Please help!! I think my goslings have pasty butt or are sick??

[house.of.ducks]

I have two 4 day old chinese goslings. They seem to be healthy and act normally (in my opinion) and to be happy. This is my first time with goslings and i’m terrified that something will happen to them. Earlier today i noticed some poop hanging out of one of them so i gave them both a bath and they pooped. It happened again tonight so i bathed them again and they both pooped like crazy. Out of curiously i turned them over and checked their vents and both of them seem to be clogged with dried poop. They poop in their brooder but not as much as i’d expect and although they eat and drink okay, i’m not sure if they’re doing it enough. They poop while bathing though, like the second they hit the water. Another thing that concerned me is that some of their poop has some white in it and one pooped a long mucusy? white string. I’ll upload some pictures of their vents below as well as what starter food that i’m giving them. Please note that the pictures provided are their vents AFTER bathing.

 

[house.of.ducks]

Could their umbilical cords possibly still be partially on? I ordered some save a chick electrolyte and vitamin supplements that i used to use for my ducklings and they should be in in a few days.

 

[tacothechicken]

They look like umbical cord remains to me I had a chick who did that but did fine no issue even whith the remaining nub poking out. Waterfowl looove to poop in water. How deeps their water bowl? They should be able to get their whole bill in it as they like to take down lots of water when feeding in notice and stay hydrated. As they're days old I'm not surprised they're poops not perfect. They've got tiny intestines and tiny vents, and if they're staying well hydrated under a heat lamp they may have watery or stringy poop from all that good ol h20! I'd watch them for a few days and see if anything changes

 

[The Dapper Duck]

It doesn't look like pasty butt to me. I would make sure they are dried well and that there are no crusty bits on the vent, but keep them out of the water. The pooping may be a reflex to being put in the water. There is a similar thing in mammal where fresh babies will pee and poop when they are licked by the mother, or you can reproduce this with a warm, wet wash cloth. Waiting until they get in the water to poop may be a remnant instinct. If they do get pasty, just use a warm compress on the area and make sure it comes off easily, as in just wipes away. Don't pick at it or you will irritate the vent. The coloration of the poop sounds normal for waterfowl to me.

 

[house.of.ducks]

They look like umbical cord remains to me I had a chick who did that but did fine no issue even whith the remaining nub poking out. Waterfowl looove to poop in water. How deeps their water bowl? They should be able to get their whole bill in it as they like to take down lots of water when feeding in notice and stay hydrated. As they're days old I'm not surprised they're poops not perfect. They've got tiny intestines and tiny vents, and if they're staying well hydrated under a heat lamp they may have watery or stringy poop from all that good ol h20! I'd watch them for a few days and see if anything changes

Thank you, this really puts me at ease!! They have a half gallon poultry waterer in their brooder as well as a small cat bowl that i put water in because it’s slightly deeper. I’ll continue to watch them. Thanks again

 

[house.of.ducks]

It doesn't look like pasty butt to me. I would make sure they are dried well and that there are no crusty bits on the vent, but keep them out of the water. The pooping may be a reflex to being put in the water. There is a similar thing in mammal where fresh babies will pee and poop when they are licked by the mother, or you can reproduce this with a warm, wet wash cloth. Waiting until they get in the water to poop may be a remnant instinct. If they do get pasty, just use a warm compress on the area and make sure it comes off easily, as in just wipes away. Don't pick at it or you will irritate the vent. The coloration of the poop sounds normal for waterfowl to me.

Thank you for your reply!! They do poop outside the water because i find poop in their brooder. I was just nervous that i’d hurt them by touching their vents too much so i was hoping that the water would wash away any poop that was there. I will definitely do what you said with a warm wet cloth. I’ve only kept ducklings before now and they pooped so much more than the geese have so far. Thanks again for the advice, i love these little babies

 

[house.of.ducks]

Hey everyone, just wanted to let you guys know that i checked them and those were definitely just umbilical cord remains bc their vents are lower down. Thank you all for your help lol, turns out i’m just paranoid and jump to conclusions. Does anyone know when their umbilical cords should fall off?

 

[The Dapper Duck]

Hey everyone, just wanted to let you guys know that i checked them and those were definitely just umbilical cord remains bc their vents are lower down. Thank you all for your help lol, turns out i’m just paranoid and jump to conclusions. Does anyone know when their umbilical cords should fall off?

That's good to hear! They'll just come off when they are ready. Don't worry about it unless they are picking each other, but I've only had that in chickens and they were much longer than what your babies have going on.

 

[house.of.ducks]

That's good to hear! They'll just come off when they are ready. Don't worry about it unless they are picking each other, but I've only had that in chickens and they were much longer than what your babies have going on.

Thank you!! And yeah neither of them are picking at each other, thankfully lol