Pasty Butt...

[Maev]

How did you dry her? I had to do this to my tiny White Silkie. She got herself pretty wet with some thrashing. I Tried to dry her with the towel, but she's so fragile and Feathers don't seem to dry easily. I put her under the lamp ad lowered it but she's shivering quiet a bit. It's been about 20 min and she is still kinda wet and shivering. The other chicks aren't helping much. The lamp is very low too.. Thoughts?

I think some people use a hair dryer set on warm and low.

 

[Maev]

Two of my girls have what looks like pasty butt however, the vents "wink" at me if I blow air on them so I'm not sure if they are blocked or not.
I have tried moist towels; grit; adjusting the temperature in the brooder; mash and egg yolk, but still the pasty butt lingers.
help.

If you can see the vent then it sounds like it's not totally blocked. Sometimes chicks get dried poop stuck on their fluff back there but it's not really blocking anything important. What you're looking for is where the vent is completely blocked by dried poop. How old are your girls? Sometimes it takes awhile for it to clear up. I was still checking my chicks at a week and a half old just to be sure they weren't having problems.

 

[dancingflower68]

following this thread closely. i think my babies are coming mon or tues. i'm going to watch for pasty butt, keep the water clean & whatever else it takes so these little darlins can survive & thrive. i have wrestled with the temp in their brooder for days & days. i think maybe i've got it...not too hot & not too cold - just right.

I hear ya! I just set up my brooder yesterday, and the temps kept fluctuating, I thought I finally had it just right, but then I read the heat/light should be in the center, and mine is off to one side! Guess I will play around with it some more...I want everything perfect when my little ladies (hopefully) arrive in three weeks!

 

[OreoPlymothRock]

those chicks are so adorable

 

[RachelCheyenne]

I hear ya! I just set up my brooder yesterday, and the temps kept fluctuating, I thought I finally had it just right, but then I read the heat/light should be in the center, and mine is off to one side! Guess I will play around with it some more...I want everything perfect when my little ladies (hopefully) arrive in three weeks!

Three weeks!! That's forever!! lol. I have my heat lamp to the side that way they have the whole box to play in. Also, I put some rocks under the heat lamp, they absorb the heat and the chicks are either standing on them or cuddle up to them all the time.

 

[Aschenfire]

The heat should NOT be in the middle of the brooder. They need a *SPOT* or heat, a place like a sunbeam to go to if they need to warm up, but keeping the whole brooder at 95 or 90 or 85 or whatever is going to guarantee pasty butt and overheated chicks.

Put your lamp at one end, so they can get away from the hot end....

 

[MissTee]

I'm really new to this but here's my pasty experience. They say to be careful putting damp chicks in with other chicks cuz they'll get pecked.

I decided to check a thread on 'poopy butt' before going to bed the other night. I had a 4 day old EE that was acting very tired and she was hiding behind the thermometer and keeping to herself. She had dried poop over her vent for over 24 hours at that point. I'm so glad a couple of you just said "get it off now- they can die". That got my attention!

I took her over to the sink and rubbed her bottom with warm wet paper towel. It finally all came off after some patience. When I put her back in she pooped 2 giant poops so I know she had been plugged.
Since her rear end was still damp she was getting pecked so I separated her for the night just to keep her safe. She was drinking that night and eating by morning.
I have since given my 8 chicks hard boiled egg with their feed yesterday and a little plain yogurt in their feed today. This was suggested on a thread for treating pasty butt.
They're all doing good. Even little Frankie is getting spunky again. Phew!!
Thanks BYC members!!

 

[2008momof3]

I tried dipping one of my chicks butts into a bowl of warm water and I thought she was going to have a little heart attack so I just wet the paper towel and held it to her until the poop loosened up. Took a little bit of patience but we got quality cuddling time during the wait

One of mine is having this problem and when I do my daily cleaning I don't want to scrub too hard either. I tried to do the running water thing and it freaked out so I tried to think of how I could soak it to remove it easier. I got one of those red plastic solo cups and put just enough warm water in it to cover up to it's butt and where the poop was. I sat the chick it in and since there isn't much space in the bottom of the cup it could not run around but it could poke it's head up so I could pet it and calm it. After a couple of freaked out jumps from being sat in butt deep water I think the warm water and lovin's calmed it because it ended up sitting down and almost falling asleep, lol. I then tipped the cup over, in the yard, so the water could trickle out and the chick could run out. I grabbed it before it could run off and wrapped it in a towel to get it somewhat scrubbed and dried and then put it back under the light to warm up and finish drying. Most of the poop came off in the water(thus the use of the plastic cup) and the little bits left came off easily when I dried it. After a couple of times of this the chick sees me coming with the cup and comes over to me. I think it likes it's bath and extra loves so it poops on itself on purpose now, lol.

 

[zookeeptd]

One of mine is having this problem and when I do my daily cleaning I don't want to scrub too hard either. I tried to do the running water thing and it freaked out so I tried to think of how I could soak it to remove it easier. I got one of those red plastic solo cups and put just enough warm water in it to cover up to it's butt and where the poop was. I sat the chick it in and since there isn't much space in the bottom of the cup it could not run around but it could poke it's head up so I could pet it and calm it. After a couple of freaked out jumps from being sat in butt deep water I think the warm water and lovin's calmed it because it ended up sitting down and almost falling asleep, lol. I then tipped the cup over, in the yard, so the water could trickle out and the chick could run out. I grabbed it before it could run off and wrapped it in a towel to get it somewhat scrubbed and dried and then put it back under the light to warm up and finish drying. Most of the poop came off in the water(thus the use of the plastic cup) and the little bits left came off easily when I dried it. After a couple of times of this the chick sees me coming with the cup and comes over to me. I think it likes it's bath and extra loves so it poops on itself on purpose now, lol.

LOL That is a adorable story!! It's such a wonderful feeling to know I'm not a "chicken lover" alone in this world!!!!