Great crust-butt solution!

[chickster88]

Hey y'all:
I'm a new member and first-time chick raiser. (My tiny flock-to-be consists of three 3-day-old chicks. We live in the city and I can't go bigger than that. Am building a tiny coop in my garage with an outdoor run in my backyard).

Your posts have been so helpful in getting us started! In fact, I got some great advice on Crust Butt (poo sticking to the baby chicks' down) removal from the Forum, but wanted to hare a solution I came across while working on this yesterday.

Instead of paper towels (which started to come apart and didn't stay wet or warm enough for my taste), I used an OB tampon to wipe her butt! Tampons stay very soft, hold warm water so it really does stays warm, and yet don't disintegrate or fray!

I also used a gentle oil cleanser for sensitive skin to help loosen the poop a bit. It's Shu Uemura: I knew my beauty product addiction would come in handy one day!

Thanks again for all the great postings -- and I hope this tip helps cut someone else's butt-cleaning duties down somewhat!

 

[speckledhen]

Thanks! Another thing that sometimes helps is those No More Tangles type sprays for children. Helps loosen the poop from the fuzz.

 

[Tricia's Triple Z]

Hello All, Does anyone else have any home remedy for this. I am unable to get out. I was told to use baby wipes on my older chickens, but I am not sure if it will soften the poo or if it will be alright for the babies. I like the tampon idea and that I can do but how to avoid it again. HELP I need to do something fast.

 

[teddiliza]

2 of the 4 chicks I bought on my 2nd feed store trip had pasty butt, and I ended up using small very sharp surgical scissors like in a nail trimming kit to cut off the fuzz that was matted. Washing their butt everyday was too traumatic for them and labor intensive for me. Plus, I didn't want chicken poop bacteria all over my sink everyday. They had a bright pink bare butt for a while and it was a scary thing to do it without injuring them, but there was no more fuzz for the poop to stick to, and when it grew back, they were healthy by then so it wasn't a problem anymore. One of them is my lone rooster of the bunch- I think.

 

[teddiliza]

I just had to add...
Tampons are pretty darned expensive!
Wouldn't Qtips be cheaper?
I just have to laugh at the thought of sending my husband to the store to buy tampons for the 'chicks'

Hahahahahaaha

 

[MandyH]

I use the scissors method also. I cut off all I can without injuring the chick, then I have a small syringe I keep in the incubator full of baby oil (so it will be warm) after poo removal I drop a few drops of baby oil on, and voile, no more build up.