Pasted vent / diarrhea

[kclaus]

I have a 6-7 week old cockerel, either cuckoo maran or barred rock, I think. From day one, he was having trouble pooping. We tried to keep him clean and applied antibiotic ointment, since his vent looked raw with broken skin. He has always eaten well, and doesn't exhibit any other symptoms, but the pasted rear continues to this day, though it doesn't seen to be interfering with pooping like it did in the beginning. His poop is not usually especially watery, but never especially firm, either.

He still wanders around with poo on his rear and has a somewhat bald rear end - could be from other chicks pecking at it. His tail feathers also are pretty nonexistent.

None of the other chicks are exhibiting any kind of illness, though they have been in close quarters the whole time. I have not fed medicated feed.

What, if anything, should I do?

 

[Mtn Laurel]

I had one chick that did that but it was much younger. The problem began at day #2 but it was cleared up by day #4. Here's what I did -

Gently soak off and remove any poo and put some vaseline on its poor butt to keep any future poo from sticking to the skin.

Add 1 Tablespoon of unpasteurized Apple Cider Vinegar to 1 gallon of clear water. This is also referred to as Apple Cider Vinegar with the "Mother". You can get it at Walmart, made by Heinz. You can only use a plastic waterer when doing this as the acid in the vinegar will react with a metal waterer. Fill all your waterers with this and let all your chicks have it.

Add some ground oatmeal to their food. Not the pre-sweetened stuff in the packets - use the stuff in the round box. I used the 5-minute cooking variety, ground some in the blender to chop it up a bit, sprinkled it on their food. It's okay for all the chicks to eat this, too. In fact, my girls loved it and considered it a treat.

Hope this helps.