Help! Pasty Butt

[Jdragr]

Just read this entire thread and learned so much. I did wash a few hineys this morning but didn't realize what a problem this was. So tomorrow I will get yogurt and apple cider vinegar for them.

My questions are apple cider vinegar for how long and how much?

Yogurt for how long?

And a funny my mother-in-law who is 72 said she never washed a chickens butt when she was growing up. She got a good laugh out of this.

Thanks for helping this newbie!

 

[TnMama]

I've got 2 bantams from TSC with it. Ones whole booty is raw. I've cleaned it twice a day since thurs. Tonight I put some triple antibiotic ointment on both of them & will get plain yogurt tomorrow. I might Seperate them but that will mean buying another light. I'll try yogurt first. All I've got is strawberry vanilla yogurt. I lifted my heat lamp too, but the pasty ones are the ones who spend the most time under it bc they're so teeny.

 

[RezChamp]

I just joined yesterday after I saw how cool this site is. Lots and lots of info. I'm what some may call a "seasoned" grower but this site makes me feel like a kid again. Kinda nice actually.lol. Any how.... I found alot of "cures" for Pasty Butt here. Thank you all. Hopefully my post will help too
My Nana raised chickens ever since I remember. Same with Granny. Granny actually usually ordered the big CornishX for the table but had a few layers as well, usually RIR. or BarredRock. I don't remember seeing chicks at Granny's farm though. But at Nana's, Partidge, White, & BarredRock, Dominique, BuffOrp, RIR., a host of Bantys & of course Xbreeds of the bunch were all at home, 20-30 of which kept through the winter for eggs. Of course a great deal were "processed" in late fall when cold weather set in. 9 siblings, 3 or4 visiting cousins, the odd errant "foster child", visiting elders & others can sure eat lots of poultry.
Every spring we would lose a few hens only to have most of them come back with as many as 15 maybe 17 chicks. The ones that didn't return obviously fulfilled a different role in the circle of life.
Upon retrospect we never had a problem with Pasty Butt. The chicks that grew up their mom had a 99% survival rate to adulthood.
I did some research to back-up my observations.
Moose calves of about 2-3 months have their mouths licked by their mom. Same as beef, horses, sheep although different timing. This introduces gut flora from the adults into the digestive tract of the young.
Wood cellulose is quite difficult to digest apparently(I've never personally actually eaten it although I have ingested on occasion for any number of reasons). Without the gut flora from mommy moose baby moose would be unable to digest his woody stems diet. That's the reason (alot of) moose calves orphaned very young and then raised by humans.
Watching baby chicks at Nana's and on my own place shows me that 1 of the first things they eat is their mom' s (or other adult chkn's) poop. Some ppl will no doubt become squeamish to know that. Matter of fact I was kinda grossed-out too....at first. Then I realized the chkn's are essentially doing what the moose do.
So I have a little problem with Pasty Butt with the chicks I just got on Tues from the hatchery. Coop ain't too hot. So I'm going to give them budgie gravel, dirt & chkn's poop from the yard, ACV, diatomaceous earth, rolled oats. Of course all within reason..
Let y'all know the results. That being said.... pray for me. Can't hurt from what little bit I understand.
Good to y'all. Happy Growing

 

[rebrascora]

Ok I confess I haven't read all of the posts on this thread because I don't have a spare half hour at the moment. I have one naturally reared chick out of 14 that I think is suffering this. It's undercarriage is matted and it cheeps and strains to poo every few minutes and a dribble of milky white liquid comes out and of course adds to the caking around it's vent.I have been bathing it in warm salt water for the past few days and yesterday I started using emulsifying ointment to try to gently break down the caked poop. I have also used the olive oil and cotton buds (q tips). The chick does one or 2 normal poops during the bathing process and I get all excited and think things are fixed but as soon as I dry it off and let it go back to it's mother, it starts cheeping and straining and the milky liquid starts to seep out again. Can someone confirm that this is definitely pasty butt. The chick is 3.5 weeks old (male I think but it's early days still) and incredibly strong and it takes me quite some time to catch it and hold it secure during the bathing and cleaning process, so it's not exactly on it's last legs!

The chicks are free range with their mother, have access to both natural rain water, plain tap water and acv water in the hen house.They have chick crumbs in the hen house, but also have access to the other hens layers pellets(I thought they were hung out of reach but I've found chicks which have flown up onto the feeder and are helping themselves) and mixed corn and whatever they forage under their mother's supervision. The other 13 are fine but this one is causing me a bit of concern and some work! I will try some natural yogurt mixed into their crumb but just wanted to confirm that I'm definitely dealing with pasty butt, because it is doing some normal poops and although it's undercarriage is caked the vent has not been blocked. Also, am I doing it any harm putting it in warm water for a 20 mins bath (suprvised) to help loosen the caked on poop.

