Pasty Butt scare...and dust bath ??

[earnhardtlvr]

Whew...almost lost one of my babies tonight! Ryan noticed poop on one of my babies butts and when I picked her up she had pasty butt! I felt so bad! I have been sick with some kind of flu bug since yesterday and didn't check them like I should have. Poor little girl, so glad he noticed that and we were able to get her cleaned up. SHe ate and drank and was playing with her sisters later in the evening!

So my ?'s about a dust bath are: 1) Do my babies just know what to do or do they have to see it done? 2) If they eat the sand, is that considered grit? And then I could give them treats?

It was so funny tonight...when we were cleaning out the brooder and put the babies back in a fly flew thru and all the chicks were running around trying to catch the fly! Hilarious!

I know I have 4 light brahma's, maybe 5; 3 EE's, 2 barred rocks, 1 white crested polish, and maybe think my 2 bantam's r white wyandotte's. 5 more EE's on the way next week. 6 babies I don't know what they r yet...but all so cute!

 

[Happy Chooks]

They will figure out how to dust bathe on their own.
Yes, sand will be a type of grit. When they get older, they will eat small pebbles.

And Yep, fly catching is the chick Olympic Sport!

 

[chickensinwasillaAK]

last year my chicks were raised on sand in the brooder. They picked up on dusting at about 3 weeks. They'll pick at the sand, not a worry as they'll use it if needed and pass it if not. As for treats, for the first 8 weeks I don't give any treats (other then a scrambled egg) as the started feed has what they need. You want to be careful what you give them as chicks as it could cause them problems. Let them get a big larger, then the treats are fine.

 

[QualityPolish]

1) Yes, it is a natural instinct for them so eventually they'll figure it out so don't worry.
2) Correct! Young chicks will eat sand which for them acts as their "grit" since they are still so young. Eventually when they get older they'll be able to swallow small pebbles which will replace their sand for grit.