Favorite Methods For Cleaning a Dirty Bum

[MgnRose]

Hello, everyone!

I have two BO hens who have dirty bums. It’s not bad and more related to their lovely, fluffy cabooses (one of the hen’s is named “Big Booty Blanche” for a reason), I believe. I ferment their food, feed them a balanced diet, and deworm once a year.

I am wondering what your favorite method is for keeping your big bottomed ladies clean? As I am concerned about fly strike, I would like to get these ladies back to their pristine and gorgeous selves.

Thank you for your recommendations

 

[dawg53]

Garden hose with sprayer. Cradle the bird in your forearm with thumb and fingers holding her feet together. With your free hand, spray off her rear end real well and then release her. She'll shake herself off and start preening herself.
In colder temps she'll have to be soaked in a container of warm water and rear end cleaned off accordingly, then well dried. Wear disposable gloves.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

My favorite method is doing nothing. I don't clean bums and I don't de-worm (unless I see signs of something wrong.) Instead I make sure they have TONS of sand for dust baths. I mean tons! They have their favorite spots but they also have a "hill," of sand. I noticed a few days ago that one of my OE's had messy butt from drinking so much water in our heatwave. But then this morning I saw that she dug out a huge, deep new dust bath in sand hill and poop bum is clean!

 

[MgnRose]

That sounds easy enough, thank you.

Garden hose with sprayer. Cradle the bird in your forearm with thumb and fingers holding her feet together. With your free hand, spray off her rear end real well and then release her. She'll shake herself off and start preening herself.
In colder temps she'll have to be soaked in a container of warm water and rear end cleaned off accordingly, then well dried. Wear disposable gloves.

 

[MgnRose]

My favorite method is doing nothing. I don't clean bums and I don't de-worm (unless I see signs of something wrong.) Instead I make sure they have TONS of sand for dust baths. I mean tons! They have their favorite spots but they also have a "hill," of sand. I noticed a few days ago that one of my OE's had messy butt from drinking so much water in our heatwave. But then this morning I saw that she dug out a huge, deep new dust bath in sand hill and poop bum is clean!

What sort of sand do you use as an additive? I tried sand box sand for my girls and they refused to bathe in it!

 

[rosemarythyme]

My favorite method is a pair of scissors. Might be easier with a 2nd person (to grab and hold the bird) though I personally find it faster to solo. Grab the bird, put them on a platform/chair/stump of comfortable height, with the butt facing forward. If I'm doing this alone I rest my off arm over the bird to hold it in place and my off hand grabs the tail and lifts it. Dominant hand has scissors, and to start you can trim off any filthy feathers to about 1/2" of the skin (I can get down to about 1/8", but don't attempt that until you feel comfortable with doing this).

You will get a lot longer lasting results doing trims vs washing, and for me this is fast, maybe 1 min per bird.

 

[dawg53]

My favorite method is a pair of scissors. Might be easier with a 2nd person (to grab and hold the bird) though I personally find it faster to solo. Grab the bird, put them on a platform/chair/stump of comfortable height, with the butt facing forward. If I'm doing this alone I rest my off arm over the bird to hold it in place and my off hand grabs the tail and lifts it. Dominant hand has scissors, and to start you can trim off any filthy feathers to about 1/2" of the skin (I can get down to about 1/8", but don't attempt that until you feel comfortable with doing this).

You will get a lot longer lasting results doing trims vs washing, and for me this is fast, maybe 1 min per bird.

Be careful trimming back too much fluff and feathers. Urates in feces will scald the skin causing redness and inflammation.

 

[dawg53]

What sort of sand do you use as an additive? I tried sand box sand for my girls and they refused to bathe in it!

It doesnt matter what kind of sand it is. I've been using sand in pens, inside coops and nest boxes for years. It keeps everything as dry as possible, deters parasites and insects, and is easy to clean and scoop poop.
One thing it does NOT do is prevent poopy butt. I can assure you of that.

 

[theoldchick]

I use a warm bath to remove fecal material from a chicken butt. In the South all you have to do is leave a bucket of water out in the sun and in a few hours you will have the perfect temp. Some times I use Dawn soap. Sometimes I simply allow the plain water and my fingers to do the job. Carefully trim the feathers and either towel dry or use a hair dryer. Once dry I apply Tinactin foot spray to the area. Those extra fluffy butts do need a extra help as some birds can't preen the area that well due to size or age.

 

[texsuze]

My Dominiques have always seemed to get poopy bottoms. I've only cleaned my girls when the weather is very warm. I never attempt cleaning when they are molting.

A few inches of warm water in a shallow feed pan, with a rubber mat in the bottom, or something to give traction. Have baby wipes or towelette handy. Also a small plastic cup. And have a light towel nearby.

Test the water temperature, place hen in the pan and use cup to gently pour the water over backside to loosen the clods first. Use a baby wipe to gently remove poop/dirt clods. Work efficiently; don't spend lots of time. Don't scrub or tug. Pour more water over backside if needed. You won't get every bit of poop off, just de-bulk. Then place hen on the towel and let her sit on your lap so towel can absorb most of the water. Good time to check over your hen, trim nails, etc. Since it is warm outside already, I let them walk away and air dry.