Pasty Butt Confusion

[desertgirl]

I have received so much excellent advice, but I don't want to combine things and overdo it or hurt the girls. I have been adding ACV for two days, but the pasty butt is back (just the silkies). I clean them, then apply baby oil (no need to trim feathers, their little bottoms are quite naked). I need to do something more, so can I go with molasses in the water (+ ACV???), and corn flour in their food every three days? Is this over doing it? Will the ACV and molasses be ok together in their water? Will this give the BO the runs (she has so afr been exempt from this delightful malady). Ugh.

Help!

 

[RendonRoo]

Not sure which way to go with this one. I would only change one thing at a time though. If you do several you won't know what helped or hurt. It may provide insite if you ever have this problem again. Good Luck

 

[desertgirl]

Good point. Maybe I'll just go with the molasses. You think I should keep adding the ACV, or remove it?

 

[desertgirl]

Made a "weak tea" with water and molasses. Took out the ACV. We'll see what happens....

 

[Sugar Sand Farm]

When my day old chicks got patsy butt I added grit to their feed It worked like a charm and noone has it now. The grit I am talking about is the grit you put in a birds cage. I do this with all my chicks including my silkies and have not had any problems.

 

[gritsar]

You know DG, if they were my chicks I would try no supplements at all. Just their chick starter and clean water. Keep cleaning the butts and see if it doesn't clear up on its own in a few days.

 

[desertgirl]

I tried that. At about 6 days, after apparantly clearing up on their own (with just my cleaning them and baby oil), we moved them to the guest room and now it is back.

It seems to just be the silkies...their poor little butts are getting pretty raw...

 

[chicklady63]

You might check to make certain they're warm enough as this seems to be a contributing factor to this condition. Also, it appears that in some breeds it occurs from a lack of muscle tone due to a hereditary weakness, but this is usually in mature hens and they shouldn't be bred. (Or so my Chicken Health Handbook says.)

This is a great book by Gail Damerow. She also says that a molasses flush acts as a laxative & is used to rid the bird's system of an intestinal disease or food poisoning & that it should be used only on adult chickens & never chicks.
I've never personally tried the molasses but thought I would mention what I had read. I have added the apple cider vinegar to the drinking water with success. It took about a week & I had to clean a lot of little dirty bottoms before it tapered off & finally disappeared. It can be a bit frustrating I know.
I wish you success with your chicks.

 

[desertgirl]

 

[chicklady63]

I know.

You really just have to do what you heart leads you to do. If you've chosen a treatment you feel comfortable with, then go with it, at least for a few days and see what develops. Sometimes it's hard to decide. I do know, though, that ACV and warmth are both beneficial.