New chicks!!

[vintage]

We brought our chicks home yesterday and got them settled in! We came home with two australorps, two barred rocks, two easter eggers, one sapphire gem, and one buff orpington.

I've been so nervous but they seem to be doing well this morning. A couple have pasty butt, I don't want to freak them out too badly but I'll have to clean them up today somehow.

 

[EverV]

Yay, congrats! They are adorable Yeah, you'll want to get that fixed ASAP. I'd suggest a slightly wet cotton ball or q-tip and not much pressure. The sooner you clean that up the better!

 

[DobieLover]

We brought our chicks home yesterday and got them settled in! We came home with two australorps, two barred rocks, two easter eggers, one sapphire gem, and one buff orpington.

I've been so nervous but they seem to be doing well this morning. A couple have pasty butt, I don't want to freak them out too badly but I'll have to clean them up today somehow.

You want to clean them up immediately.
Use a washcloth that is wet to soften the clump then wipe it off. Rub a dry cloth over their vents and try to do the work right next to the heat source.
What is the temperature at the height of their backs?
Also be careful about that pelleted bedding. You don't want them eating it.
How large is the brooder? How high? Are the feeder and waterer higher than the edges of the brooder? They will be flying in about 2 weeks and they'll fly out if you can cover the brooder with a piece of screening or something similar.
Congratulations on your new chicks!

 

[vintage]

You want to clean them up immediately.
Use a washcloth that is wet to soften the clump then wipe it off. Rub a dry cloth over their vents and try to do the work right next to the heat source.
What is the temperature at the height of their backs?
Also be careful about that pelleted bedding. You don't want them eating it.
How large is the brooder? How high? Are the feeder and waterer higher than the edges of the brooder? They will be flying in about 2 weeks and they'll fly out if you can cover the brooder with a piece of screening or something similar.
Congratulations on your new chicks!

Thank you! I have some cotton rounds that I dipped in water, that seems to work really well. I read that some people run water over the vent area but it concerned me to try and blow dry these already stressed chicks.

The temp is at 94.5 degrees under the lamp at their back height. They rotate around the space, sometimes directly under, sometimes off to the side.

The brooder is a Tarten trough, the feeder and waterer are shorter than the edges. I have half of it blocked off for now and can add a screen when they get larger.

 

[vintage]

You want to clean them up immediately.
Use a washcloth that is wet to soften the clump then wipe it off. Rub a dry cloth over their vents and try to do the work right next to the heat source.
What is the temperature at the height of their backs?
Also be careful about that pelleted bedding. You don't want them eating it.
How large is the brooder? How high? Are the feeder and waterer higher than the edges of the brooder? They will be flying in about 2 weeks and they'll fly out if you can cover the brooder with a piece of screening or something similar.
Congratulations on your new chicks!

Wanted to add, they came home with pasty butt, our sapphire's was pretty bad. I was able to clean around the vent, but there's some built up further down that I will soak off today. I just didn't want to stress them immediately after coming home.

I've been a nervous wreck after seeing how fragile some of these chicks can be.