Hello, I'm new here...from MA...I'm very excited about our new chickens!

[Reghan1977]

We just ordered six silkie chicken eggs, have made an enclosed good sized run and next week we'll finish the coop. We've done a lot of research on chicken care.. but is it true that we need to clean our chickens poopers once in awhile? This, I'm not sure is true, nor am I sure how too. Also, we have an incubator.:.homemade and it's taking forever to get it to the right temp . We've followed the instructions and have it in the downstatir bathroom with an electrical heater just to keep the room temp up...we also have a 40 watt bulb in the incubator and it took all day and the incubator to make it to only 88....what am I doing wrong? It's air tight so I don't get it? If anyone has any suggestions I'd very much appreciate it
Thanks,
Reghan

 

[Lothiriel]

Hi and welcome to BYC from NY State!

You may need to clean your chicks vents if they get poo stuck to them (commonly known as pasty butt).

You may want to post in the "Incubating and Hatching Eggs" section to get a good answer to your bator problem. I've never incubated so I can't help.

Good luck!

 

[4-H chicken mom]

Hi and from Ohio. So glad you joined.

 

[Kevin565]

 

[weimarmama]

&

from Alabama. Glad you joined us.

 

[JerseyGiantfolk]

To prevent pasty butts, you can mix fine sad into their food.

From the chicken coop! Thanks for joining!!!!

 

[Reghan1977]

Thank you all! Oh....and how do you clean a chickens "vent" to prevent infection? "sticky butt" lol....

 

[greymane]

 

[1muttsfan]

HI and welcome to BYC from northern Michigan

Chickens only need their hind ends cleaned if they are pasted up with feces - and you should also try to find out why it happened.