"Pasty butt" question

[kodster]

We have one chick under a broody that has crusties. Will the broody hen take care of it, or do we need to do something?

Keep an eye on the chick... if mama doesn't clean it, then go ahead and use a warm sitz bath (body temp of chick), just let it sit the water for a few minutes (chicks seem to really like it, it appears), and then use a damp q-tip to massage the poo off. Don't be surprised, once you get it off, that the chick has a bowel movement! If it does, that's a good thing, because it means that it's clearing it's rectum. If it does have a bowel movement, you should be okay and can dry it off and return it to mama. If not, then apply a little bit of olive oil to the vent, to prevent any more encrustation.

 

[spainterrd]

Keep an eye on the chick... if mama doesn't clean it, then go ahead and use a warm sitz bath (body temp of chick), just let it sit the water for a few minutes (chicks seem to really like it, it appears), and then use a damp q-tip to massage the poo off.  Don't be surprised, once you get it off, that the chick has a bowel movement!  If it does, that's a good thing, because it means that it's clearing it's rectum.  If it does have a bowel movement, you should be okay and can dry it off and return it to mama.  If not, then apply a little bit of olive oil to the vent, to prevent any more encrustation.

what about a 7 week old with poo that crusts on her? Will she sit still for that long?

 

[kodster]

what about a 7 week old with poo that crusts on her? Will she sit still for that long?

You'll have to hold her in place for a few minutes, until she settles down... a few minutes is all it takes. However, you should also look at other causes for "pasty butt" at that age... pasty butt is usually cleared up within a week or two of hatch. Add yogurt, scrambled eggs to her diet, to get her intestinal flora back into line.

 

[colburg]

Quote: We went ahead and took care of it ourselves the other day. It was getting a little worse and there's no sense in letting the poor chick suffer. It's still alive today so maybe it's over.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[spainterrd]

I found this on you tube: will try it tomorrow.
http://video.search.yahoo.com/video...athe+a+Chicken&c=3&sigr=11af3462v&age=0&&tt=b

 

[spainterrd]

I found this on you tube: will try it tomorrow.