"Poopy Bottom" on two day old chick!

[lexilovee]

Hello!
We hatched two chicks out over the last couple of days! The first(a speckled sussex cross) is growing and appears very healthy! The second(a mix that we are unsure of) started out its first day and a half barely able to stand and very wobbly. I upped the electrolytes and she is acting completely normal, EXCEPT now she has a HORRIFYING case of "poopy butt"(at least, that's what we call it). Her poo will only gather around her bottom, and while we have had it on the baby silkies, we have NEVER seen a case this bad on any other kind of chick!! She is also, SO much smaller than her sibling who is only one day older. Is there something I should do for her? What could be causing this?

 

[tripletfeb]

She has what is called "pasty butt" Very common in young chicks. Soak her bottom and get it all off, then make sure she is dry before going back in the brooder. The poop must be removed or it can block her vent, not letting her poop, literally building up the poop in her and she can die. I would do all that and see how she does. Good luck!

 

[tripletfeb]

Forgot to add that it can keep building up on her so she may need it washed off multiple times a day. Check their heat, it could also be caused from being too warm. They should be at 95° the first week. Make sure they have an area where they can escape the heat.

 

[Ox21167]

She has what is called "pasty butt" Very common in young chicks. Soak her bottom and get it all off, then make sure she is dry before going back in the brooder. The poop must be removed or it can block her vent, not letting her poop, literally building up the poop in her and she can die. I would do all that and see how she does. Good luck!

Exactly

 

[MissChick@dee]

It’s way okay to wash and keep it clean for her. A little Vaseline is helpful too.

 

[Mosey2003]

Definitely wash it off, if it covers the vent the chick can die. I tyipcally do it under a running faucet of warm water. I'm right-handed, so I hold the chick in my left hand, facing left, with the head and neck between my thumb and index finger just snugly enough that it can't pull it's head out, then tip it over so the butt is under the water. Then massage/gently pinch the poop as the water softens it. Then I use a paper towel to soak up the water and a blow dryer very gently to dry the rest of the way. Feeding cornmeal for a day supposedly prevents pasty butt and/or clears it up, though I haven't tried that. The common wisdom is from them being too hot, but I've had it happen even when the chicks are obviously saying they're a bit too cool, so I think some may just be predisposed to it.

 

[MissChick@dee]

With my chicks. If I feed anything Other than chick starter I provide Grit. Personally I don’t feed anything other than chick starter for the first three weeks.

 

[lexilovee]

Thank you for all of the advice! We have removed her pasty butt twice, and they seem comfortable with the heat. The only thing that I could think of is that we tried a new chick starter that is a bit different. We haven't used it before- maybe I should switch back to the one that we have always had success with. I'll have to see if it helps!

 

[Mosey2003]

Yeah, I'm fairly comfortable assuming that chick is having so much trouble because it's poorly overall. Just keep washing and at some point it will outgrow it.

 

[lexilovee]

Thank you! We are currently removing the pasty butt for the fourth time! But I just picked up our usual chick starter feed and I hope that helps!