pasty butt in chicks??

[bkterry]

My silkie hen hatched out 4 chicks and I noticed after a week or so, 2 of them had pasty butt. One of them died yesterday but the other still seems healthy (besides the pasty bottom). I'm wondering is pasty butt a sign of a much more serious problem and whats the easiest way to clear it up???

 

[BayCityBabe]

Clear it up with warm water and a paper towel; it's that simple.

 

[MsBentleyboy]

It's also very common and can become hazardous to your chicks health if left unattended. Pasting can prevent further eliminations from happening and this can cause death as you already experienced in the other chick.

 

[silkiechicken]

Yep, just clean them up. It's possible the new mom might not have it down right and let the two get chilled.

 

[31665]

I had this problem with several and I learned that the paper towel or rag was rough on the chicks bum so I just let a little warm water run over the area and it came off alot easier then I followed up with vasoline. Good Luck

 

[americana-chick]

pasty butt makes them like constipaded the only way to clear it up is to pull it off with a warm towel. i have had this problem befor and all i do is what i told you to do and then they are fine.

 

[LindaN]

I noticed this on one of my 4 new chicks a couple days after they arrived. I used a sturdy paper towel wetted with warm water to clean her up as gently as possible. I couldn't get all the dried poo off of her at once, but I did get her vent cleared.

My main focus was on keeping her vent clear so she could eliminate, but I found that any bit of residue in the feathers made it easier for more to accumulate. It took a couple more days of special attention and careful cleaning to get everything cleaned off her bottom.

Well, at least it helped me come up with a name for her: Miss Poopy-butt!

She's all right now and shows no indication of more problems. But she'll never live this down...

 

[bkterry]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I got her bottom mostly clean last night...the feather still have a bit in them but the vent is clear so hopefully she will make it. She seems a bit off today.. not moving around as much like the other chicks, just staying in one spot mostly but she is still eating and drinking. Will keep an eye on her and hopefully she'll make it just fine.

LindaN...we adopted a bobtail kitten last year that had really runny poop for the first 2 or 3 months that we got her so we never wanted her in our lap. I had originally named her smokey but we called her poopy butt so much that it stuck and now a year later we still call her poop butt. I almost hate to tell people her name when they ask! haha