How to trim vent feathers to prevent poopy butt?

[SusiesPeeps]

Are there any videos or how-to's for clipping vent feathers?

I have 2 light Brahmas - they are in a flock of six hens, the other four are of different breeds, but all are 18 months old and have been together since 2 days old. The butt of one Brahma is always nice and fluffy. The other seems to have shorter legs and her vent feathers continually get caked with poop. There doesn't seem to be any other kind of discharge. She eats and forages normally, her comb is bright red and she has clear eyes. She does not sleep on the roost, however, and seems to prefer to sleep in the bedding, which may be why she has a lot of poop on her vent feathers, which seem to be longer than those of the other light Brahma. Neither of the Brahmas are good layers. They sit in the nest boxes as if laying, and then come out and do a rendition of an egg-laying song, but there are never any eggs to speak of from them. Can't figure out why that is. The other four - Buff Orpington, Jersey Giant, Cinnamon Queen, and Barred Rock - lay almost every day.

They all eat layer ration and are out foraging in grass, woody areas, and herbs for a couple of hours a day. They drink water with electrolytes alternated with water with 1 TBSP apple cider vinegar.

I bathe the Brahma with the messy bottom regularly with warm water and castile soap with tea tree oil to remove the caked poop. She loves the bath. I blow dry her feathers initially and then let them air dry. I spray the area with Vetericyn. She's good to go for a few days, but then it returns. None of the others have this problem.

I read in some other threads that it could help to trim the vent feathers, but I've never done this and was wondering if there are any good videos of how to do this. Some of the ones I've seen online involve a shaver because they are trying to improve fertility, but that is not my issue.

I'd appreciate any suggestions! Thanks!

 

[MarxNuggets]

id like to know this too!

 

[rosemarythyme]

No video, but for starters, if you can have a 2nd person helping to hold the bird, that would be easiest. However I prefer to work alone (faster for me).

- Have a sharp pair of scissors on hand and preferably, an elevated platform about waist high or higher where you can place the chicken for trimming (or a 2nd person holding the chicken securely can work). I also like wearing a mask because feathers and poop particles flying around are pretty unpleasant to breathe.

- If doing it alone: Catch the bird and put it on the platform. I find it easiest to hold the chicken down with my non-dominant arm by putting my elbow down on the chicken's neck, to tilt it forward, while the length of my forearm keeps it in place and my hand grabs the tail and lifts up, to expose the vent. My dominant hand will do all the trimming. If 2nd person: have the other person hold it securely under their arm with the butt end facing you. Use your non-dominant hand to lift up on the tail to expose the vent.

- For first time trim I'd cut off any feathers that already have poop on them, as well as any feathers that might fall under the path of future poops. Trim feathers to about 1/2" from the skin (once you get better at it you can trim down much closer, I usually trim 1/16"-1/4" from the skin without problem). Depending on how much soiling there is you might be trimming just under the vent, or may need to trim just above as well as under, and several inches down and around.

- Dust off the area, make sure you trimmed everything you needed to trim and that there's no nicks on the skin, and the bird is free to go.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

If it's very hot where you are, to avoid chasing the hen during the heat of the day and stressing her and risking possible heat stroke, you might take her off the roost quietly the night before and put her in a dog crate for trimming the next morning.

 

[SusiesPeeps]

No video, but for starters, if you can have a 2nd person helping to hold the bird, that would be easiest. However I prefer to work alone (faster for me).

- Have a sharp pair of scissors on hand and preferably, an elevated platform about waist high or higher where you can place the chicken for trimming (or a 2nd person holding the chicken securely can work). I also like wearing a mask because feathers and poop particles flying around are pretty unpleasant to breathe.

- If doing it alone: Catch the bird and put it on the platform. I find it easiest to hold the chicken down with my non-dominant arm by putting my elbow down on the chicken's neck, to tilt it forward, while the length of my forearm keeps it in place and my hand grabs the tail and lifts up, to expose the vent. My dominant hand will do all the trimming. If 2nd person: have the other person hold it securely under their arm with the butt end facing you. Use your non-dominant hand to lift up on the tail to expose the vent.

- For first time trim I'd cut off any feathers that already have poop on them, as well as any feathers that might fall under the path of future poops. Trim feathers to about 1/2" from the skin (once you get better at it you can trim down much closer, I usually trim 1/16"-1/4" from the skin without problem). Depending on how much soiling there is you might be trimming just under the vent, or may need to trim just above as well as under, and several inches down and around.

- Dust off the area, make sure you trimmed everything you needed to trim and that there's no nicks on the skin, and the bird is free to go.

Wow. This is terrific! Thanks for responding so much. I kind of forgot about this because it's been a while since I asked this question, so I'm sorry for not thanking you sooner. Much appreciated!

 

[SusiesPeeps]

If it's very hot where you are, to avoid chasing the hen during the heat of the day and stressing her and risking possible heat stroke, you might take her off the roost quietly the night before and put her in a dog crate for trimming the next morning.

Thank you! I'll keep that in mind. Yes it seems chickens sleep extremely soundly, so this is a possibility. Much appreciated!