurs. If their whole body stays soaking wet, they are likely to get chilled. They don't dry quickly on their own. Those little fuzzy butts, just the butt area, dont have a lot of fuzz on them the first few days, and may not have much at all if it's been pulled away with dried poop. Maybe I should warn people not to let them get chilled, but to pat them dry and be sure they are warm enough. Or maybe I should specify to hold just their butt under the warm water, not the whole chick. You could even use a hair dryer on a low setting to dry them afterward, though it would be easy to overdo this, too, and I always found just patting dry was enough to get that almost bare area dry.

You'll find a lot of conflicting information about raising chickens, on BYC or elsewhere -- and you'll also find that people use a WIDE variety of ways to care for them, most with good success. In the end, use your good common sense! And Google if necessary, lol!

 

[ShockValue]

I had one or 2 with pasty bum the first week. I just held their rear-end-only under warm running water as suggested. Once cleaned (combination of water, cloth, and a bit of trimming of the fluff with small scissors) I patted dry with a cloth and put a smear of vasoline in a stripe under their vent.

No harm done, and no more sticking poo!

 

[ChickyChickGirl]

haha great! So only the bum, make sure they're dry and warm after. Got it

 

[blackwingedwolf]

When I got my Sultan chick, she had THE WORST case of pasty-butt. Poor thing was practically screaming her head off. When I got her home from the feed store, I checked her over more (she had some of that nasty stuff in her feathers from the other chicks too), so I decided to give her a complete bath with puppy shampoo and we had to cut some of the feathers off around the vent. Some poop was still on her since she had so much and it wouldn't come off, so I had to do that twice to her. In case you get your chick all wet, put a hair dyer on low heat on the chick to warm her up and to dry her quickly. The chick may shiver so a bit, but once they're under that heating lamp again, they'll be back to normal in a matter of minutes