Thanks in advance

Barbara

 

[rebrascora]

Well I may not have got any replies but I'm delighted to report that after a week of daily bathing and oiling and 2 days of yogurt mixed into my little chaps feed, he seems to be all better. Fingers crossed it remains that way!
Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread.
My gut feeling is that the yoghurt sorted it once I managed to get him to eat it, but for information I found the emulsifying ointment better than the olive oil and the last time I bathed him I used Camrosa ointment which I use on my horses for a multitude of things. It is greasy like petrolium jelly (Vaseline) but will dissolve scabs and thick scar tissue but leave good skin supple and clean. I very carefully cut away some of the matted fluff that I couldn't bathe off and generously applied it to what was left and after a week of having a matted and raw vent area and undercarriage, he is now almost as fluffy as the others and I have difficulty figuring out which one he is, so would definitely use Camrosa again in that circumstance.

Regards

Barbara

 

[luvmichx]

Glad all is well. I read however that you should never use olive oil for pasty butt as it breaks down and draws flies. Instead use an antibiotic ointment or Vaseline which are water soluble. I have a week old chick who has pasty butt and I clean her with a warm cloth and then add antibiotic ointment to the area. Next day she is right as rain

 

[luvmichx]

Apple Cider Vinegar use 2 TBSP per gallon of water. It can be used daily and is helpful in keeping algae or slime from growing in the waterers and also helps create strong/hard eggshells as well as helps create good colon health. It's also good for humans! Best if you can get raw apple cider vinegar as the distilled loses most of its beneficial properties. Don't be surprised at how much more raw apple cider vinegar costs. If you can't find it locally, you can buy it on Ebay.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi and thanks for the replies.

Here in the UK antibiotics are much less readily available than in the US both for humans and animals, so not something I could get hold of and I think that is probably a good thing in the long run as routine use leads to resistance. There was no indication that the skin was infected, so antibiotics not necessary in my case anyway, just badly caked and sore. Lengthy bathing in warm sea salted water was not removing the caked on stuff and rubbing at it even gently with a damp cotton bud was just making it more sore, but not removing it.. The heavier greasy Camrosa ointment seemed to soften and break it up, but I'm pretty sure it was the natural yoghurt that sorted the internal problem that was causing the pasting in the first place. I just mixed it to a paste with chick crumbs and fed it to him after his bath whilst I was drying him off as a treat. The first day he wasn't keen to take much of it but the second day, he wolfed it down and by day 3 he wasn't pasting anymore. I had been bathing him for nearly a week prior to that.

For information I am already using ACV in the water in the hen house, but they also have access to rain water as they are free range.

Cheers

Barbara

 

[turtlechix]

Hi, everyone! This is my first post after lurking for over a year in preparation for getting chicks (can you believe that I researched for a year? Yes, I am a dork!). I have a pasty butt question and I can't seem to find the answer anywhere. I have 5 hatchery chicks: 4 Barred Rocks and a RIR. Two of the Barred Rocks and the Rhodie have a bit of poo stuck to their rears, BUT (no pun intended) their vents are clear. They poop normally, it just seems that they have a bit of mess in the fuzz underneath the vent. Is it still considered pasty butt if their vents are clear, or should I still clean them up anyway?

I have tried the warm, moist paper towel method and it doesn't seem to be very effective. Not only that, but their brooder is located in my basement, which is quite chilly at the moment. They hate when I remove them from the brooder (they are very happy and content and warm inside) and I worry about chilling them from the damp towel. They are two days old, and I don't want to stress them any more than they already are after a two hour drive from the hatchery.

They are on unmedicated crumbles and straight water (no sugar since yesterday, when I brought them home), no gro-gel or electrolytes/vitamins. I am going to try the yogurt idea tonight, just to see if it helps. I guess my main question is about whether or not the butt-cleaning is necessary if the vent itself is clear and they are pooping.

Thanks, everyone! Sorry for the dissertation

Yes clean it. It can very easily change from that to pasty butt because some of the poop will catch and get stuck. Had this happen a few times.

 

[turtlechix]

The chick's won't eat the plain yogurt. We use Greek Gods yogurt with probiotics, strawberry honey flavored. You can use just the honey flavored too. Grind up the feed and add some rolled oats 50% of each, then a teaspoon or two of the yogurt. And some hot water to make it thick like paste. They'll eat it up! We use the organic because we suspect that gmo feed may be part of the pasty butt problem. But try the recipe anyway if you don't have the organic anyways to see if it helps.

Best wishes for you & your chicks!