Pasty Butt

[Soujrnr]

Hello, friends. Super newb here again with yet another question. Our five girls are all about a year and a half old and laying eggs very regularly (4-5 each day). Their feathers below their vents are kind of nasty looking and I was wondering about pasty butt. From what I can gather, it's more of a problem with little chicks and not so much with bigger girls. Is that correct??? I have a picture somewhere but I'll have to go find it. For the record, the eggs are perfectly clean when we get them out of the nests.

 

[ChickenFeeds]

Poop on feathers near the vent can be a problem for older hens. (It’s not called pasty butt though) If enough gathers up, it can be enough weight to rip out the feathers the poop is stuck to. You can soak your hens’ bottoms in water and gently try to remove the poop. If nessarary, you can cut the feathers which the poop is stuck to.

 

[Tookie]

Pasty butt refers to chicks that have a block up of poop stuck to their bottom, that keeps building up if not taken care of. For older chickens it's not called pasty butt, it doesn't really have a name, and it's not so much of a problem as it is for chicks.
How's your weather? If its hot they'll be drinking more water, which will cause loose stools and make it harder to keep their behind clean.
You can trim their feathers to help, but don't cut too much, as then their droppings will get on their skin and irritate it.
If they get pretty bad bathing only their behind is good!

 

[Onyxflock]

Whatever you call it, my big fluffy Brahma hen gets it pretty bad. She had a mass stuck and I had to remove it because it covered her whole butt. Being so fluffy, her feathers kept it moist and she got maggots under it.
Really nasty - thank goodness for antibacterial soap from my husband's last surgery.
I didn't know if I should pull some feathers in that area, so not as much to stick to.
She gorges the feed & treats being the bully and that seems to give her runny poops.
Also I've changed the roost so she can't sit flat like she likes, but has to hang her butt over now. Hoping to keep it from building up in her feathers.

 

[Tookie]

Whatever you call it, my big fluffy Brahma hen gets it pretty bad. She had a mass stuck and I had to remove it because it covered her whole butt. Being so fluffy, her feathers kept it moist and she got maggots under it.
Really nasty - thank goodness for antibacterial soap from my husband's last surgery.
I didn't know if I should pull some feathers in that area, so not as much to stick to.
She gorges the feed & treats being the bully and that seems to give her runny poops.
Also I've changed the roost so she can't sit flat like she likes, but has to hang her butt over now. Hoping to keep it from building up in her feathers.

Oof, maggots aren't good at all.

As I mentioned in my last post here, trimming would be a good idea. Giving a "butt bath" when needed would also be good.