Pasted up ... did I hurt her?

[ssteiner]

So I had to deal with my first pasted up chick today. I've been monitoring it for a few days, and it's been getting bigger and crustier, so today, I took her out of the brooder, grabbed a damp paper towel, gripped the crusty unpleasantness, and basically yanked. I got quite a squeak out of her, but ended up with a fuzzy little ball of dried up poo and she went back in the brooder with a clean vent. Is this the proper procedure? Thanks.

-Scott

 

[ruby]

I have only had one pastey butt, from what I read and the one I had sounds like you did good. Keep a eye on that butt!

 

[andorraclaim]

No, they are just scared, confused, and uncomfortable. Monitor regularly and it doesn't hurt to use some mild, non-chemical soap as well.

 

[luvmychicknkids]

I am sure what you did didn't INJURE her, but yeah, it hurt. Imagine getting a Brazilian wax.

I take the offending rear and hold it under a stream of warm running water and wipe gently with a cloth until it is gone.

Works great and doesn't hurt. Keep a close eye on her. Chickies that paste up tend to do it for awhile. Good luck with the babies.

 

[birdlover]

Well, I've read there are two ways to remove it: The gentle, warm water way and the yank it off way. They say, if you yank it off, the feathers that catch the poo will come off too so it prevents it from reoccuring. Makes sense. It does hurt though.

 

[verycherry]

The pasty butt does seem to last a while in some chicks unfortunately. I have one barred rock boy that's 2 to 3 months old now, and he still seems to get more soiled than the others. In fact, he gets a bath so regularly that he's very tame and sweet and seems to like the warm water on his butt. He was given to me at just a few days old by the feed store because they didn't think he'd make it.....he was in BAAAD shape, and would even scream when he pooped. He cheeps and trills now when you pet his neck and is such a doll. Maybe all this extra care will pay off and I'll have a very well mannered rooster when he's grown. He's a very handsome fellow!

I did have a few chicks that went through this a while back, and found it much easier to just pluck out the feathers around their vents to prevent it from getting so bad. The feathers come out pretty easily, and they didn't act like it was that painful when I pulled just a couple at a time.

 

[swtangel321]

Awww, poor baby.... I did that once to a chick and got the same response PEEEEEEEEEEEP,EKKKKKKKKKK !! My hubby looked at me and said OMG what did you do (mind you this is coming from a man who doesnt like my chicken issue) Same thing happend little spot of missing fuzz, i took some neo-sporin (sp? sorry) or anti cream and put a little on the red bald spot, worked good !!

 

[lurky]

Quote:
This how i deal with pasty butt babies too. Last night i noticed my cockatiel (17 yrs old) had the same problem. I figured i got him to 17 yrs old.....almost 18......and i am not about to let him die from a pasty butt. So i figured HEY.....i handle bird much bigger than you buddy, i can do this. Well, my thumb was still bleeding this morning.....but its done

 

[swtangel321]

Quote:
This how i deal with pasty butt babies too. Last night i noticed my cockatiel (17 yrs old) had the same problem. I figured i got him to 17 yrs old.....almost 18......and i am not about to let him die from a pasty butt. So i figured HEY.....i handle bird much bigger than you buddy, i can do this. Well, my thumb was still bleeding this morning.....but its done

Someone got beat up by there bird !!! Funny how they can show us who's boss huh ??

 

[MissPrissy]

Hold the baby chick over the kitchen sink and let a stream of warm water wash over the vent area. The poop will loosen and rinse away.

Dry the rear end well and put a good rub of vaseline on the vent and around it to keep the poop sliding off.

Sometimes the poop is stuck to skin. As tiny as they are snatching the crusty poop off can tear their skin and you will without meaning to skin the chick alive.