Pasty Butt follow-up

[chicksdontmeow]

A bit ago I went to check on my chicks and noticed a couple of them had dried poop on their butts. I watched them for a bit and did notice they had wetter stool than the other ones, so I took them inside to wash the dried gunk off of them. Dried them with a towel and then with a hair dryer on low (one of them almost fell asleep under the warm air) and then applied a little bit of organic coconut oil to the area. They're back out with the others now in the brooder, but I'm wondering what I can do now to try and prevent this from happening again?

I saw some posts talking about yogurt and how it's good for helping digestion. Do I give them plain, unsweetened regular yogurt? Greek yogurt? Also, since they've been home a few days now, could it be the Vi-tal water they have in the brooder? Should I switch it to regular distilled water now?

 

[Jensownzoo]

Why don't you switch to plain water now and see if that works first. If they still have loose stools/pasty butt in the morning, I would put them back on the vi-tal and give them a little unsweetened yogurt (reg or greek, just make sure it has active cultures). The supplement in their water may be more than they need right now and as such causing the loose stool (salt excretion in the droppings can bring water with it osmotically), but if the diarrhea doesn't start getting better then they are going to need the electrolyte replacement.

Does that make sense?

 

[chicksdontmeow]

Yes, that makes lots of sense! I regret not picking up a few packs of Sav a chick when I saw it while picking up a bag of grit yesterday. But not a big deal to make another run to the store if I have to. Anything for my little ones.

 

[dunnmom]

I'm new to this site and can't figure out how to post my own question. My question is pasty butt related, so I thought I'd piggy-back and see if I could get an answer here. First off, I'm a newb at the chicken mom thing. My chicks are a week old. I have been catching them out of their brooder to do vent checks once a day. I was wondering if I am possibly stressing them out by doing this. Is daily too often for vent checks? So far, I've seen some with poo clumps stuck to their booty down, but the vents themselves have been clear so I have avoided cleaning them up just yet. I put a pan of sandy dirt for them to dust bathe in their brooder box, hoping that would help the clumps fall off. Any responses will be appreciated.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Generally pasty butt is from being too cold from shipping or too hot in the brooder.
A diet of chick starter and water is generally all that is needed to keep chicks healthy and happy. If the problem is persistent then probiotics, vitamin/electrolytes can be added to the water.
Brooder temperature control, having enough space in the brooder where there is just one spot that is warm and the rest of the brooder is cool/cold is optimal for the chicks, as well as helping to limit the amount of pasty butt that is encountered. Food and water kept in the cooler areas of the brooder is better than under the heat of a lamp

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2014/03/pasty-butt-in-chicks-causestreatment.html

I'm new to this site and can't figure out how to post my own question. My question is pasty butt related, so I thought I'd piggy-back and see if I could get an answer here. First off, I'm a newb at the chicken mom thing. My chicks are a week old. I have been catching them out of their brooder to do vent checks once a day. I was wondering if I am possibly stressing them out by doing this. Is daily too often for vent checks? So far, I've seen some with poo clumps stuck to their booty down, but the vents themselves have been clear so I have avoided cleaning them up just yet. I put a pan of sandy dirt for them to dust bathe in their brooder box, hoping that would help the clumps fall off. Any responses will be appreciated.

If it is clumping you want to make sure you are monitoring them to ensure the vent is clear. If you do clean them up you can apply a little oil or vaseline to the vent to help the poo not stick so much. Providing a dust bath in the brooder shouldn't hurt, mine were dust bathing at that age, no problems.

 

[chicksdontmeow]

So watery stool has been fixed, for the most part. Occasionally their stool is wetter than normal which still leaves little bits of poop clumped to their butts. It's the same two chicks that had the poopy butts a couple days ago that I cleaned up. Water has been just regular distilled water since this happened. Should I give them (and the other chicks) a bit of yogurt to see if that helps? What about dust bathing? I've caught a few of them attempting to dust bathe in their bedding so maybe it's time to get some sand for it? Should I get electrolytes? They're all just as active as everyone else and don't seem dehydrated or lethargic. It's just the problem of being clean that these two chicks can't seem to figure out.

