Poopy behind

[oceansunset73]

I have six RIR / Production Red's, 9 months old. 5 of them I have no issues with, but 1 is constantly getting poopy's all over her behind.

I keep having to give her baths, only to find a few weeks later she's back to the way she was again. She does not have diarrhea, her stools look normal like all of my other chickens it just seems to keep sticking to her fluffy feathers on her back side whenever she eliminates. Last time I washed her, it had accumulated so much it was rock hard and the ball was about the size of my fist.

I am feeding them:
Bar Ale GMO Free Organic crumbles
Late afternoon only a 1/2 of a handful of Cluck Yea, Organic treats (for all 6 chickens total)
Stormy days, I give them a cabbage ball or string up some broccoli for them to peck at.
And that's it.

What am I doing wrong? How can I keep my baby clean? And does any one else have a problem with this?

Thank you for your time.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I would do 2 things.
Have a fecal sample from that bird read at an avian vet or your state poultry lab.
The problem could be worms, an intestinal bacteria or something else but without a fecal float test, there is no way to know.
Give them some probiotics. Plain yogurt or kefir can work but a product I like is Gro2Max.
It is formulated specifically for chickens. http://gro2max.com/

 

[nanette7fl]

1 hen with a messy behind could be nothing but I agree you should get her tested just to be sure.
I would really be careful with bathing her whole body.. try to concentrate on just her behind and clean her with a soft rag and warm water. You do want that area to stay clean because like with baby chick's if the rectum gets blocked of they have no way to eliminate. Good luck

 

[oceansunset73]

Thank you. I do add Hen Boost probiotics to their water already.

When I do bathe her I don’t wash her entire body just the bottom portion of her. But now that’s it’s gotten really cold and I can’t bring her inside I don’t know what to do.

I’ll see about getting a fecal sample tested. Thank you.

 

[Splendid Medley]

One of mine used to have a poopy bum. I switched brands of scratch (because one was on sale - not bc of poopy bum) and it stopped sticking to her. Only affected that one chicken. I agree with above on testing. I did that, she was fine, but it was good peace of mind.

 

[aart]

Clip butt feathers a bit.