Old wives tale .... Or wise old Grandmother ?

[unionwirewoman]

I went to town on friday and picked up some new chicks (2 Jersey giants , 6 Black Austrolops , 3 SLW , 3 BO ) and I brought them by my Grandmother's house to show her . She's 91 , has been born and raised on a farm for 70 yrs. , so I thought it would be a nice treat for her to see the babies . She was overjoyed to see them ! Before I left she told me to be sure to keep them warm , because if their feet got cold they would get pasty butt . I put alot of stock in my grandma's word , but I also tend to think in other directions also . Anyone ever heard of getting pasty butt from chicks feet getting cold ? Thought it was kind of interesting to here this tale !

 

[silkiechicken]

Well, if the chicks feet got cold, that means that the feet aren't getting enough blood due to vasoconstriction. Vasoconstriction occuring when the chick's body is cold. If they are cold, they are stressed. Stress leads to pasty butt.

So since babies need to be at 95F and should be toasty, if they have cold feet, they need more heat! Of course, their feet will usually be cooler than lets say under the wings! The best hand warmers in the world are under broody wings.