Heat Lamp and Pastey Butt questions(not related)

[AUFan]

Two questions....we have had our chicks for 2 days now(they hatched on the 28th..all made it in shipping and are all still kicking as we speak!

). A few seem to have pastey butt...doesn't seem too bad since I have been watching for it and check everyone every am and night(I usually clean every thing up, fill feeders, check hineys,etc) I thought I read about apple cider vinegar...does it have to be the unfiltered kind(and organic?) that is going to be hard to find here but I have some of the regular...can I use that? If so how much(I have one quart waterers). Also how long should it(the pb) last? I have just a few chicks that I keep a check on that seem to keep the pastiness and some that have some stuff that seems to stick to their fluff but doesn't seem to build up. Anything else I can do to get rid of it?

Heat lamp question- I have 2 lights on my chicks a heat lamp that is pretty warm and then a regular 60watt light. I have the heat lamp on one end of our rubbermaid brooder and the other light on the other end. I have a few chicks that lay at the edges of the heat lamps reach but most hang out under the 60 watt(they look like a little yellow carpet...not crowded together like they are cold but more like they all are sleeping together). Can I get rid of the heat lamp and just use 2 60 watt bulbs while they are in the indoor brooder? I will probably use the heat lamp when we move everyone outside since I don't think the 60 watt will give off enough heat out there.

Thanks so much!

 

[Half-a-dozen]

The PB ........ The first chicks I ever got we used to clean them up right away......this year, I left them and watched that it was not builing up on them, if it does it needs to be cleaned away from the vent as so it does not get pasted up where they cannot drop. Since they go so often (being chicks) you can see by watching if they are pasted up. Mine were fine and since there is so much "fluff" on their lil rears... they just walked around with a lil poop stuck to them. Others might clean it off right away. either is fine I suppose to do this I use to just moisen it up with some warm water and use cotton balls, tissues, q-tips etc... to get the pastiness away/ cleaned off........

As for the heat lamp, IMO I think they are to young to be without heat but if you do decide to remove the lamp you will know they are to cold if they start pilling up on one another........not really moving around and sleeping (cuddled) a lot. When the heat lamp was on any of my chicks even at a day old... they moved around often, would plop down right where they were when exhausted, then get up and start the cycle all over again. When the heat lamp was off..they would not be active at all (barely) and just cuddle, pilled up on one another in the corner. Putting the heat lamp on again they would move around again.

It is my understanding they should look like salt and pepper in the brooder and not a pile of.......ahhh chicks squooshed in the corner.

Hope this helps

 

[AUFan]

Quote:
I turned the heat lamp off for a bit but then they started crowding under the other light so it went back on! They usually all mill around the whole thing a bunch just seem to go to sleep under the reg. light(there are more spread out as well).

 

[chickster88]

Hi, If you are still having the problem with their butts, try washing the crust off with a tampon wetted with warm water. The tampon won't flake apart like paper towel, or dry out fast. The water stays warm and the surface is both super-soft and firm. I'm a newbie, but I found this worked really well for me last week with my pasty- butted chick! I also dabbed some gentle mineral oil on the crust to help loosen it up. After she was clean, I applied a tiny bit of olive oil to the down with a Q-tip to prevent more from sticking.

Seriously, this is more work than changing my daughter's diapers ever was!