Wow - googling the words chick and pasty butt

[bobbieschicks]

can certainly get some rather interesting Google choices

I am certainly worried about pasty butt on my newborn chicks - I tried searching in the search engine for this but all I see are "check for pasty butt" responses and no actual how to videos or pictures or more complete descriptions on methods of doing this. Maybe it isn't complex and I'm making it harder then I need to. But I am not sure how to hold my little babies so that I don't hurt them while I check so I'm not sure how good a check I'm doing. My fear is losing one like we did with our first hatch on day 3 - I know that some will die over the course of owning chicks - I just want to do my best not to let that happen.

So I am making sure I can see what I think is their vent which I guess is their "poop hole" at the top back of the chick's rear. And cleaning off with a wet papertowel anything hanging down. So far only one chick had poop hanging down and she hasn't had it since the first day. Does anyone have a video link? I really need to see how to do it and can anyone tell me the best way to hold a small chick so I don't hurt it. Also how often and for how long should I check for pasty butt? After what age am I in the clear?

Thanks!
Bobbie

 

[OvertheHenHouse]

Hi, Bobbie,
The best way to hold a chick is to put your hand over its back with your index finger on one side of its neck and your middle finger on the other. Don't squeeze, hold gently but firmly.
If your chick has a pasty butt, the best thing to do is get a warm damp cloth, moisten the poo and then carefully remove it. Don't pull!!! It can damage the delicate skin. If the pasty poo is stubborn, you might have to hold the chick's butt in warm water to really loosen it up. And if it's really stuck, I use a tooth pick moistened in warm water to loosen the poo away from the down. You can actually hold the chick on its back to do the cleaning - at least, I do and it doesn't seem to freak them out. They usually are in the clear for pasty butt after about a week. And a lot of chicks don't get pasty butt - I had 3 out of 13 get pasty butt, but of those, only one got it repeatedly during the first week. After that, it resolved. The other two only had it once.
Good luck!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

What you are looking for is poo buildup on their rear ends. They only have one hole- the vent.

In pasty butt, the poo buildup actually clogs things so that the poo can no longer come out and they will die if it is not removed. You must do it daily if seen.

I get some warm water running, test it on my wrist so it is just the right temperature, and then hold the chick so his backside is under the running water (gently running).

I wait until it is softened, and remove with my fingers (if queasy wear gloves). You don't want to cause bleeding. Then I dry off the backside of the chick and put on Rooster Booster Pick no more lotion to prevent pecking by the other chicks, and put the chick back under the lights.

This needs to be repeated usually. Make sure their temperatures are ok and that everyone has enough feeders and waterers for the number of chicks you have.
other chick care tips:
http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/chickcare.html

 

[bobbieschicks]

So I really only have to clean off their butts if I see poo stuck to it - I don't have to wet down their feathers so I can see their vent clearly? Okay - that will make it a little easier. Those silkies are really hard to see their vents. But I know each of my chicks can poop b/c today when washed off their butt area with a wet cotton ball they all pooped afterwards.

Thanks for the help and the instructions on how to hold the chicks - I will try that next time as this time I basically just wrangled the upside down in my palm and checked them upside down. Which is hard to do considering my bifocals kept going in and out of focus.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote:
Yes, you will see the poo there if it builds up. Enjoy your chicks b/c they grow up so fast!!

 

[LiLRedCV]

When I got spring chicks 2011 out of the 25 chicks we purchased, I had nine of them end up with pasty butt. Since I'd never dealt with it before I wasn't sure what to do, so I Googled it too. Found BYC. At any rate, I am against medicating my birds for personal reasons, so was looking for a more natural way to deal with it and prevent it from happening again....

Found we had to wash the butts to ensure the vents remained free of debris. Since we had some build up before I found our answers and it was really caked on, we ended up having to soak their little tushes in warm water more than once to loosen up the debris. (soak, clean off debris, soak some more, clean off more debris...) Since it was chilly even in the house this past spring, I didn't want to put them back in their brooder damp, so we ended up using a blow dryer set on a low heat setting to dry them off. (Really, the visual on that's just too funny!!)

Anyway, to prevent it from happening again, I added organic unpasteurized Apple Cider Vinegar to their water - at least 1 Tbsp to every gallon. It DOES make a difference! I found that when I failed to add the ACV to the water, the pasty butt came back in the same exact nine chicks even tho' they all had access to plenty of food and water! Added the ACV, the pasty butt never made another appearance.

 

[Melissa Rose]

Hi

I have noticed that only the chicks that I had shipped got the pasty butte. Not all only a couple but the chicks I hatched have not - not even one. Is this common?

 

[Melissa Rose]

Also Be careful of what you Google

I googled " Stick your finger in my Belly Button and call it Cherry Pie" - words to a blue grass country song annnnnnnd

I was trying to find out who the musician was who wrote the song

Talk about scarrrrrry

 

[bobbieschicks]

 

[LiLRedCV]

Here are a couple of pics of pasty butt: