Fully grown chicken pasty-ish butt?

[Magda12]

I have a full grown (8-9 months) EE who always seems to have a dirty behind. She's acting fine otherwise, laying, pooping, etc. Is there any need for me to clean her? I'm just worried it's going to build up and eventually become a blockage issue. Are some chickens just prone to having dingle berries? Thanks!

 

[Eggcessive]

Yes, some can get a build up of poop around the vent when it doesn’t clear the feathers, especially in cold weather where it can freeze on the feathers. I would pull any off that had dried, and you can trim any extra fluff down there. Just make sure the vent is clear and visible.

 

[Magda12]

Damn dirty chicken it's bad enough to have two long-haired cats with fluffy butts!

 

[Razzlefrazzle]

How dirty are we talking? Does her poop look normal? There are any number of benign reasons chickens occasionally have messy poops, but in my experience if someone's got a consistently dirty butt, it's worth investigating. Sometimes it's just something she's eating/drinking, but it could also be enteritis caused by worms or an infection or something. It's a good idea to keep an eye on her for signs of weight loss, pale comb, and general unthriftiness.

 

[Magda12]

She's had a bit of a messy behind for a few weeks or so. Not terrible, obviously it's not blocked. She's perfectly healthy from what I can tell, eating organic chicken feed and black soldier fly larvae. Very minimal scraps from the house. I don't really watch her poop but haven't noticed any weird looking poo in the run/coop.

 

[Eggcessive]

Probiotics and some cleaning the vent area may straighten her up. She doesn‘t sound ill.