help!!! is this pasty butt??? weak chicks!

[shotgunfairy]

11 of my chicks are doing great, then out of the four (2 are much better now and in with the rest of the chicks) that i had problems with and needed a little TLC, 2 are still not 100%. i'm not sure if what i'm looking at is pasty butt, do chicks have a vent and a butt?? is it two different things? this is my first batch from start to finish. i love my peeps and i want to save all of them. the 2 that are in their own separate brooder lay around A LOT more then the others, 1 tries to stand up but has a hard time getting his barings, and the other 1 can stand up but only for a limited amount of time. ive been able to get them to eat a mixure of yogart, boiled egg yolk, and elotrolite water all mashed up kinda soupy, really easy for them to eat. what do i do! how do i get rid of the hard ball on their vent? butt?? thanks!!!!

 

[MACluckinChicks]

They only have the vent.
Take a warm wet washcloth or paper towel and clear the vent. Depending on how dried on it is, you may have to apply a bit of pressure.

Hope that's all that it is. Once the vent is clear they should be doing better by the end of the day.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Yes, the chicken excretes from the same vent from which they will lay eggs, one day.

Hold the chick, butt first under the faucet. The water should be body temperature, not cold, not screaming hot. Allow the water stream to soften the poop. It takes a few moments, it isn't immediate. Crumble the poop off the butt.

Perhaps take some olive oil or vasoline and grease the vent area. It seems to help prevent future sticking. The controversy of what causes poop butt is alive and well, so I'll hold my own thoughts to myself. Point being? Get their butts cleaned. If the dried poop "seals" their vents shut, this will cause death.

 

[kimmypie]

Soak it with warm water or a cloth and kind of massage it off. I've also read here to use a bit of oil on their vent to prevent future poop from sticking. They only have one exit hole.

 

[shotgunfairy]

on it, thanks!

 

[Birdo]

They will hate it, but it's for their own good!
You can very gently use a toothpick to clear the blockage also. One of our chicks needed the toothpick treatment, but by the time we figured that out it was too late. Pressurized poop shot out when we did it and it died soon after.