Pasty butt… swelling?

[murphrandir]

Hello, we purchased some chicks from a hatchery last Monday. I have noticed in the last couple days that a couple of them have been dealing with pasty butt. There are only two that I have any worries about, and one of them a little more than the others. I’ve been soaking her bum and removing the stuck on poo, but I’ve noticed yesterday and today that it seems pretty swollen. Is this to be expected when manually removing it? I hope it’s not a prolapse, but I don’t want to chance her dying from pasty butt.

 

[azygous]

Chick tissue is so fragile, it can swell when it needs to be repeatedly cleaned. But there could be some prolapse, too. To treat that, give the little one tiny bits of chilled coconut oil directly into the beak. This will soften any poop caused by poop backing up. This is a necessary precaution as a chick can die if it can't get all the poop out.

You may safely use cortisone cream on the vent to reduce swelling and pain.

 

[murphrandir]

Chick tissue is so fragile, it can swell when it needs to be repeatedly cleaned. But there could be some prolapse, too. To treat that, give the little one tiny bits of chilled coconut oil directly into the beak. This will soften any poop caused by poop backing up. This is a necessary precaution as a chick can die if it can't get all the poop out.

You may safely use cortisone cream on the vent to reduce swelling and pain.

I tried the coconut oil, she got just a tiny bit but wasn’t really having it. I’ve soaked some chick starter to hopefully try and soften things up. I put the cortisone on as well. Assuming she gets regular, will the prolapse (if any) go away on its own?

 

[azygous]

Once she gets unclogged, the prolapse will retract on its own. Good move putting the coconut oil on the food. That should do the trick. Keep up with the oil until you see the prolapse retract back to normal. She can't get too much oil.

 

[GalaxyChicken]

I have a problem kinda like this with my 4 day old chick. The swelling is moderate and I have been being more gentle when cleaning her vent, should I also give her coconut oil even though that seems to be working?

 

[Atchurch]

I had about half of my hatchlings with pasty butt so I was constantly cleaning vents. I found that if I warmed the water up and let it flow a little more than a drizzle, gently sort of just tapped on the vent and barely easing the poop off, it was much easier on me and the babies. Dried them off with a soft towel and got them back under the brooder plate. I never had anybody swell up.

 

[azygous]

I have a problem kinda like this with my 4 day old chick. The swelling is moderate and I have been being more gentle when cleaning her vent, should I also give her coconut oil even though that seems to be working?

If the vent hasn't prolapsed, no need for coconut oil at this time. But if the chick squats and strains to poop, and sets up a loud chirping while trying to poop, that would mean it's constipated and should have the coconut oil.

Getting liquid oil into a chick is risky to the airway. That's why we chill it to a hard state to push the pieces safely into the little beak.

 

[Rosemarys Chickens]

Once she gets unclogged, the prolapse will retract on its own. Good move putting the coconut oil on the food. That should do the trick. Keep up with the oil until you see the prolapse retract back to normal. She can't get too much oil.

Hi, I have a chick that had some bad pasty butt and I believe now has a prolapse that I cannot get to stay in, so I’ve been looking through forums to figure out what to do as I’m getting kind of desperate and the chick also refuses to be isolated away from the rest of the flock. I’ve tried the frozen coconut oil, but the chick just refuses to eat it. So, it is okay to melt it and mix it in with food? I’ve also seen that some people mix it in with water, would that be okay as well? Thank you!

 

[azygous]

You can mix the liquid oil with the crumbles, but be sure at least one teaspoon gets into the chick or it won't do much good.

You may use cortisone cream on the prolapse to help it shrink and hurt less.

 

[Rosemarys Chickens]

You can mix the liquid oil with the crumbles, but be sure at least one teaspoon gets into the chick or it won't do much good.

You may use cortisone cream on the prolapse to help it shrink and hurt less.

Ok, I will be sure to do that! Thank you for your response!