Few hours old. Is it pasty butt??

[satiglenn]

I got 4 chicks today. Three hatched last night, but one just hatched about an hour before I got there to pick them up. She has a little black clump on her her bottom. I took a wet rag and wiped at it, but it's raw, and it hurt her. The others don't have anything on their butts. Could this be pasty butt already?? Or is it maybe where she was attached to the egg? I don't wanna mess with it, but if it's something I need to take care of, then I need to know what to do.

 

[Farmer Viola]

most likely it is her "umbilical cord" or navel where the yolk was attached/absorbed. this is the last part of their body to form before hatching, sometimes there is a little dried bit left, as you have found. I dab neosporin on it to keep it clean and it will naturally dry up and fall off

 

[satiglenn]

Thank you! I was worried. I hope I didn't hurt her too badly

 

[gander007]

You are a good chick mommy noticing that ....

 

[satiglenn]

Aw, thank you! I'm fairly terrified. I've never raised chicks before, so I'm stressing over all kinds of stuff. Like how close/far the light is, whether or not they're eating enough. I worried last night that they were lonely in their little box in the laundry room, and my husband put his foot down and said we are NOT bringing them, with their cheeping and bright red light into the bedroom

I have their water in a shallow saucer and I just put their food in a scattered little pile in the corner. I change their "bedding" twice a day. Think I'm doing it right? Think maybe they'll survive my parenting?

 

[wermnmnmnm]

I am just going to cut and paste your last email in a week and a half when my chicks arrive.... ahhhahaha Sounds like things are going great.

 

[Farmer Viola]

Aw, thank you! I'm fairly terrified. I've never raised chicks before, so I'm stressing over all kinds of stuff. Like how close/far the light is, whether or not they're eating enough. I worried last night that they were lonely in their little box in the laundry room, and my husband put his foot down and said we are NOT bringing them, with their cheeping and bright red light into the bedroom

I have their water in a shallow saucer and I just put their food in a scattered little pile in the corner. I change their "bedding" twice a day. Think I'm doing it right? Think maybe they'll survive my parenting?

Hey! You are doing great don't worry! and ask any questions you can think of, nothing is too silly. just the fact that you care so much and have the time to spend with them shows that they are in great hands.

this is what I do for my baby chicks, not that you have to do any of this. I put flat little marbles in their waters, the kind used in a vase decoratively. I bought them at JoAnn's for $2, went back and got a 2nd package, so might as well buy the large pack! I ended up needing more marbles when offering different types of water, at one point I had 3 waterers I think. it was during a time when I was offering regular water, electrolyte water, and vitamin water I think. they dont always have that many waterers. I use the marbles for the first week or 2, I think the shiny texture gets them to peck it and drink it when they're very small. it also helps them not accidentally drown their beaks in it.

what kind of bedding are you using? if you sprinkle their food on the ground with small bedding, such as pine shavings for example, it may encourage eating pine shavings. they do love to eat off the ground though, it is their natural instinct to forage so putting food and grit on the ground is a great idea. once they are a little bigger you can even offer them dirt or sand to dust bathe in, they will love it! if eating shavings does become a problem, just make sure to offer lots of grit.

incidentally, I recently switched from pine shavings to wood pellets and I like it a lot more! I think it also creates less dust. the pellets break down into sawdust, and the larger pellets stay on the top, the dust falling to the bottom. the bedding ends up quite a bit thicker than what you originally started with. it also lasts a lot longer between changes. I brood inside, so I change it out completely once it turns to sawdust. If I brooded outside, I might just add more material and let it get thicker and thicker.

 

[satiglenn]

This is good to know, thank you! For bedding, I'm just using kitchen towels. More laundry, but I'm liking the fact that I don't have to buy anything else, and I can just go shake it out, toss in the wash, and put a new one down. I have two Rubbermaid boxes, and I'm just switching them out twice a day. I'm giving them water with a tiny bit of raw ACV in it (like, a few drops to a quart-sized jar, and refilling as necessary. I've also given them some potato skins, diced up grapes, and a slice of tomato (always served with sand, of course,) but they don't seem really interested in anything but their chick feed. And MAN, can these tiny little things EAT!! And poop! I can't believe the amount of food that runs through them in a day

Also, another egg hatched last night, so we went and picked him up this morning. I know it's a little early to tell, but judging by the wing "feathers," I think he's a roo. We named him Rotisserie, is that terrible? lol

 

[gander007]

This is good to know, thank you! For bedding, I'm just using kitchen towels. More laundry, but I'm liking the fact that I don't have to buy anything else, and I can just go shake it out, toss in the wash, and put a new one down. I have two Rubbermaid boxes, and I'm just switching them out twice a day. I'm giving them water with a tiny bit of raw ACV in it (like, a few drops to a quart-sized jar, and refilling as necessary. I've also given them some potato skins, diced up grapes, and a slice of tomato (always served with sand, of course,) but they don't seem really interested in anything but their chick feed. And MAN, can these tiny little things EAT!! And poop! I can't believe the amount of food that runs through them in a day

Also, another egg hatched last night, so we went and picked him up this morning. I know it's a little early to tell, but judging by the wing "feathers," I think he's a roo. We named him Rotisserie, is that terrible? lol

Rotisserie, I had to look at that a couple of time good name

 

[leahlefler]

I never even thought about umbilical cords.. we get our first chicks in June and I am SO thankful for these forums!!!