poop stuck on my chickens bottom (large area) ! help what do I do?

[al6517]

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No it will not bleed at all, and it is just stuck to the feather not the skin, bag balm is just a salve used for many applications to just sooth and keep a certain area subtle. It was originaly designed to rub on cow udders to prevent irritation from mechanical milking and rough handling of the udders during frequent milking. But it has such a wide range of uses on the farm in treating all animals and many different things, it's just like a good animal lotion. and it is a good thing to keep around in your farm animal first aid kit.

 

[Hawkeye95]

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I yank any poop off along with feathers all the time. I never see any blood. On the other hand, I am conditioning a few birds for up coming shows- so I'd never do that to them, then I'd just bathe them. But on my layers, I'd just pull it. It will take feathers off-- but that's not a bad deal, less to stick to later. (I even do the same thing with chicks that get pasty butt-- I never wash, I just pick it off along with any feathers or fluff) I do think there must be a problem with your hen, though. They shouldn't have poop stuck to their rears. I'd start looking for the cause of that. If they are stressed or sick, they will get poopy bottoms. So something is going on. Bag balm is not medicated, it's just going to "grease" the feathers. Make it harder to stick to. You could use vaseline, too.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Keep a look out for worms if you see one with a poopy rear end, from my experience.

But it does happen on occasion that one hen will have a problem with hygiene even without worms.

 

[Heike]

Ok so I grabbed the whole chunk and yanked it out!!! it worked great!!! was weird to do. Then put some vaseline on it. Thanks for the advice, would have never thought to do that. PLUS THIS CHICKEN WS NOT NAMED. I named one of my 23 chickens and it got eaten by a raccoon so my family convinced me I cursed it by naming it. I have not named any since lol!

 

[chickenology]

If you have someone who can help hold her, I find it easier to take a pair of scissors and trim the feathers away. Especially if the poop ball is just stuck to the ends of the feathers and not up against the skin. You can trim some of the other fluff shorter to prevent a recurrence while you're at it. If the poop is close to the skin (or against the skin), it would be risky to try to cut it out. Better to yank the feathers out than risk a cut to the rear end in that case. One of my very fluffy buff orpingtons has occasionally had this problem and I just trim the feathers back when needed.

 

[al6517]

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Great job, I was hoping you would try that just to see that is as easy as pie. Going through all the warm bath's and gently rubbing and fussing is really just a big waste of time IMHO. If you have some very good quality non Hatchery birds that are worth breeding do this to the hen's and roosters around the vent's and it help's with the coakle kiss as they say, it helps to increase fertility.

 

[katie4]

I find that when my chickens have access to fresh greens, fruit, and vegetables from my garden or kitchen the increased roughage and moisture often cause watery and loose poo. This casues some to cling to the feathers around the vent and makes for a nice surface for future attachment of poo, especially that stinky cecal poo.

I soaked my hens' gunky behinds in a medium sized cooler with tepid water. The partially closed lid was helpful in controlling the scared bird. Like you I took the gentler route but I will surely do the "yank" method in the future. Drying the hen adequatly and disinfecting the cooler were a pain.

Good luck.

 

[pattyjhummel]

I agree just pull the feathers out my Rhode Island Red has it so bad that it is causing a problem. I suggest soaking her first then pull out the feathers just to be on the safe side. I am bathing my bird tomorrow had no idea it had gotten that out of control will try the balm in the future. Thanks for the advice .

 

[dominiques]

My girls had very gross poopy butts. Large amounts caked on. It's winter and I think it's safe to say they are not getting enough fresh veggies/fruit in their diet. I tried to pull off, as suggested, and the poor girl yelled and the feathers didn't come off. So I filled a plastic tub with hot water and soaked a towel in it and used that to soften and pull. And it all pulled right off. Took a second round on 2 of the girls. They just let me hold them in an upside down football hold while I did this. Then I put Vaseline on their newly exposed skin(butt) and used a blow dryer on them since its snowing outside. They seem to appreciate the new cleanliness. Finished off the treatment with some raisins and yogurt. Not too shabby for a first try at this. I've been putting it off for a week hoping the poo would magically disappear. Needless to say it didn't. Now it's gone and they look so much better.

 

[TacomaChickNMom]

Just use a warm washcloth or soft paper towel soaked in warm water and gently wash it until it falls off. It will fall off but it might take a few minutes to get to that point. Use a cotton ball to put olive oil or antibiotic cream around her butt, feed her yogurt/ boiled egg. Same treatment as Pasty Butt.