Pasty butt but in with mama!

[Lunawriter]

Hi, I have a mama hen with 20 babies. All have been healthy until now. They're almost a week old and my favorite little guy has pasty butt.

What can I do for him and what can I do to prevent others from getting it?

 

[Tala]

Just clean him up, dab some vaseline or baby oil on his butt and send him back in.
It's not "catchy" --- he's not endangering the other chicks at all.

 

[Lunawriter]

Thanks, Tala. I did that. Turned out two of them had it. It just worried me because I thought the babies with a mama hen usually didn't have problems with that. They cleaned up just fine, so that's good.

 

[Tala]

They don't usually....but ya just never know.

How are you keeping them? Out in the open or penned up on shavings? I think having access to dirt/sand/grit helps them out a bunch.
I gave my brooder babies grit at 3 days old and never cleaned a butt.

 

[Lunawriter]

They're in a coop with a grassy run. I actually tried to buy chick grit yesterday but the feed store didn't have any. They ordered some for me and it will be in on Tuesday. Hope that will keep it from happening again! Thanks again for your help. I'm a nervous first time chick hatcher.