Pasty bottom question.....

[thechickenchick]

I had to go get feed on saturday and lo and behold they had a few babies left, so............. I brought home a RIR, silver wynadote and a tiny blue silkie. Tomorrow they will have 8 new friends as my MPC order should be here! The little blue silkie (poor thing has no name yet!) Had a horribley pasty bottom when I picked him out. He was 1 of 3 they had left. Oh boy did I want them all!! I was afraid this one would die as it clearly needed help soon. I brought her home and worked on her little bottom for 30 minutes. My hubby held her and I kept warming up the cloth and tried to soak it off. Finally I could see her little vent and it is VERY swollen. She also has a huge spot stuck to her fuzzy butt. It looks like it has caused sores all ready. I am confident that I cleared her vent as she left a tiny ,runny little present in my hubbys hand! Boy am I lucky he loves me!! Anyway....My concern is the icky still stuck there. Does anyone have a sure fire remedy to remove this without hurting too bad? She is so tiny and of coarse does not want to be held. I am just worried about sores. Also does this mean she is prone to this problem? Is there something I can feed her to help? I have had only 14 other chicks but I have never had this problem. Is it a Silkie trait maybe? This is my first and I am thrilled to say I have 2 more coming tomorrow!! I would really appreciate any advice that you might have! Thanks!

 

[reallemons1]

You could try holding the chicks butt under a slow running warm water from the faucet to soften the pasty then dry with a paper towel. Vasiline helps with the rawness. It should clear up within a week. I don't think Silkies are more prone to pasty butt than any other breed. Good rescue!

 

[MissPrissy]

I run a stream of warm water in my kitchen sick. Once everything is washed away from the bottom and dried off I put vaseline around the vent to help keep it from sticking. You can trim off the fluff where the poo sticking. It will grow back later. Keep the chick warm and it should start to recover. Make sure it has clean water and plenty of chick starter. If the poo isn't tightening up you can cook some white rice or oatmeal and offer a little with a tiny bit of yogurt. No one knows for sure what causes pasty butt but it is often associated with stress, shipping stress, getting chilled etc.

 

[thechickenchick]

Thank you so much! I will try the running water and vaseline right away.

Then when hubby gets home I will have him hold her and see if I can trim her fuzzy butt!

 

[fowlplay]

I struggled with pasty butt on 4 of my RIR's. What worked for me once and for all was a soft bristle toothbrush which I wet really well with warm water and held it on the encrusted poo. This would loosen the poo and then I could use the toothbrush to gently brush it away. Dry the area as best you can and then apply vegetable oil with a Q-tip to the vent area and slightly around it. After 4 days of battling with pasty butt, this method eradicated it for good. I haven't had a problem since.

 

[thechickenchick]

Good Morning! She was plugged up again at bedtime last night. It looks better this AM but she needs another bath. After I do that and she is all settled down I will try the yogurt and cooked rice. I like the toothbrush idea too. I spose my son wouldnt want to share his!(Just kidding) He complains that I treat the chickens better than him so he would just love that!! Thanks again to everyone! Have a great Tuesday!

 

[WisconsinChick]

i think you should cut the feathers all around that area so its easier.

 

[Nichole77]

I see that so often with the chicks that are left at the store. Why don't they care for them better? Thats like selling opened cans at the store. I found that it's best to purchase on the day of arrival.

 

[thechickenchick]

My thanks to you all! It worked! I ran a stream of water, used a soft bristle brush and then ended up triming her bottom fuzz a little. Then I applied a little vaseline! This morning she was happy and clean as could be! I also gave her a tiny bit of plain yogurt. She is lucky to have so many "mamma,s"!

 

[pattee]

I know I was in to my farm and feed store and all most all the babies left had terrible pasty bottoms and I felt so bad for them. What is it with some of theses feed stores? *BIG HUGE SIGH*