Poopy Butt

[Holtstead15]

I wasn't sure where to post this question as I am pretty sure that my hen is healthy. She is laying, eating, and seems to be a happy member of the flock. Her butt, on the other hand has poop hanging from it. She doesn't seem bothered by it at all. Due to cold temps here in the North East, I can't just wipe or pull the clump off. With gloves, I tried giving it a gentle tug, but no success. I don't want to hurt her. What should I do? It looks like a natty mess.

 

[Shadrach]

I wasn't sure where to post this question as I am pretty sure that my hen is healthy. She is laying, eating, and seems to be a happy member of the flock. Her butt, on the other hand has poop hanging from it. She doesn't seem bothered by it at all. Due to cold temps here in the North East, I can't just wipe or pull the clump off. With gloves, I tried giving it a gentle tug, but no success. I don't want to hurt her. What should I do? It looks like a natty mess.

You can bath the hens rear end in water and clean with a bit of mild soap. Most hens won't be keen on this and you need to get them absolutely dry afterwards.
This is easiest done at night while the hen is on the roost bar.
I clean them by crushing the lumps between my thumb and forefinger. Some lumps set like concrete.
Once the lumps is broken you can roll the feather between said fingers and the rest comes off as dust.
Needless to mention you should wash your hands afterwards.

 

[JerseyMama4]

I wasn't sure where to post this question as I am pretty sure that my hen is healthy. She is laying, eating, and seems to be a happy member of the flock. Her butt, on the other hand has poop hanging from it. She doesn't seem bothered by it at all. Due to cold temps here in the North East, I can't just wipe or pull the clump off. With gloves, I tried giving it a gentle tug, but no success. I don't want to hurt her. What should I do? It looks like a natty mess.

 

[DobieLover]

You can bath the hens rear end in water and clean with a bit of mild soap. Most hens won't be keen on this and you need to get them absolutely dry afterwards.
This is easiest done at night while the hen is on the roost bar.
I clean them by crushing the lumps between my thumb and forefinger. Some lumps set like concrete.
Once the lumps is broken you can roll the feather between said fingers and the rest comes off as dust.
Needless to mention you should wash your hands afterwards.

This is what I do as well. I also hit them with the hair dryer to ensure they are DRY before putting them back out. They like the hair dryer but it takes a LONG time to dry a chicken.
I have found that with my flock, they start to get poopy butt when the worm load is getting high. Mine dropped a few round worms last week and are going to be wormed tonight.

 

[Holtstead15]

This is what I do as well. I also hit them with the hair dryer to ensure they are DRY before putting them back out. They like the hair dryer but it takes a LONG time to dry a chicken.
I have found that with my flock, they start to get poopy butt when the worm load is getting high. Mine dropped a few round worms last week and are going to be wormed tonight.

Thank you. We found a round worm several weeks ago but treated the flock with Safeguard. Just curious, how do you treat yours and is there a withdrawal period for eggs? Do you have a treatment schedule like preventative or is it when you see a worm ?