Pasting and . . . baking soda?

[Carpe DiHen]

Quote:
Nope....I have week old chicks that have had NOTHING but chick starter and I've been scrubbing bums daily

Gonna give the baking soda a try???

 

[txchickie]

Quote:
I think I might! Can you use it in a metal waterer base? These seem to be outgrowing their pasty bums, but I am looking to get 10 silkie chicks soon and they might be my guinea pigs to test the baking soda!

About the greens and pasty butts---when my free range banties hatch out chicks, they're on their own with Mama from day one to forage and find goodies to eat. I stalk them constantly and I've never seen a one of them with the pasty butt?

 

[Waldo]

We have some week old chicks from a hatchery that have been having pasty butts pretty bad. Have been puting baby oil on them. They have been fed only chick grower. Have another batch from a BYCer that have had the same food but with a dish of sand with them. No problem with them, so have put a dish of sand in with hatchery batch. Have hatched many chicks with mama hens which have been on the ground from hatching, never any pasty butts. But will keep the baking soda in mind, you never know what will work and i am a firm believer in home remedies.

 

[Fay at Frizzled Feathers]

I have never heard of this but its worth a try , couldnt hurt nothing ! Thanks for the info.

Fay

 

[DaveD]

Quote:
About the greens and pasty butts---when my free range banties hatch out chicks, they're on their own with Mama from day one to forage and find goodies to eat. I stalk them constantly and I've never seen a one of them with the pasty butt?

Isn't it mama's job to clean the paste off the butt? I'm waiting on my first bunch of chicks, so I am no expert, but I can't imagine that they are any different then mama's the world over with cleaning off their baby's booties.

David

 

[clkingtx]

I would not give baby chicks baking soda in the water, especially that much of it(1 tbsp/gallon water). That is an awful lot of sodium to give the little ones, and I think would have a laxative effect, also, which would probably worsen the pasting up. Also, chickens don't have a good ability to tolerate salt, I don't think; baby chickens even more so.

I have found that if you use oil on the feathers on their butts, you have to reapply every day, and it gets all over all the chicks, since they lay together and on top of each other.

I put a little sand on top of their food, but noticed no difference(I didn't try a dish of sand, I was afraid they would fill up on that, and not eat their food.)

I have put raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar in their water(1 TBSP/quart). Even after trying all these methods to prevent it, I still have pasty bottoms on chicks until they are a week or so old.

I think the previous poster was correct, in nature, the mother cleans the bottoms until the babies can do it themselves. I guess as substitute mommies, we have to deal with it until the babies can.

Actually, I had read that very finely ground oatmeal(almost a powder), not quick oats, the old fashioned kind, helped with diarrhea and pasting up. I blended some finely, and sprinkled it lightly on top of the food of the last bunch, and it solidified their poop a good deal, making it less likely to stick to their feathers. You just have to be careful not to give them too much, just a dusting on top when you give them food.

Carrie

 

[library910]

Well, thank you for the posts. I guess, since this is something that no one else has really heard about, I think I will give it a pass. I must admit, I wasn't very confident with this recommendation from the beginning, even though both the store owner and the vet tech talked about it. I mean, I agree with clkingtx that a tablespoon of a bicarbonate salt seems like an awful lot. Someone else at the gathering asked if they meant a teaspoon but, no, a tablespoon is what they meant.

Thanks again. It 's great to have a resource like this to query when you don't have an answer, or are looking for advice and/or suggestions and/or new ideas.

 

[MakNat]

The last I read it was from thebrooder being too hot... My last hatch I kept the brooder a couple degrees cooler and not a one of then got pasty butts!!

 

[The Sheriff]

I have had three breeds in the brooder at one time and only one breed got pasty butt. Each and every chick of that breed got it but none of the others, under the same heat lamp and eating the same food. I can't even remember what breed it was now! I have been using sand in a dish in the brooder since someone suggested it. I have had a case of it here and there since then but it usually last only a couple of days. I keep my pasty butt kit next to my brooder. In it I keep a foaming baby soap in a pump bottle, Q-tips with wooden sticks because they don't bend, and baby oil. I soak their bums if it's really bad but I try to catch it before then. I use the Q-tip and gently scrub the area with the baby soap in warm water. I rinse all the soap off with fresh water and then apply the baby oil on the vent and feathers. If I have to soak a bottom or they get too wet I put them in my back up Brinsea incubator with the fan on until they dry off. They really hate this. I tilt the lid so there's a big airspace and they stand there and yell at me until I let them out. I think it's safer than using a blowdryer.

 

[AccentOnHakes]

Quote:
Would normal grit work? My feed store doesn't have chick grit.