Help!!! Poop stuck on 4 day old chicks butts

[Chicken_newbe]

New to owning chickens. I just got baby chicks and they are 4 days old. Poop blocking 3 of their vents. I got it unblocked but what about the clump of poo stuck in their feathers?? I don't want to pull their feathers out . What do I do?

 

[Hazelbunny]

Use a cloth of paper towel to gently soak there vent and take it off gently. If needed you can cut off some feathers.

 

[oregonkat]

Nice warm water soak. Hold the chick so that the feathers with the poop are in the warm water and just gently rub until the poop softens and lets go. Dry the chick with a soft warm towel and keep an eye on the vent for the next couple of days. Good luck.

 

[Bound to Sea]

It will fall off feathers eventually but if you wash it off make sure they do not get too cold or over wet the babies.

 

[coach723]

Agree with all above posts, just be GENTLE and don't pull as it could cause a tear in the vent. I use Q-tips as it doesn't soak the rest of the chick.

 

[Chicken_newbe]

Thank you all!

 

[AllenK RGV]

Vaseline and oil based cleaning seems to work well for removal/prevention. Also you could trim up some butt fuzz ensure they have a continuous source of water, and do butt checks near daily this should resolve after 2 weeks. Also make sure they have the ability to escape the heat lamps as you can dehydrate them and cause problems that way too!

Edit I used a baking thermometer under the heat lamps to make sure no area of the brooder was over 95F for their first week. When I noticed they never ventured under those lamps I moved them back to reduce the temps.

 

[AllenK RGV]

reposting this edit to my last post as I saw you gave me a like on the last one and didn't want you to miss this:
I used a baking thermometer under the heat lamps to make sure no area of the brooder was over 95F for their first week. When I noticed they never ventured under those lamps I moved them back to reduce the temps.

@BantyChooks @aart @KikisGirls what other recommendations do you have?

 

[Chicken_newbe]

Will coconut oil be okay to use?

 

[AllenK RGV]

Will coconut oil be okay to use?

Sure would be most recommendations are for vaseline as it is probably more persistant in prevention, but for cleaning even vegetable oils should be fine. Regardless coconut oil solidifies around 76F so would be a fine solution, the urea(white part of poop) is not water soluable.

edit-- wikipedia lists urea as somewhat soluable in water too: so I stand corrected :
Solubility in water
1079 g/L (20 °C)
1670 g/L (40 °C)
2510 g/L (60 °C)
4000 g/L (80 °C)
Solubility 500 g/L glycerol[2]
50g/L ethanol
~4 g/L acetonitrile[3]