Pasty butt

[kushkricket]

My baby chick keeps getting pasty butt. I don’t want to give her anymore baths. She hates it and it stresses her out. Does anyone have some good advice for cleaning it all off completely? Olive oil doesn’t seem to do a good job either. It gets hard and crusty and seems impossible.

 

[hayley3]

Quoted from CackleHatchery: Typically in chicks older than one week — it is more likely to be caused by chilling, overheating, or improper feeding of newly hatched chicks.

I would just wash her bottom under the faucet so you don't have to get her entire body wet.

 

[azygous]

How old is this chick? It might be a good idea to try to figure out why this chick keeps having this issue.

Is the chick eating okay? Does it seem to be keeping pace with the others in size and development?

I suggest you try fermenting the chick feed. It can often make a difference in persistent pasty butt cases.

 

[kushkricket]

I have 4 babies and this one has been sick and weak. She’s smaller than the rest too. I have been giving her some nutri drench every few hours and having her drink water with save a chick electrolytes and probiotics, I also got her a respiratory mix to put in her feed but she’s not eating on her own much, I have to encourage her. The problem started 3 days ago with her being lethargic and walking backwards. Then she got pasty butt which I quickly removed. I decided to separate her from the rest because they’re picking on her. She seemed to start improving but then I had a setback with her falling into a little water dish I put in there with her (I had nothing else but I still feel so guilty about it, I bought a different water dish and secured it with a magnet so there’s no way this could happen again but I still feel horrible about this. ) I blow dried her on low and was very careful not to burn her. She kind of came to again but now has the problem of falling over again and the pasty butt came back last night. After watching about 5 YouTube videos I was able to get most of the poop off and she was able to poop and get everything out but her vent is very inflamed and a little infection may have started. This morning I’m putting some antiseptic cream on there. She doesn’t seem in pain and I really think I can I help her recover so I’m doing everything I can.

 

[kushkricket]

They are approximately 2-3 weeks old

 

[kushkricket]

How old is this chick? It might be a good idea to try to figure out why this chick keeps having this issue.

Is the chick eating okay? Does it seem to be keeping pace with the others in size and development?

I suggest you try fermenting the chick feed. It can often make a difference in persistent pasty butt cases.

And thank you for the advice of fermenting her feed I will do that!

 

[kushkricket]

What do you think about making her a chick chair for now and securing her water and food to it? Since she keeps falling over

 

[azygous]

Chick chairs aren't for long periods. They're used mainly to get a new chick upright to strengthen the legs.

You're over-medicating the chick. Nutri-drench is for short term treatment of a sick chicken. Too much can cause the very problem you're trying to resolve. And using the electrolytes for an extended period isn't good, either.

You probably have a failure-to-thrive chick (FTT). They can have underdeveloped organs and have trouble processing their calories efficiently. They don't grow. They fight to hold onto body heat so they need more heat. Wry neck manifests sometimes by the chick walking backward. The treatment is one vitamin E 400iu capsule each day until the chick recovers. Usually happens very quickly.

It may still be suffering a bit of hypothermia after it's tumble in the water. Give it a little warm sugar water. That will raise the glucose level and revive it.

Besides fermenting the feed, you can give the chick boiled egg and crumbled tofu.

 

[kushkricket]

Thank you! I will stop the nutridrench, but I’ve only given it 3 times in very small doses so hopefully haven’t caused any damage with that. The electrolyte water has only been for 2 days so I was going to stop it after today.
At this point all I can really do is keep her warm and make sure she eats and stay hydrated. Hopefully she starts to recover soon.

 

[chickens really]

Electrolyte is a one time drink only thing because it's hard on the heart.
Put Vaseline on her butt and only heat part of the Brooder where they sleep.