I need the knowledge of the BYC community...pasty butt advice.

[karenm52]

If you gave the coconut meat, you need to make sure they have chick grit (crushed granite) available free choice.

Pasty Butt is when poop accumulates and blocks the vent. Sometimes it's accompanied by constipation, but most of the time it's poop that has stuck and blocks the vent.
Some common causes are stress (usually from shipping), being too hot or too cold - so taking time to watch behavior to see if your chicks act cold or too hot is a very good idea. You brooder should have enough space where the chicks have 1 place that is warm (heat lamp, brooder plate, mama heating pad, etc.) and the rest of the brooder is cool or room temp. (at least). Food/water should be on the cool side. If you watch chicks with a Mother Hen, they do not spend all their time under her. They run about, eat/drink, play, explore...the chicks run under her to get a quick warm up, then they are off again. They do nap, so they may be close to a heat source or even under it (or Mom) for a while, but then they seem to snooze and zoom...
Fun to watch and there's always something new to learn.

my girls are all adult; mama ~3, the other two ~20mos

 

[Wyorp Rock]

my girls are all adult; mama ~3, the other two ~20mos

In adults, I suppose I might call it pasty butt, but if they have clogged up vents, then you have some issues. Wash them up, trim fluff and get a fecal float to see if worms are part of the problem.

 

[analyticalblonde]

In adults, I suppose I might call it pasty butt, but if they have clogged up vents, then you have some issues. Wash them up, trim fluff and get a fecal float to see if worms are part of the problem.

I lost a red island red last week to adult "pasty butt". My husband and I tried to clean off the stuck poo but she went beserk and died immediately. And now it looks like I have another girl with it - she is a barred plymouth rock. Husband and I are going to clean her up tonight when they settled in on the roost. We are going to use a spray bottle this time filled with a warm Epson salt solution and gently blow-dry before returning her. My question to you is, what is a fecal float? I don't know what that is...

 

[Weeg]

I lost a red island red last week to adult "pasty butt". My husband and I tried to clean off the stuck poo but she went beserk and died immediately. And now it looks like I have another girl with it - she is a barred plymouth rock. Husband and I are going to clean her up tonight when they settled in on the roost. We are going to use a spray bottle this time filled with a warm Epson salt solution and gently blow-dry before returning her. My question to you is, what is a fecal float? I don't know what that is...

Are you sure your not dealign with vent gleet? Adult birds don't typically get pasty butt unless you don't have any roosts in your coop, but even then I don't think that will kill them. Please read up on vent gleet, or post your own thread in the ER section to get more specific info a help.

 

[karenm52]

well, i cleaned up my oldest girl who had pasty butt. all is well.
no more problem since. thanks for all the help

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I lost a red island red last week to adult "pasty butt". My husband and I tried to clean off the stuck poo but she went beserk and died immediately. And now it looks like I have another girl with it - she is a barred plymouth rock. Husband and I are going to clean her up tonight when they settled in on the roost. We are going to use a spray bottle this time filled with a warm Epson salt solution and gently blow-dry before returning her. My question to you is, what is a fecal float? I don't know what that is...

I'm sorry to hear about your hen.
Making a thread about your Barred Rock is a good idea if you wish to do that, post some photos and detail a few symptoms that you see.
A fecal float is mostly performed by a vet, it's used to look for worms and parasites in a sample of poop. Some folks buy supplies and a microscope to do their own floats since a lot of vets won't do one on chicken poop. It's a routine test they do with cat and dog poo, but apparently not chicken...

well, i cleaned up my oldest girl who had pasty butt. all is well.
no more problem since. thanks for all the help

Glad it worked out for you!