Pasty butt, chick not able to poop, any suggestions?

[Lafarmette]

I bought some new chicks at my local feed store this morning and in my excitement did not look them over first. Two of my Brahma chicks have pasty butt pretty bad. I cleaned them off in warm water and set them on a heating pad together until they dried. They are now in their own little brooder with food water and a heating lamp. One has perked right up and is eating, drinking, pooping just fine. The other one is lethargic, vent is swollen and puckering and leaking a thick pasty substance that is very light tan in color. It squats like it has to poop and cheeps loudly but nothing comes out. What else can I do to help this little one? Thanks

 

[3riverschick]

@azygous
@KikisGirls

 

[azygous]

Constipated. It sometimes follows pasty butt, but people don't realize it since the chick poops.

Chill some coconut oil so it's solid. It's easier to break off and slip bits onto the chick's tongue. It will then swallow the oil. It's safer to do this than trying to squirt liquid oil into the beak and risk aspiration.

Try to get one teaspoon down the chick, smooth some of the oil onto the swollen vent, and put it back with the others. Hopefully, it will poop out the clog in a few hours and be good as new.

 

[Lafarmette]

Constipated. It sometimes follows pasty butt, but people don't realize it since the chick poops.

Chill some coconut oil so it's solid. It's easier to break off and slip bits onto the chick's tongue. It will then swallow the oil. It's safer to do this than trying to squirt liquid oil into the beak and risk aspiration.

Try to get one teaspoon down the chick, smooth some of the oil onto the swollen vent, and put it back with the others. Hopefully, it will poop out the clog in a few hours and be good as new.

Thank you will try this now.

 

[HoopyFrood]

Pasty butt is very common. If the one is acting normally, it's fine to go back to the rest of the flock. Just watch it closely. If it happens once, it's likely to happen again. And no big deal either, just a damp, light cloth, and gently working the poo matter away is all it takes. They're fine to go right back in the brooder with everyone else with no drying. They shouldn't need to be wetted that much to fix the problem.

There is likely something VERY different going on with the other chick. Hopefully some of the veterans will chime in. But chicks (especially from the feed store) are notorious for having complications.

Folks will need more information to help with the second one. Here is a run down of the info typically needed to help figure out what's going on:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/have-an-emergency-disease-please-read-first.3569/

I am afraid I have no idea what's going on with the behavior you describe. We lost one of our first chicks, too, and it's still a mystery as to what happened. Eating, drinking, and pooping are essential to good health... close monitoring is definitely called for.

Please add more details per the guidelines and let's hope someone might know something that can help!

 

[Eggcessive]

Dip the chick’s beak into water several times an hour to make sure it is not dehydrated. Electrolytes in the water would be good, or give an ml of Poultry NutriDrench a drop at a time daily. Once a day check the vent, and clean of any new poo stuck and oil the vent with a QTip.

Pasty butt happens with dehydration, shipping stress, and overheating. Make sure there is a cooler spot in the brooder, and put a thermometer on the floor under your heat lamp in the hottest spot— make sure it is 90 degrees the first week, then go down 5 degrees each week.

 

[BantamAshley]

I just had this problem with a two week old chick. A warm water butt/tummy soak was what ultimately helped him. Along with tummy rubs, yogurt mixed in water, feeding him a tad of olive oil. I also made him drink more often than he was volunteering, and included ACV, probiotics, and electolites in his main water supply.
Several days later, he is better. Acting and pooping normal.
Though he did seem to give himself a tiny hemorrhoid. A shot glass worked great for the soak!

 

[Lafarmette]

Thank you all for all the suggestions. Unfortunately the little one never pooped anything more than the pale pasty stuff and he died this afternoon. The other one is doing just fine and is back with the others.

 

[BantamAshley]

Thank you all for all the suggestions. Unfortunately the little one never pooped anything more than the pale pasty stuff and he died this afternoon. The other one is doing just fine and is back with the others.

Sorry to hear that he didn’t make it.

 

[3riverschick]

Oh, so sorry you lost it.
Regards,
Karen