straining and chirping during defecation

abanjaf

Songster
10 Years
Mar 17, 2009
368
8
133
Cocoa, Florida
Hi, I'm new to the forum. I just received an order of chicks a few days ago. I have several different breeds. One of the breeds seems to continually have a "messy bum". I wash their bottoms daily to avoid pasting. One chick in particular from this breed seems to be straining during defecation and making this loud chirping noise while doing so (discomfort?). I saw previous posts regarding using plain yogurt to help. Should I be really concerned about this? And is there anything else I can do?
 
You could try offering a little dry oatmeal chopped very finely in a blender or food processor. Some people have also used a little molasses in the drinking water. I don't know how much they use, as I've never used molasses on chicks.
 
I had several that did that exact same thing. I just kept their bottoms clean but when I changed their feed to a different brand it seemed to stop that same day. I am now using Manna Pro chick starter and I haven't heard the cries since. So maybe if nothing else helps try changing their feed.
 
Hi abanjaf,

I have the exact same issue happening with the smallest of my chicks. Today is their first day with me. About 3-4 days old.

It has been in the brooder all day with the others since being shipped from MMH (McMurray's). It had a slight pasty butt, which I picked off (some remained) and then I heard it chirp loudly. I came to see it and it was doing a funky side-to-side movement, and then passed some poop. It has eaten and drank a few times since (though not as much as its brood-mates).

It has passed poop many times since, but each time it chirps loudly while doing it. I arrive to find fresh poop near it each time.

There is no sign of blood anywhere.

They have 22% chick starter, water, and some grit from the feedstore sprinkled around the papertowel.
 
pasty butt is a symptom of constipation. Molasses water helps. As I learned it you want to mix it so it takes on the coloring of weak tea. It doesn't seem to cause any problems for chicks that don't have problems and it does seem to help those that do. Plus the sugar from the molasses is good for extra energy those first few days!
 
But they poop every 1/2 hour or more.
hu.gif


would that be considered constipated?

I just added ACV to the water, and EVOO'ed their bums, and now I MUST SLEEP!

This is like when my littles were born....
th.gif
 
Last edited:
Maybe they are getting past the pasty butt stage. I hope you keep seeing improvement in them. The molasses would help soften the stool though too so if they are having pain when passing poops it might be a good thing to give them.

Sleep tight!
 
my hens did it too ( I remember my DH trying to be funny and said "yep they are women..cant even poop without complaining about it")

he got the stink eye for a few days for that one
smack.gif
 
What is your brooder temp? I am reading (and finding out from experience) that pasty butt is also related to brooder temperature issues. A brooder that gets too warm - - or too cold - - can contribute to this. You might want to check that. I imagine shipping (and the inherent temperature problems from this) can cause pasty butt, too, so it may take a couple of days for them to settle down.

Good luck!

[BTW, you don't want to pick the dried poo off! You can actually injure a chick doing this. I gently hold their little bums under a stream of gently running warm water in the bathroom sink and GENTLY wipe with a wet paper towel or old rag until the dried stuff softens enough to fall off. I then dry the chick off and return to the brooder to warm up.]
 
Last edited:

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom