My barred rock chics are now 3 days old. They all eat and drink and are active. However, tonite I noticed a hard build up of feces on one of them tonite. She otherwise acts fine- active, eats, drinks. I pulled it off. Any ideas? These are my first.
As you hatch more and more you will clean more little chickie butts than you can imagine. That is very common and can be fatal if left for just 1 day. The tinier chicks are even more prone to it. Just keep an eye on those little fuzzy hineys. You can use warm water and be very gentle - if you get the chick wet warm it like a newborn until it is dry to protect from a fatal chill. You can blend a little bit of rolled oats (oatmeal) into your starter food and that helps them get past it quicker. That first poo can be really sticky yokey stuff. Once the stool firms up things clear up on their own. Happy hatching!
Yep, you pull it off. It comes off easier if you hold a warm, wet cloth or paper towel on it. I also apologize profusely, wich helps me feel better.
Mine are my first also. The "people in the know" know better than I, but it's called pasty butt (for lack of a better word) Anyway, I wouldn't pull it off, just use a warm wash rag or paper towel and gently warm the pasty stuff up and gently pull it off. Or people have said to run warm water over their little fuzzy cute behinds, esp. if it's really bad. And they've also said to put a little vaseline on their bums. It will help keep the pasty stuff at bay. I've also heard to watch for it as it can kill chicks (right anyone?) and you might have to do it for awhile. I had one with it for about a week. All well now! Congrats on the new chicks and being a new momma!
I took the advise of others here and used a soft toothbrush to work the warm water into the poo to dislodge it. It works very well and quick. Just be gentle. ETA: Don't forget to oil their little butts up once you have them clean. I used a touch of olive oil and smeared their butts once I had them cleaned and it never returned.
I use an ear wash sqeeze thingey..DARN, I hate it when my brain goes dead...whatever it is, and squeeze warm water on the chicks butt. It washes the poop loose.