New layer. Butt question

[Lovemygirls22]

I was so excited to see my first egg from our flock of 20. My hen "little chick" layed the first one. Kinda small egg, but her hiney is all dirty looks yucky. How to clean her?

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Can you post a photo?

There are a number of reasons for a chicken's bum to be messy.

If it is diarrhea, it can indicate illness or coccidiosis or worm infestation.

If it is white sticky, drippy stuff, it can indicate a yeast infection known as gleet.

Sometimes fluffy bums simply catch poo easily, and a bit of trim helps.

Treatment for cleaning is simply a warm soak. As stated trimming can help keep overly fluffy feathers from running a muck (literally).

However, the answer to why it is so messy is important.

LofMc

 

[Lovemygirls22]

Ok im gunna go take a pic. Be back soon

 

[Lovemygirls22]

Not that great of a pic. But theres nothing oozing.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Does it smell at all? (Well, I know it won't smell like perfume, but is it stinky, stinky?). Is she acting perfectly healthy, just a messy bum?

She isn't inflamed, so that is a good sign. She does look a bit runny in the poo. Is she having diarrhea? Usually that is the first sign of worms.

Wash with some warm, mild soapy water (like Dawn). Gently, lightly trim back the underfluff (once it is dried) so that it isn't so easy to catch.

Feed her yogurt for about a week to see if that helps, in case it is a bit of gut imbalance (yeast overgrowth...but again it isn't red and inflamed). Add apple cider vinegar to her water, about a tablespoon to a gallon. It should be the raw vinegar, with mother, in non-metal container (as the acid eats away the zinc coating on the metal which is poisonous).

I would consider worming her to address the possibility of that. Then keep an eye on her.

Sometimes they are just a bit messier. Often the yogurt gets the stool better, and with a bit of a trim, problem solved.

If it is worms, you'll need to worm the whole flock. It is hard to get over the counter wormers anymore from the feedstore, but you can use the goat wormer Safeguard in water.

Another trick is copper sulfate in the water for a few days to set gut balance correct again (may also help with intestinal worms, but I can find nothing other than word of mouth for that).
https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/acidified_copper_sulfate.html

LofMc

 

[Lovemygirls22]

Thank you. I washed her up and she seamed to really like it. Lol. Thanks for the great advise..