Help! Tried treating pasty butt and I think i pulled out her umbilical cord! (PICTURES)

[Bbam19]

I am new to raising chickens and I just got a batch on Wednesday making them 5 days old today. Two of my Brahmas had what I thought was pasty butt and I got one all cleaned up fine but the other I noticed now has a sore protruding spot on her underside! I'm assuming it's her belly button and I just pulled her bowels out. She hasn't stopped yelling since. Is she going to be okay? The other chicks keep trying to peck at it because she's a little wet, I am trying to get her to dry so that they leave her alone. I'm just very worried I harmed her so bad that she might die.

 

[Abriana]

Welcome to BYC and the world of chickens!
It is very important when caring for pasty butt to BE GENTLE. You can pull out fluff which is painful, or do harm like this. The proper way to care for it is to run the chick's rear end under warm (not hot!) water until the poop loosens and can come off easily by using tweezers, or a gloved hand. Do not ever try to pull the poop off without first loosening it with water. For now, separate the chick because that will turn into a pecking hot-spot for the other chicks, and can potentially kill the little guy. Once chickens start pecking, they keep on pecking until their victim is dead. Sounds pretty harsh, but that is the way of the chickens. I do not know what to do after separation, but I'm sure some experts will chime in shortly. Just give her food and water, and a heat lamp, and place her near the other chicks so she can hear them. Chicks don't like to be alone.
Good luck!

 

[Bbam19]

Welcome to BYC and the world of chickens!
It is very important when caring for pasty butt to BE GENTLE. You can pull out fluff which is painful, or do harm like this. The proper way to care for it is to run the chick's rear end under warm (not hot!) water until the poop loosens and can come off easily by using tweezers, or a gloved hand. Do not ever try to pull the poop off without first loosening it with water. For now, separate the chick because that will turn into a pecking hot-spot for the other chicks, and can potentially kill the little guy. Once chickens start pecking, they keep on pecking until their victim is dead. Sounds pretty harsh, but that is the way of the chickens. I do not know what to do after separation, but I'm sure some experts will chime in shortly. Just give her food and water, and a heat lamp, and place her near the other chicks so she can hear them. Chicks don't like to be alone.
Good luck!

I forgot to mention that I did soak their behinds and there was a lot of poop that was softening. I'm almost wondering if it was their umbilical cord to begin with that just ended up having poop stuck to it that hardened. I tried not to pull. I just rubbed my fingers over it until most of it dissolved but, I may have accidentally pulled on this ones a bit. I also noticed that the others were pecking because she was wet. I just tried to keep them away from her as much as possible until she dried. Not sure if it's good news but, now that she is dry I can't even see the issue anymore and can't tell which chick it was to begin with. I've watched all eat and drink after and everything seems well so far. I'm just hoping I didn't cause any damage and that everything will be okay. Thank you for the response back! Very new and nervous chicken mom here!

 

[lazy gardener]

You might want to put some triple antibiotic on it. but, if it's looking fine, and has disappeared, simply watch, and see what happens.

 

[Abriana]

I forgot to mention that I did soak their behinds and there was a lot of poop that was softening. I'm almost wondering if it was their umbilical cord to begin with that just ended up having poop stuck to it that hardened. I tried not to pull. I just rubbed my fingers over it until most of it dissolved but, I may have accidentally pulled on this ones a bit. I also noticed that the others were pecking because she was wet. I just tried to keep them away from her as much as possible until she dried. Not sure if it's good news but, now that she is dry I can't even see the issue anymore and can't tell which chick it was to begin with. I've watched all eat and drink after and everything seems well so far. I'm just hoping I didn't cause any damage and that everything will be okay. Thank you for the response back! Very new and nervous chicken mom here!

I was nervous too at first! It's okay, every chicken mom is!

