Poopy butt

[aart]

Lots of people don't understand that chickens don't groom their butts.

Hmmm....I've seen them do it.
Have also seen them 'squat' a bit, and 'open' the feathers, when pooping.

 

[azygous]

Yeah, butt do they do a decent job?

 

[mufflerchick]

Looks like she needs some help getting clean, as you point out it’s likely happening a little at a time and building up layers. How uncomfortable!
I had an adult hen have this issue once and I gently trimmed some of the worst poopy down then gave her a chicken bath. A few tubs of warm water you can gently hold her booty in the water and help work those dirty down feathers clean as the poop gets soft and saturated. It’s not a pleasant task... but it’s important to get her clean you don’t want that to sit too long and risk terrible things like flystrike (look it up YIKES!!)

If you opt to bathe her make sure to thoroughly blow dry or allow her to dry well in a warm space if you are in a freezing temp situation - don’t want any icy feathers!

If more than one bird is getting poopy it may be a diet issue? With baby chicks I’ve had great results with mixing dry rolled oats in their feed adding some healthy fiber to the diet can help with constipation and birds love oats so it’s a treat.

I have 2 Cochins that also get this....as they typically don't roost up high and will prefer to 'nest' on the floor of the coop so the poo doesn't roll down like it would otherwise. So what I have done is take a scissors and trim those feathers below their vent a bit shorter and that usually takes care of it. But yes.....it's a Mike Rowe (Dirty Jobs) worthy job!!

 

[K0k0shka]

After decades of having chickens on and off and observing them, I'd say that the vast majority do groom their butts and do squat to poop and part their feathers. Of the chickens I currently have, all groom their butts and 4 out of 5 squat and part their feathers to poop. Even Poopy Butt squats some of the time, just not reliably, and doesn't bother to part her feathers a lot of the time. Do they do a good job grooming? Apparently not, if they still have poop stuck to them. But they do try, the poor little things. I always thought it was a great design how they squat and part the feathers. Like they're pulling their pants down to poop, trying not to get themselves dirty. I remember watching them in awe as a kid, when I first learned that they have (some) control over their feathers and can "move" them like that. So I think the intent is for the chicken to try to keep itself clean. Which may not always work out in practice, due to various factors - fat shelf under the vent, freezing weather, laziness... But I do believe there was an attempt on nature's part to try to keep the chicken clean. Like other animals, which also squat to poop, or lift their tails, or otherwise try not to mess themselves up.

 

[K0k0shka]

I have 2 Cochins that also get this....as they typically don't roost up high and will prefer to 'nest' on the floor of the coop so the poo doesn't roll down like it would otherwise. So what I have done is take a scissors and trim those feathers below their vent a bit shorter and that usually takes care of it. But yes.....it's a Mike Rowe (Dirty Jobs) worthy job!!

At least you have a good explanation. Mine don't sleep on the floor, and they have a thick branch for a roost, so the poop doesn't even stay on the roost - it falls straight down. They seem to be messing themselves up while awake, by a combination of not squatting enough and having too much fluff back there, and the poop freezing to them...

 

[aart]

Yeah, butt do they do a decent job?

Some do and some don't.

 

[Sally PB]

I just adore the way we discuss The Poop Problem here on BYC. So liberating.

@azygous , yes it is!

 

[K0k0shka]

Interesting developments. It has been above freezing for several days in a row now, reaching up to high 40's during the day and not dipping below freezing at night. And oh, miracle - the massive ball of poop is gone from my favorite fluffball's butt!!! She still has dirty feathers back there, but there's no actual poop being lugged around anymore, and her butt is looking fluffier. That's without me having intervened yet. It really looks like freezing is a big part of the problem. Let's hope that spring takes care of it and I don't have to soak her behind!

 

[cavemanrich]

Nature at her BEST..

 

[aart]

Interesting developments. It has been above freezing for several days in a row now, reaching up to high 40's during the day and not dipping below freezing at night. And oh, miracle - the massive ball of poop is gone from my favorite fluffball's butt!!! She still has dirty feathers back there, but there's no actual poop being lugged around anymore, and her butt is looking fluffier. That's without me having intervened yet. It really looks like freezing is a big part of the problem. Let's hope that spring takes care of it and I don't have to soak her behind!

Have you taken a real good look back there?
Still might need to do some trimming.