Vent Problem- Please Help!

[emscheid]

This is a 4 week old Barred Rock. It has always seemed healthy- eating, drinking, and very active...behaving just like the others. However, since the day we got it (a few days old), it has ALWAYS had pasty butt! I have to give it baths on a regular basis or it gets big chunks of poop stuck to it. I didn't think it was normal for it to continue on this long! Here is a picture of its vent. It has always looked like this- does this look abnormal to you? If so, what can we do to help it? Thanks!

 

[FireGurl26]

Kinda looks good that it's not all red and swollen. I had a similar issue with one of my 3 wk old chicks..now 4wks old. She was always straining and making a weird cheep noise and could only assume it was painful for her. She had pasty butt a few times and i always put her behind under warm water wiped softly with towel, then dried and blowed dried her behind off with warm low air setting. She would always have very large bowel movements and often. What i found helped mine was giving Probiotic (Sav-A-Chic) in the chics water for about 5 days. I made a gallon of it in an empty washed out milk gallon and changed their water everyday. Mine was a quart waterer. I think the gallon is only supposed to be good for 48 hrs though. So, anyways...I also put in a clob of sand/gravel (made sure they were small pebbles) and it seemed to help as well. Mine were only eating chic crumbles so there was no need for grit or gravel...but i figured it couldn't hurt...I just didn't leave it in the brooder all day as i was unsure if they might eat too much of the gravel/grit. I also had "Bag balm" on hand and used that with a Qtip to help lubricate her little behind. I am by no means an expert...as I am new to having baby chicks...but this is what helped my girl. Good luck to you.

 

[Jensownzoo]

For your brooder, it is always better to err on the side of slightly too cold than slightly too hot. They'll cuddle to share body heat if they need to, but overheating is one of the most common causes of PB.

If you aren't already doing so, start them on daily probiotics like FireGurl26 suggested. The microflora of the gut play a very important part in digestion and disease prevention. Yogurt doesn't have a high enough concentration of good bacteria, so go with a commercial product like ProBios powder (can add to water or feed) that is more concentrated. Alternatively, you can ferment their feed (a search on this site will bring up the relavant thread on how to do).

Feeding chick-sized grit will also allow you to introduce a few key foods that may help. Freshly minced garlic has antimicrobial properties in the crop, but more importantly it contains compounds that function as a prebiotic in the intestines, which will help your probiotic work better. Other foods containing good amounts of inulin are chicory and sunchokes...you can do a search for more options. Feeding capsaicin in the form of hot peppers (fresh or dried) has been found to stimulate the immune system of the gut (oregano and cinnamon as well, but to lesser extents), so would also be a good addition.

 

[FireGurl26]

For your brooder, it is always better to err on the side of slightly too cold than slightly too hot. They'll cuddle to share body heat if they need to, but overheating is one of the most common causes of PB.

If you aren't already doing so, start them on daily probiotics like FireGurl26 suggested. The microflora of the gut play a very important part in digestion and disease prevention. Yogurt doesn't have a high enough concentration of good bacteria, so go with a commercial product like ProBios powder (can add to water or feed) that is more concentrated. Alternatively, you can ferment their feed (a search on this site will bring up the relavant thread on how to do).

Feeding chick-sized grit will also allow you to introduce a few key foods that may help. Freshly minced garlic has antimicrobial properties in the crop, but more importantly it contains compounds that function as a prebiotic in the intestines, which will help your probiotic work better. Other foods containing good amounts of inulin are chicory and sunchokes...you can do a search for more options. Feeding capsaicin in the form of hot peppers (fresh or dried) has been found to stimulate the immune system of the gut (oregano and cinnamon as well, but to lesser extents), so would also be a good addition.

I also agree with Jensownzoo. I noticed my chicks getting pasty butt more frequent when it was hot. I started them at 95 when I first got em. Turned down 5 degrees each week. I noticed that they needed the temp. turned down a bit sooner than a full week because they started moving away more from the heater. Your temp. may be too warm in the brooder like Jensownzoo stated. The timing is never an exact science. I go by what the chicks display and how moreso than any textbooks suggest.

 

[azjustin]

If I can add something else:

Whenever I clean a PB, I always trim the fluff above and below the vent since that's what the poop is sticking to. A good dab with triple antibiotic paste, and that's usually about it for PB on that chick.

I have no mileage on this, so maybe others can share their opinions also as I am curious to see what, if any, longer term effects it will have.

For us, too hot of a brooder is almost always the problem. The chicks have plenty of room to cool off but just don't sometimes, especially when the temp swings 30 degrees in a day and they're sleeping for over half of it.

 

[FireGurl26]

If I can add something else:

Whenever I clean a PB, I always trim the fluff above and below the vent since that's what the poop is sticking to. A good dab with triple antibiotic paste, and that's usually about it for PB on that chick.

I have no mileage on this, so maybe others can share their opinions also as I am curious to see what, if any, longer term effects it will have.

For us, too hot of a brooder is almost always the problem. The chicks have plenty of room to cool off but just don't sometimes, especially when the temp swings 30 degrees in a day and they're sleeping for over half of it.

I am new to chicks but since i have had mine...I don't believe it is a very good idea to trim any fluff or feathers around their vent. It is there to protect their little behinds. I may be wrong on this, but I thought you have to be very careful to not rub any fluff off when you remove the poop from their behinds. Hopefully someone with more experience can answer that. I don't know what type of brooder you have...maybe raise the heat lamp up higher and invest a thermometer if you don't have one. Sounds like it is way too hot in there if they are sleeping all the time. Mine were always active. Moving away from the heater to get food and water...but then again i only have 6 chicks and I use a brooder box from GQF. It was a lil pricey but I have issues worrying about a fire hazard (Being a firefighter and EMT) with a heat lamp and it being in our garage not our home, where I can't constantly watch it in case something happens. I am glad I invested in the brooder box...wafer thermostat ...keeps temp. decently accurate. Hopefully someone else will comment on this..but to me it sounds like your chicks are too hot. Keep an eye on if they are panting too. You will be amazed how less of Pasty butt you will get when the temp. is lower for them.

 

[Jensownzoo]

I am new to chicks but since i have had mine...I don't believe it is a very good idea to trim any fluff or feathers around their vent. It is there to protect their little behinds. I may be wrong on this, but I thought you have to be very careful to not rub any fluff off when you remove the poop from their behinds. Hopefully someone with more experience can answer that.

Nah, I'm a mean chickie mama--I peel off the dried poo with the stuck on underlying down, so they have bald butts. I am only careful not to tear the skin. I squirt a bit of vetericyn on the area to disinfect. The purpose of the down is to keep in body heat but since they're in a controlled situation in the brooder, it's a non-issue. They'll grow it back eventually.

 

[FireGurl26]

Nah, I'm a mean chickie mama--I peel off the dried poo with the stuck on underlying down, so they have bald butts. I am only careful not to tear the skin. I squirt a bit of vetericyn on the area to disinfect. The purpose of the down is to keep in body heat but since they're in a controlled situation in the brooder, it's a non-issue. They'll grow it back eventually.

lol on the mean chickie mama. Bald butts..omg...just picturing it in my head lol. Good to know about the puff feathers. Nothing says lovin like bald butts.