Is it normal for a hen with wet behind?

[Fintechie]

One of my free-ranged hens seems to have her behind wet with poop residual on her feather (down). She would soil her egg or others' if she happened to sit in the same box her sisters laid before her. She seems pretty normal otherwise. Should I be concerned about her wet poop? Do people normally clean that for hens and how?

 

[ValerieJ]

It could be that she is eating a lot of greens. Besides free ranging, what do you feed them? They definitely need a good high protein feed to balance out the free ranging, IMHO. You can actually put her in a little bath and wash her off, then dry her with a blow dryer. I use shallow but large feeding bins for this. Two of them actually, one to wash and one to rinse. A little dawn does the trick.

 

[Fintechie]

We feed the flock with Purina layer feed, unlimited access all the time (except at night). Other hens don't have similar issue. Most of them graze grass throughout the day as well.
I will give a try with your method. Thanks!

 

[Shezadandy]

You can trim some of the feathers by her vent a little bit after you've given her a little bath. While you're at it- check for mites or lice. They like to hide around the vent, under wings - if you do give her a bath with some Dawn, you might see them floating off - little specks in the water. Just to be sure check all the birds at night on the roost - again, around the vent and under the wings are popular spots.

Some hens are just lazy poopers, though. She might not be doing the full tuck and squat when she poops, therefore it lands on her feathers instead of dropping cleanly to the ground.

Also if you can take a picture of the dirty bottom.

 

[Chickassan]

Wet bottoms happen more often in hens that get to graze and in ones that get fruit due to more moisture intake.
Some hens are just juicier back there for no good reason.
I second just giving her a little hair cut.

 

[ChickNanny13]

What breed is she? I've had the "puffy" Orpingtons & Wyandottes, a few would get messy butt feathers. Trimming does help, may not look so good but lot less baths. As mentioned, if she's eating alot of greens, fruits or drinking water her poops will be softer.

 

[Sequel]

I would also check her poop for worms. One of my hens had a poopy butt off and on most of the summer but after worming it cleaned right up. If they free range they will almost certainly pick up worms. I have slugs and snails and my vet said in my area the snails especially are big worm vectors.
Good luck! I hope you can get her sorted out, that is so gross isn’t it?

 

[ChickNanny13]

I would also check her poop for worms. One of my hens had a poopy butt off and on most of the summer but after worming it cleaned right up. If they free range they will almost certainly pick up worms. I have slugs and snails and my vet said in my area the snails especially are big worm vectors. Good luck! I hope you can get her sorted out, that is so gross isn’t it?

When I read about the possibility of chickens getting worms/illness from slugs/worms/snail ... I decided amoung safety reasons, to keep mine confined which limits the amount I have to 4 in a 8x12x7 Chicken House.

 

[Fintechie]

What breed is she? I've had the "puffy" Orpingtons & Wyandottes, a few would get messy butt feathers. Trimming does help, may not look so good but lot less baths. As mentioned, if she's eating alot of greens, fruits or drinking water her poops will be softer.

She is a barred rock.

 

[Lizzy733]

Poop trails have always been a precursor to something medical in my flock; is this regular for her, or a one-off? If you suspect anything 'reproductive side' might be up, like eggbinding etc, I would recommend a warm soak with epsom salts.
In general for bathing chickens, you can use no-tears child shampoo or any cat\dog shampoo. Blow dry on low, just be aware this can take a long time.
Parasites was a good suggestion as well; when was the last time you had your flock tested for worms? Fecal floats are pretty routine and can be done at any vet clinic.