How to Avoid Pasty Butt, Is Humidity a Factor?

[BigBlueHen53]

I've only had a few pasty butts, rarely have to clean them twice.
My best advice is don't give them a bunch of fancy(weird) stuff.
If giving anything other than plain fresh water and a good chick crumble,
follow @ChickenCanoe's recommendations.

They only need one warm spot, cool ambient temps are best, IMO.
A thermometer is a good tool, but don't count on it too much, go by behaviors.

Here's my notes on chick heat, hope something in there might help:
They need to be pretty warm(~85-90F on the brooder floor right under the lamp and 10-20 degrees cooler at the other end of brooder) for the first day or two, especially if they have been shipped, until they get to eating, drinking and moving around well. But after that it's best to keep them as cool as possible for optimal feather growth and quicker acclimation to outside temps. A lot of chick illnesses are attributed to too warm of a brooder. I do think it's a good idea to use a thermometer on the floor of the brooder to check the temps, especially when new at brooding, later I still use it but more out of curiosity than need.

The best indicator of heat levels is to watch their behavior:
-If they are huddled/piled up right under the lamp and cheeping very loudly, they are too cold.
-If they are spread out on the absolute edges of the brooder as far from the lamp as possible, panting and/or cheeping very loudly, they are too hot.
-If they sleep around the edge of the lamp calmly just next to each other and spend time running all around the brooder they are juuuust right!

The lamp is best at one end of the brooder with food/water at the other cooler end of the brooder, so they can get away from the heat or be under it as needed. Wattage of 'heat' bulb depends on size of brooder and ambient temperature of room brooder is in. Regular incandescent bulbs can be used, you might not need a 'heat bulb'. If you do use a heat bulb make sure it's specifically for poultry, some heat bulbs for food have teflon coatings that can kill birds. You can get red colored incandescent bulbs at a reptile supply source. A dimmer extension cord is an excellent way to adjust the output of the bulb to change the heat without changing the height of the lamp.

Or you could go with a heat plate, commercially made or DIY: http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/pseudo-brooder-heater-plate

Thank you, @aart! Will be pricing the heater plates. Would one be safe in a plastic tub? We will be keeping the chicks in a spare bedroom at first to keep them safe from the cats and the younger dog. So the ambient temp will be in the upper 60's. Sound okay?

 

[azygous]

I've had the temperature dive into the teens while I'm brooding chicks outdoors. I confess it's nerve wracking. But I haven't lost any chicks.

I do place a folded wool blanket on top of the heating pad to hold in the heat when it gets that cold. Healthy chicks do just fine.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I've switched to using a 'mama heating pad' in my brooder. It's so much easier than heat lamps. And no pasty butt

Aha! This is interesting news. How many batches of chicks have you brooded with the mama pad, and how many chicks per batch? What is the brand and model of the pad, and what kind of bedding do you use with it? Thank you very much.

 

[aart]

Thank you, @aart! Will be pricing the heater plates. Would one be safe in a plastic tub? We will be keeping the chicks in a spare bedroom at first to keep them safe from the cats and the younger dog. So the ambient temp will be in the upper 60's. Sound okay?

Should be, use a big tub.
And know that the population numbers for plates are as bad as those prefab coops....
...so go bigger.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

@azygous, I love your article about outdoor brooding! Seeing the world from the chicks' POV is really eye-opening; will definitely keep this in mind for future flocks. Do not have a secure run for this batch, but will definitely use as much as I can to keep this batch from being hand-shy and world-ignorant. Thank you!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Should be, use a big tub.
And know that the population numbers for plates are as bad as those prefab coops....
...so go bigger.

Gonna get the biggest tubs our car will tote. And as they grow, we'll probably split them into two groups. I'm trying to figure out how to put the feed and water on the outside of the tub, like parakeet feeders. I'm thinking duct tape and some kind of PVC joints, lol.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Oh, oops, you said plates, not tubs. Gotcha.

 

[aart]

Gonna get the biggest tubs our car will tote. And as they grow, we'll probably split them into two groups. I'm trying to figure out how to put the feed and water on the outside of the tub, like parakeet feeders. I'm thinking duct tape and some kind of PVC joints, lol.

How big is your coop?
Is there power in coop?
Do you already have chickens?
Much easier to brood in coop and integrate early.....after you get it set up.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/integrating-new-birds-at-4-weeks-old.72603/

 

[BigBlueHen53]

The coop is 8x10.
There is no power in the coop.
Yes, we have 19 chickens at the moment, one of which is a roo.
DH and I between us are completely incapable of building the beautiful setup you show in your article, even if we had started a year ago. We also do not plan to integrate the cockerels we ordered. We realize that although we only plan to ultimately add six pullets, we are already at capacity for our coop. Yup, chicken math.

 

[aart]

The coop is 8x10. ....
Yes, we have 19 chickens at the moment, one of which is a roo ...
Yup, chicken math.

So you will be doing some 'subtraction'?