new chicks - question about pasting up

[joypeters]

after reading books and absorbing the info on this website - i've found i'm terrified of pasting up.

now that they are almost a week old, their poo is QUITE a bit more than it was initially. i'm finding it gets stuck in their little fuzzbutts, but it doesn't seem to close off the whole area. when should i start to worry? i almost end up giving them a butt bath every time i hold them, and i'm certain that's not ideal. not to mention they hate it.

i only have three chicks, so i may be a tad too focused.... grin.

thanks, joy

 

[MMPoultryFarms]

As soon as you see any fecies on there tail ends you should clean it up asap It only gets worst if you don't the harder you let it get the harder and more painful to the chick it will or can become when pulling it off. A warm wash cloth Slowly Wiping the vent area Usually can accomplish this. If you need to butt bath them I suggest Holding there legs up and just dipping the rear end in luke warm water Get em dried off and back under head. If it seem that Its happening to often you can get some scissors and Sofly trim some of the fuzz around the vent area to Slow this down Also make sure thet there not getting big drafts of wind, As this also plays a part in pasty butts.
Good luck to you hope this helps.

 

[joypeters]

thanks. they are in an enclosed room (tiny) and there are no drafts. i bought a pair of TINY cuticle scissors and am willing to trying trimming their fuzzbutts. thanks for the hint.

moms of chicks raised by hens.....what do the hens do to keep this from happening. what's nature's solution?

 

[katdam]

i noticed mine stopped getting sticky poo when i changed from crumble to the more fine powder like feed...they eat more and no more sticky poo on the bum feathers!

 

[Ema]

I had the same fear when I got mine. they are now 3.5 weeks old and what I ended up doing is quite simply check them on a daily basis. Which also gave me the opportunity to pick them up daily so they got to know me.

At just 2 days old most seemed ok butr I had a few that were not and had pasty butt. So I did what I was told clean it up. I took a small bowl of warm water and a baby wipe I rinsed thoroughly. then under the heat lamp I one by one checked them and cleaned those who needed it. For the ones that were harden and not eaily removed I just placed the soaked baby wipe on it until it became loose and gently wiped it away. after the first three days I only had one that was still having issues and I really thought She was going to pass away because she was smaller then the rest and not as active but I kept on and within the next two days she was doing better. I decided that I would give them a tiny bit of grit on a daily basis even at their age and ever since I haven't gotten any issues. Now I am giving them treats here and there. Yesterday I gave them a peach yogurt my daughter refused to eat after she opened it. So I put it a bowl and gave it to them and they lovd it, today I had the end of a watermelon left so that too went to thema nd they ate it. Happily. So on the days I give them treats I give them a little extra grit, just in case.

 

[LadyBeartoothMamma]

awwwww pasty butt gotta love that. I dont have a real problem with my other chicks but my cornish standard OMG
she gets pasty butt big time

lol

 

[Heathercp]

I was told by someone who's raised chickens for 15 years that the best way to avoid pasty butt in chicks is to keep them moving. Give them enough space to move around and encourage them to do so. He'll sprinkle a little bit of instant oatmeal on their food for the first couple of days for a bit of extra energy. We just let the broody out of her box as soon as she was ready to leave and the chicks followed her around the coop and later the run. So far, so good. No fuzzy butts. Just nice little firm poops. If only they would stay that tiny

.

They're two weeks old now and free ranging with the rest of the flock. I was amazed at how far from the coop the broody took her peeps. I was also amazed at their stamina. They roamed and scratched like gangbusters for two hours before heading back towards the nursery (closed off portion of the run.)

 

[chickiyo]

I use all natural organic chick crumble, and haven't had any pasty butt problems at all. Maybe you should give that a whirl?

 

[Nostalchic]

It's interesting to me that chicks that are hatched and raised by a hen don't seem to have any problem with this. There are some other differences also: they are outside earlier, not sleeping under heat lamps but under a warm moist hen, etc., but I've not had any problems with my hen-raised chicks and have had it occur in brooder-raised chicks fairly frequently. Hmmm. But don't be terrified - it's a relatively easy fix.

 

[jiggykgcltcs]

sorry but could someone please tell me what pasting up is? Thanks Alot