I think one of my RIR chicks has a pasty butt. I picked them up yesterday from the local feed store. They are soooooo tiny! Tiny... tiny...tiny....!!!! Anywho.... I was looking them over real good this afternoon when I noticed one had some dried on poopie stuck to it's bottom. It's quite hard and dried on. So I picked her up and did some investigating. Vent doesn't seem to be stuck shut... but seems like the poopie there may block the next one. I tried to get it off with a warm wash cloth... to no avail. Next I applied some canola oil with a Q-tip thinking it would soften it up atleast. What do you all think? Do I have a chick with a pasty butt?
Sounds like it could soon be. Wash the poo off with warm water. A little baby powder on the but may help keep the poo from sticking, but check that chick often until you are sure it isnt having a problem chel
yep If there's one, there may be more tomorrow and for the next few days. Just keep check and cleaning up their little bottoms. Doing good!
You might want to use corn starch instead of baby powder as I don't think talc is too good if it gets accidently ingested. When mine were little I had this problem with a few too. I checked 2-3 times a day and made sure the vent was open, though a few ended up with bald butts trying to get the poop off. It should go away within a week.
First chicks (first pets) 5 weeks ago. 2 days into it both of my barred rocks where Pasted Up! So I gave them a bath! I stuck both chicks in the tub w/ some shampoo. They were really pasted up Bad! The big ball that was stuck to their rear was impossible to remove with the q-tip and tooth-pick without removing all of their fluff of feathers around the area. So I had no choice but to soak them in the tub. The kids thought it was great and got a kick out of them taking a bath, the chicks however didn't like it quite as much. Churping and yelping as loud as possible. (had I known any better being a first time mommy I would not have waited so long.) Anyhow they survived the soaking, scrubbing and then the blow-drying!!! And now (5 weeks later) they are the absolute calmest two girls in the flock! coincidence? Probably not, TRAUMATIZED- Definately
I checked my 26 little butts today and found just some stiff feathers on 3 of them. I was afraid that was jsut the begining, so I started cleaning them up. Warm water did the trick on 2, but one on them still has a some hard spots. Didn't know about the canola oil. Has that worked for anyone? Any other suggestions?
I don't know about canola oil. I used antibiotic cream, the clear stuff. I used it because even though I soaked the poo for a long time some of the poop was still really stuck. I eventually had to pull it off along with some of the baby fuzz. The cream maybe helped soothe the poor baby's butt but also helped the poop slide of easier.
Since my last post, about 2 hours ago, the canola oil seems to have made the vent area quite a bit slick and moist looking. I remember reading someplace that if you're not able to get the pasty off with a warm washcloth; use a little bit of castor, mineral or vegetable oil. It (the pasty) doesn't seem to be bothering the chick yet, as far as being impacted with poopie, which is a good sign. I check them constantly!! However, she has started to pick at her butt a little bit, maybe in an effort to clean up her own area? Funny the first batch that I had, never got one tiny fleck of poopie on them... these little girls seem so much more babyish. I think they are younger than the first batch, if that's possible? Maybe I got some banties by mistake, because they are sooooo small. They're in their own brooder, but they seem so different than the first bunch. Can they really be so different? It's quite amazing. Thanks for all the advice. I'll keep an eye on her and take whatever measures necessary to insure her survival.
I had the same thing last night with my buff silkie. The chick's bum was fine, just "clogged". I trimmed the surrounding feathers back. His little tummy was a bit red and round (after I washed him off). Is this normal of pasty bum or is in indicitive of something else?
The chick with the pasty butt is doing fine. I didn't notice if she had a red or swolen tummy though. So I don't know what to tell you. Sorry. I hope you're little fella is doing better?