 

[xenazuno]

Welcome to BYC and the world of chickens!
It is very important when caring for pasty butt to BE GENTLE. You can pull out fluff which is painful, or do harm like this. The proper way to care for it is to run the chick's rear end under warm (not hot!) water until the poop loosens and can come off easily by using tweezers, or a gloved hand. Do not ever try to pull the poop off without first loosening it with water. For now, separate the chick because that will turn into a pecking hot-spot for the other chicks, and can potentially kill the little guy. Once chickens start pecking, they keep on pecking until their victim is dead. Sounds pretty harsh, but that is the way of the chickens. I do not know what to do after separation, but I'm sure some experts will chime in shortly. Just give her food and water, and a heat lamp, and place her near the other chicks so she can hear them. Chicks don't like to be alone.
Good luck!

Hi! I need some help. Last year when I had chicks they never had this problem. And one of mine this year just so happened to have this problem. And I stupidly didn’t research it, because I was scared it built up and was covering the vent hole. I tried softening it a little bit with some water, but he was getting so cold I panicked and just ripped it off. So now my pore little chick is missing his fur on his bottom ;(. It’s not as red and irritated, it’s just been a couple days. I put petroleum jelly on him, he usually sleeps, he doesn’t scream, he usually calms down after I put the jelly on. The other chick doesn’t bother, they’re usually curled up together sleeping. But now I feel so so bad, it looks terrible but better than before. I mean I really just want to cry I feel bad. Is the fur gonna grow back or is he gonna be bald there forever? Is this going to affect him? What can I put on him to help him? I don’t know if I’m supposed to use the petroleum jelly or not. But it’s the best thing I have right now until I can find the right thing. Please help me someone.

 

[AprilsZoo]

I am new to raising chickens and I just got a batch on Wednesday making them 5 days old today. Two of my Brahmas had what I thought was pasty butt and I got one all cleaned up fine but the other I noticed now has a sore protruding spot on her underside! I'm assuming it's her belly button and I just pulled her bowels out. She hasn't stopped yelling since. Is she going to be okay? The other chicks keep trying to peck at it because she's a little wet, I am trying to get her to dry so that they leave her alone. I'm just very worried I harmed her so bad that she might die.

Deep breath— ok? They sturdier than they seem...
It looks like & sounds from your description like the little bump is on chicky’s butt, right?
It’s possible that there’s a little ‘prolapse’ from chicky trying to push poop out when it was pasted over with poop. It will be fine now that it’s cleaned off. The swelling will get better in time.
Just make sure to use nice warm water and a soft cloth or cotton balls to keep things clean & clear. Putting a nice coat of Neosporin (withOUT Pain reliever added, very important) or Vaseline/petroleum jelly will keep it from drying out until it goes back in, and also make it much easier to wipe off any additional poop that builds up.

Hi! I need some help. Last year when I had chicks they never had this problem. And one of mine this year just so happened to have this problem. And I stupidly didn’t research it, because I was scared it built up and was covering the vent hole. I tried softening it a little bit with some water, but he was getting so cold I panicked and just ripped it off. So now my pore little chick is missing his fur on his bottom ;(. It’s not as red and irritated, it’s just been a couple days. I put petroleum jelly on him, he usually sleeps, he doesn’t scream, he usually calms down after I put the jelly on. The other chick doesn’t bother, they’re usually curled up together sleeping. But now I feel so so bad, it looks terrible but better than before. I mean I really just want to cry I feel bad. Is the fur gonna grow back or is he gonna be bald there forever? Is this going to affect him? What can I put on him to help him? I don’t know if I’m supposed to use the petroleum jelly or not. But it’s the best thing I have right now until I can find the right thing. Please help me someone.

Keep it clean, and use the Vaseline to keep it coated. This will keep it soothed, and make any new poop easier to clean off. Use a very soft cloth or cotton balls and nice, warm water to keep things cleaned up. The skin will heal, but it might be bald until he gets feathers there. The chicky fuzz is likely gone for good, but only because it doesn’t last a super long time anyway, so it’s hard to say for sure.

As far as how the chick feels, I would imagine it feels a lot like road rash, or a badly skinned knee. And just like those owies, it will feel better soon.

 

[LateBirdFarms]

Usually, its best to start your own thread rather than revive an ancient one, and a picture always says a thousand words in cases like this...but the "fur" is baby down and will be replaced with feathers.