 

[dunnmom]

I've noticed that only a couple of my Buff Orpington chicks are the ones getting big poop clumps but my Wyandottes have yet to have any issues at all. I was guessing this is because the Wyandottes tails stand more upright and they have a little less down on their butts so there's less to stick to. So far, the dust bath hasn't helped the clumpers much. I'm considering trimming their fuzz a little bit, just where the sticking is happening. They don't seem to have diarrhea, so I don't think it's because of that.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

So watery stool has been fixed, for the most part. Occasionally their stool is wetter than normal which still leaves little bits of poop clumped to their butts. It's the same two chicks that had the poopy butts a couple days ago that I cleaned up. Water has been just regular distilled water since this happened. Should I give them (and the other chicks) a bit of yogurt to see if that helps? What about dust bathing? I've caught a few of them attempting to dust bathe in their bedding so maybe it's time to get some sand for it? Should I get electrolytes? They're all just as active as everyone else and don't seem dehydrated or lethargic. It's just the problem of being clean that these two chicks can't seem to figure out.

About 1 out of every 8-10 poops will be a loose/wet poop, this is cecal poop. It is generally sticky, stinky and a varying color of brown with some white urates mixed in. Some chicks seem to have more fluff than others and cecal poop does stick to it more readily. I have found a couple of my "extra fluffy" pullets benefit from a little trim now and again.
You can mix a little yogurt into their chick starter I'm sure they would like it. Most chicks (and older birds) like moist food. Electrolytes won't hurt if you feel like you want to give them some.
Distilled water is ok, but IMO you really need to be using water that they will be drinking for their lifetime. Making things a bit too "sterile" will not benefit them in the long run. Chickens scratch in the dirt, eat things you really probably don't want to know about so the faster and more efficiently you can introduce them to the everyday environment they will be living in the better.
It never hurts to let them have a dust bathing area in the brooder, they will love it. (My opinion again) sand is good, I would add a bit of soil from a few different sources from their run/yard, this way they are starting to have an introduction to, again, what they will encounter in their environment. Little ones love to dust bath, sit on a stick, etc.
It sounds like you are doing great...take a deep breath and enjoy them, they will be grown up in no time

Here's a helpful poop chart http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=17568.0

 

[chicksdontmeow]

About 1 out of every 8-10 poops will be a loose/wet poop, this is cecal poop. It is generally sticky, stinky and a varying color of brown with some white urates mixed in. Some chicks seem to have more fluff than others and cecal poop does stick to it more readily. I have found a couple of my "extra fluffy" pullets benefit from a little trim now and again.
You can mix a little yogurt into their chick starter I'm sure they would like it. Most chicks (and older birds) like moist food. Electrolytes won't hurt if you feel like you want to give them some.
Distilled water is ok, but IMO you really need to be using water that they will be drinking for their lifetime. Making things a bit too "sterile" will not benefit them in the long run. Chickens scratch in the dirt, eat things you really probably don't want to know about so the faster and more efficiently you can introduce them to the everyday environment they will be living in the better.
It never hurts to let them have a dust bathing area in the brooder, they will love it. (My opinion again) sand is good, I would add a bit of soil from a few different sources from their run/yard, this way they are starting to have an introduction to, again, what they will encounter in their environment. Little ones love to dust bath, sit on a stick, etc.
It sounds like you are doing great...take a deep breath and enjoy them, they will be grown up in no time

Here's a helpful poop chart http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=17568.0

Thank you so much for the information! Since I cracked open the jug of distilled water (we don't drink milk and I wanted a jug for water so I always had it handy) I've mixed our tap water with the rest of the distilled stuff and then hopefully they'll be on just tap water. I'll eventually move to hose water when it's not so cold outside. xD

We've had rain and sleet lately so getting dirt that isn't outright mud is going to be difficult and if the ground isn't wet, it's frozen. I might just put off the dust baths until I can get to Walmart and take a look at what they have for potting soil. Reptile sand is WAY expensive for such a little amount. Oh well, we'll just have to wait and see.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

You can use play sand, that will be fine (look at Home Depot/Lowes).
Potting soil - make sure it has nothing added like the pearlite(?) (styrofoam), extra fertilizers, etc., top soil may be better, but sand would be fine for now.