Stubborn Pasty Butt

[newchickychick]

Hello all! We ordered 20 chicks last week, and one arrived weak/unhealthy. We unfortunately lost that one a few days ago, but all 19 others have been healthy as horses. The only problem is a few of them today have had REALLY stubborn pasty butt. Normally, I've had no issue getting them cleaned up. I figure I must have missed one in my checks because, though the vent is clear, there's still a mess stuck to it. I'm going to give it the tiniest little warm bath to hopefully get everything loose enough to wipe off easier so I'm not wiping relentlessly and irritating its skin. But, here's my question; they're technically a week old today. Is it something that I am not doing properly if they're still getting pasty butt at this point? If so, what can I do better to prevent this? Yesterday was a little stressful for them all. ( We ourselves have no other chickens so since they arrived unvaccinated, we FINALLY got our shipment of syringes in yesterday and were able to vaccinate them for Marek's. I know that it may not do anything if they were exposed while at the hatchery, but we felt we'd be better off safe than sorry. ) So I'm wondering if maybe it was just from yesterday being a bit more stressful, or if there's any other factors at play.

- We got them Wednesday but as they're technically a week old today: Should the brooder be dropped already to 80? It's been at 95. I believe I've read too-hot brooders can worsen pasty butt.
- All of the chicks seem to be eating and drinking perfectly normally. They all play incredibly well too and sleep very hard. We've got 3 different little perches and a mirror with bells they like to look in/peck at, so it's been easy to keep an eye on them and make sure every single one has been active/acting normally.
- Will some electrolytes in their water help? Or could it potentially make things worse?
- And of course, are there any other factors that I could be missing to help them? For the most part, we've only had a couple non-bad pasty butts a day. But today, two of the chicks had pasty butts that were just a little more stubborn than normal to get off. Fluke? It happens? Or is there something I can be doing to be a better chick parent?

Thanks so much in advance for the advice!

 

[HoneyBeeHomestead]

Hi! Unfortunately pasty butt is very common with shipped chicks. If you add some baby oil or vaseline on their butts/vent after cleaning that can help prevent more from getting stuck. As for the temperature, usually people recommend dropping it by 5 degrees per week. I typically follow that loosely, as I keep my chicks outside and the temperature changes a lot throughout the day. I ensure they have a large enough area to go to the spot that is the temperature they prefer/need. A brooder that is too hot could stress them out and be a cause of pasty butt.
Electrolytes and probiotics would help too! Pasty butt is very common and it sounds like you're doing a great job!

 

[newchickychick]

Thanks so much! It really hasn't been too bad at all and easy to manage, but today stressed me out with it being so thick on there. Thankfully the vents themselves were easy to clear but the build-up was so thick on the underside beneath that I was worried it was something I was doing so wrong. I'll try some electrolytes in their water tomorrow! They're all settled in for the evening so I won't wake them up so they can (hopefully) get some good sleep in too. They sure are active for being so small. Learning every day they're just energizer bunnies in disguise. So far they haven't been too far in or too far out of the heat lamp. They all roam the entire brooder pretty freely so I haven't worried too much on temperature yet, but I'll still keep a very close eye on it. I'll definitely drop it five degrees tomorrow too since it seems to be around time for it. A few of them are already starting to have a few baby fluff feathers loose.
I'll try the vaseline tomorrow too!

 

[nuthatched]

It's too hot, drop the heat so it's 90 in the warmest spot, under 80 in the cooler area.
Also, a wet mash out of the feed helps.

 

[newchickychick]

Thank you! I'll drop it. Really appreciate the advice! I was so worried about them being too cold when they first got here (joys of first time chick parent - everything is scary!) but fingers crossed the dropped temperature will help out a bunch too.