Pasty butt, help!

[CuckooCachooo]

I've been cleaning their butts with a cotton ball and putting vegetable oil on there (an article said olive oil or vegetable oil was fine). How do I add grit? I heard cornmeal and grit will help their pasty butt. Is it safe for chicks only 2 days old (to eat)

 

[azygous]

Grit has nothing to do with preventing pasty butt. It's more likely caused by the chicks being subjected to too much heat. Sometimes, you can be doing everything precisely right and still have one or two come down with it. Chicks don't need grit if all they're eating is chick crumbles.

Start with the heat source and decrease it with lower wattage or settings. If your brooder hasn't got enough space for the chicks to find cool-down areas, you may need to expand your brooder.

I used to use cardboard boxes for my brooders, and it was a simple task to find a second one, tape them together, and cut a pass-through in the common wall to create a two-room chick condo.

Now everyone buys those plastic totes. Having to pay for a brooder is something I've never done. Now I just brood outdoors in my run under a heating pad cave.

 

[Bluebird4]

Solution for pasty but is to add 3/4 tsp of apple cider vinegar for a quart of water. You can add it to the communal waterer, it won’t hurt if other chicks don’t have pasty butt. If it doesn’t work, you can add more apple cider vinegar, up to 1 tsp. I recommend you try this electrolyte mix to prevent pasty butt in the future:

per 1 quart water

4 cups warm water
2tbsp + 1 tsp white granulated sugar or molasses
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
OPTIONAL: 1/2 tsp potassium chloride


Only feed this to chicks while they are in the brooder. Once they move out, it’s best to move to a store bought electrolyte mix. Just add this to their water. The best way to find potassium chloride is to find a salt substitute in the store. Just adjust the recipe to the size of your waterer. You can also try to mix their feed into some greek yogurt, cornmeal, or scrambled eggs. Hope this helps!!!