problem with new chicks (bought from someone) pasty butt?

[spish]

for the first time i havent hatched my own chicks this februari, but bought some in from a 'new' poultry centre in the region.
they delivered the chicks last monday and ive been losing an average of 2 per day. i bought 50 chicks (40 day olds - orpington and jersey giant, and 10 x 2 week old amrocks)
the amrocks im not having any problems with they are flourishing brilliantly, its the other chicks, the ones bought as day olds (so nearly a week old)
the first day i lost 4 within a few hours of them getting here..then 2 chicks per day have died since then (loss of 14). the temp is fine they have enough room, easy available food and water....but they ALL are suffering from pasty butt. im washing all the bums 2 x per day with a cotton wool ball and warm water..but by the next day its caked full again....

can anyone give me advice on this? ive hatched hundreds of chicks over the last 3 years and have never had to deal with this

 

[redneck farmer]

Is the humidity right!?

 

[sumi]

Organic ACV (apple cider vinegar) in their drink water will help with the pasty butt. I use a ratio of 4-5 tablespoons to a gallon water. To stop the poop sticking again after cleaning them up you can apply some vaseline or olive oil to their butts.

Good luck!

 

[tammyfarms]

I haven't raised a ton of chicks, but observation taught me that the chicks raised by their moms don't get pasty butt. After watching them I figured the big difference was that they aren't out scratching around in the dirt. McMurrays here in the states sells a special mixture to prevent pasty butt that sounds basically like sand.
I throw a handfull of sandy soil in with each 10 babies per day. They go crazy for it. Although I have not raised a lot of babies, I have either been lucky or the sandy soil works. I would love to know what everyone else thinks.
Good luck, I can't imagine losing that many babies.

 

[sumi]

Being too hot/cold and stress are some of the possible causes. I've had chicks raised by hens that had pasty butt.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Being too hot/cold and stress are some of the possible causes. I've had chicks raised by hens that had pasty butt.

x2

 

[spish]

thanks all for the suggestions, i shall give them a try think from now on i'll stick to hatching my own!

 

[spish]

still struggling with pasty butt on a few of the chicks, the majority seem over it a&nd are thriving, but a handful seem to be not doing so well..you see they just arent thriving, are much smaller and lighter and im still cleaning them about 4 x per day. i've lost about 6 since my last post so its a bit of an improvement. anything else i can try on these strugglers?

 

[gcbsmommy]

I know someone else mentioned this, but I would add RAW apple cider vinegar is helpful (meaning it has not been pasteurized).

 

[MollsBaldwin]

I have a flock of 24 currently that we moved into the coop almost two weeks ago! When they first arrived in the mail I noticed some pasty butt within the first couple of days. I read the book 'The Small Scale Poultry Flock' and and in it he recommended a "country boy" electrolyte solution, consisting of some honey, maybe a quarter to a half cup in a half a gallon of water, a couple of tablespoons of raw apple cider vinegar, and a couple of fresh cloves of pressed garlic. I did this solution, and also fed some raw oatmeal to the chiks, and the pasty butt was all but gone 2 days later. Hope this helps!