The "Pasty Butt" syndrome. How do you deal w/ it?

[deebs]

Hello Everyone,

I am a new owner of 26 baby chicks (10 Delawares, 15 New Hampshire Reds, and one 'free exotic chick' that is brown with white spots). Right now they are in their brooder, and everything seems to be going fine except for a few cases of 'Pasty Butt'. A few days after they arrived I noticed three or four of them had some poop accumulating on their tails. I read up on it and it seemed like "Pasty Butt" but I couldn't be sure if their cloaca was actually blocked. I took those chicks out and bathed them in warm water, loosening up the poop and washing their rears. It seemed to really traumatize them, though! They were falling over for a while, real sleepy, etc. A few days later they seem fine (although some of the fluff near their butts washed off?).

I noticed that a few of the other chicks (all Delawares) have it. They seem energetic, healthy, etc. Is this worth taking them out, washing them, lubing them up etc. each time or should I take a more laid approach. Like I said I am not sure if the Cloaca is blocked or if these are just birds with some crap stuck to their butts.

I am feeding them medicated chick starter, and have been adding a vitamin/electrolyte mix to their water. They are now a week old, and a lot of them have their wing feathers in and some of the tails. Any advice you could give me would be a great help. I know people say that you lose a few during the brooding process, but I would hate to lose some because of something I did or didn't do!

 

[timdog]

I had a couple of chicks that had some pasty butt...and we just pulled it off it looked to be blocking. In all actuality, I don't think it was pasty butt, since pasty butt when the birds sit in the poop and it forms a crust (often from shipping). I think it is just that the baby chicks poo doesn't weigh enough to get off the butt...so the next along the line would clear it out. Fortunately, they outgrow it pretty quickly.
I would just keep an eye on them and if it looks as though they are bothered or in distress, then pull it off.
Tim

 

[Fred's Hens]

There's not a lot of lock sure answers. I'd not bother with anything but pure water, now that they are older, but that's me. If your chick starter is name brand, I doubt that is an issue either. Stay with it. Out of a brooding batch of 25, there's always one or two with it. I just hold them under warm running water, not too hot and too cold. Let the poop soften a bit, and try to gently crumble/crush it off, rather than pulling it off. Seems to spare the feathers.

Oh yes, they are drama queens, but they get over it and they're fine. If it is any consolation, this scourge passes. I've not lost a chick out of 100's in the past many years. You won't either, I'd bet. Stay with it.

 

[gryeyes]

Now that I am hatching chicks, I have noticed a couple of things: incubator hatched chicks carried from the 'bator to a waiting brooder just don't get pasty butt, AND they are much less noisy chicks. No stress in their little lives. My only experiences with chicks has been buying them at a feed store (some got pasty butt), incubator babies (no pasty butt), and broody raised (obviously no pasty butt). Never got any chicks shipped through the mail.

In any case, those that developed it didn't need butt checks after they were about 2 weeks old.

For the OP, I would simply keep an eye on the chicks, wipe or pick the poop off their butts from now on because you catch it within an hour or two - it's probably just sitting below or at the vent and not really blocking it BUT it can build up and do so - and if you're using sugar water, stop that and change to plain water. Also, maybe raise your heat lamp a tad, or provide a cooler end of the brooder. Too warm a brooder contributes to the problem, IMNSHO.

It will get better.

 

[MeerKat]

We had 2 pasty buts out of 22.We just gently wiped their butts with warm water,then dried it with blow dryer on low setting for air and heat to keep the others from pecking at it.Before we dried them they pecked at it when it was wet.

They were fine afterwards.We are new with chics.Becuae we never keep them long enough to get informed about them.Now we hope we can keep them this time.

 

[franko]

Under warm water, peel it off, then the blow dryer.

 

[deebs]

Thanks, everyone!
Like some of you said, I think the problem was largely due to stress from shipping. I decided to let it go for a few days and the problem largely took care of itself. The new batch of chicks is doing very well and growing like weeds! They are only a little over one week old and have their wings and tails feathered. This is my first batch so I may be going 'by the book' (the extent of my experience with poultry) a little too much. Thanks again for the advice, it was very helpful!

 

[suzeqf]

if it's a major case i run there hiney under warm water and pat them dry and dry them under their brooder lamp and if it's not i use a sensitive skin baby wipe and i found using a dab of handsanitizer works pretty good at clearing it up(got a 2 week old banty with hiney issues at the moment) and then i add a dab of vasoline to keep things from sticking and them getting pastied back up and i give them sugar water for the first few days and double the grit i give them in their food

 

[Pele]

Aw, it sounds like you're doing great for a first time chick mommy. Unfortunately pasty butt is cumulative, so even if it's not blocking anything now, it will within a matter of hours. I draw a nice warm bath for my chicks, and they dont mind a soak much at all. A couple of dabs with a towell to clear everything, then their butt-fluff gets a quick trim with scissors. It works like a charm, and doesnt hurt them like just pulling the stuff off (ouchies, that's like pulling your hair out to get gum free). Also, you don't have to worry about goop.

I always feel a bit silly trimming chick hair, but anything to make them healthy and happy

 

[homesteadmomma]

Quote:
I do the same thing. With 26 new chicks, I couldn't be sure that I had checked each and every one of them at every check. So if I found pasty butt or any poo stuck, I just trimmed them and marked them with washable blue marker on their white spots on the tops of their heads. That way they are the first ones to check when I do peek in on them. So far only two with stuck poo, and after the trim all are looking good.