Question on Pasty Butt

[StizzyL17]

My 2 day old baby Maran had severe pasty butt today. I finally got it all off with warm water, she then pooped a HUGE amount. My question is, I read on one thread to give them a hard boiled egg to help, but I've also read where they shouldn't have anything but crumbles for the first week. Is she too young to give the egg too? All my babies are eating medicated crumble (as none have been vaccinated that I know of), and this Maran is the only one out of 16 babies to have Pasty Butt so far. She's one of my favorites and I don't want to lose her. Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[Judy]

You can give a little egg or not, I don't think it matters much. The main thing is to keep the vent itself open. The danger is when the plug prevents their pooping, which can actually be lethal, so it sounds like you got her opened up just in time. And the main thing for poopy butt is to keep them hydrated and not too hot. Very young chicks often foul their water quickly, so it may need some attention. Put it up on a brick or similar if you can. For not too hot, it's a good thing for them to be able to move away from their heat source to wherever they are comfortable. If you have some, a little organic ACV (apple cider vinegar) in the water does seem to help.

Also, for those you have cleaned, put a little lubricant around their vent to discourage future poops from sticking. You can use Vaseline, veggie oil, Crisco, even Neosporin -- whatever you have. I also found it easiest to clean them by holding their back end under a slow stream of running warm water. It takes a few minutes.

 

[StizzyL17]

Thank you! I'm so nervous for her. We have been changing the water about 5-6 times a day. This baby we brought home last night, so we've had her for about 28 hours. Like I said all the others are fine. I think she has had it for awhile...it was really bad...took me an hour to remove.

 

[Judy]

Relax! It really sounds like you've fixed the problem.

 

[RoosterMoose]

I hear plain yogurt can help alot too. When chicks are born they usually lack the proper bacteria in their system, and often it will lead to pasty butt for the first week or two. A bit of yogurt will usually correct this "bacterial deficiency"