Pasty Butt Discovered Too Late??

[micstrachan]

I think you should dampen her feed with warm water. If she refuses that, I’d offer hervraw egg yolk. Good luck and please keep us posted.

 

[chicksheb]

You said something about the chicks huddling together... are you certain they’re warm enough? They huddle together because they’re cold... not good. If your sick baby is also cold, it’s going to be hard for her to feel better.

Since you say she did poop quite a lot after you cleaned her, I guess I’d just keep an eye on her little backside, make sure she’s warm enough, and that she’s drinking. Make sure you watch the others, too.

You could try adding a Tbsp or two of unpasteurized apple cider vinegar and dissolve a Tbsp of sugar (for energy & to make it yummy) in a quart of water. All the babies can drink this in their waterer. It’s easier that way and it might even help them all. Some people also add a clove of crushed or grated garlic to the water.

oh, they arent huddling together the whole time! it's like every once in a while between fits of the others running around. a cold front came through last night so we did lower their lamp and I am checking to make sure its warm enough every few hours. also, thank you for the tip with the apple vinegar! and yes I checked everyone's bottoms and they are all okay except for the one. thank you so much!

 

[chicksheb]

I think you should dampen her feed with warm water. If she refuses that, I’d offer hervraw egg yolk. Good luck and please keep us posted.

that is a good idea!! I will try it in the morning.

 

[chicksheb]

2nd and final update: the chick did not make it through the night thank you for everyone's advice, I hope it helped to make her a little bit more comfortable during the day. I checked everyone else's bottoms again and they are all still okay! I will continue to check bottoms probably each morning for the next couple days

 

[Eggs2chicks]

We just cleaned up our silkie from pasty butt. Took her in the warm bathroom cleaned her up with warm water and q tip blow dried her whole facing the mirror to keep her calm. Put her back after feeding her water. Added a smidgen of sugar to their water and fed them a little grit. She is going like gang busters now.

 

[Eggs2chicks]

I am so sorry. One of my biggest fears is loosing a chick. I get up during the night at least 5 times.
We keep a temp sensor in with them to warn us if temp drops or raises too high.
Please know we are sorry for your loss. God bless.

 

[chicksheb]

We just cleaned up our silkie from pasty butt. Took her in the warm bathroom cleaned her up with warm water and q tip blow dried her whole facing the mirror to keep her calm. Put her back after feeding her water. Added a smidgen of sugar to their water and fed them a little grit. She is going like gang busters now.

I am glad your baby feels better i think i just caught my case too late

 

[J-Melton79]

First, I would like to say that I am sorry you lost a chick, hopefully you feel some comfort knowing that you did the best you could and that she was as comfortable as she could be. I too had a chick with a bad case of pasty butt from Tractor Supply but they are doing well now. In fact they are all running around the brooder making a mess as I type this, lol. They remind me of a bunch of kindergartners on the playground ! A couple of things I have learned thus far raising chicks is check the vents at least once a day to prevent pasty butt and also check the feet. If they get droppings stuck to their feet it can make it hard for them to walk and of course uncomfortable. I had a chick that was stressed for an unknown reason about a week ago. I noticed her wings were drooped to her sides, she was panting and had droopy looking eyes. She would also just stand for long periods of time and not move even as the others picked at her. So I have a bunch of the chicken-ade, I mixed some up and as I held her, I Very gently pried her beak open and dripped one to two drops from a cotton swab dipped in the solution into her beak. I did this twice an hour most of the night. I finally fell asleep about 4 am next to the brooder box. When I woke up a few hours later she was standing at the feeder with the rest of the chicks like nothing was ever wrong. Since then she has been named Happy Feet and is by far one of the friendliest chicks we have ! Good luck with the rest of your flock and remember, it gets easier and messier each and everyday !

 

[Eggs2chicks]

Thank you. She has already been named Elsa and claimed by my daughter. So if anything happened to her we would be devistated.

 

[chicksheb]

First, I would like to say that I am sorry you lost a chick, hopefully you feel some comfort knowing that you did the best you could and that she was as comfortable as she could be. I too had a chick with a bad case of pasty butt from Tractor Supply but they are doing well now. In fact they are all running around the brooder making a mess as I type this, lol. They remind me of a bunch of kindergartners on the playground ! A couple of things I have learned thus far raising chicks is check the vents at least once a day to prevent pasty butt and also check the feet. If they get droppings stuck to their feet it can make it hard for them to walk and of course uncomfortable. I had a chick that was stressed for an unknown reason about a week ago. I noticed her wings were drooped to her sides, she was panting and had droopy looking eyes. She would also just stand for long periods of time and not move even as the others picked at her. So I have a bunch of the chicken-ade, I mixed some up and as I held her, I Very gently pried her beak open and dripped one to two drops from a cotton swab dipped in the solution into her beak. I did this twice an hour most of the night. I finally fell asleep about 4 am next to the brooder box. When I woke up a few hours later she was standing at the feeder with the rest of the chicks like nothing was ever wrong. Since then she has been named Happy Feet and is by far one of the friendliest chicks we have ! Good luck with the rest of your flock and remember, it gets easier and messier each and everyday !

Thank you! and yea maybe I was not giving enough electrolytes. or maybe I just found it too late. either way, I now know I have to check bottoms so I did learn something from all of this.