poopy bum chicks

It's a thing.  Chickens are um... well, they poop.  And baby chicks with fluffy butts sometimes don't poop far enough.  It gets stuck on the fluff and then the next one gets stuck on that until the chick has a very sad end.  

Cleaning the babies' bums is one of the worst parts of being a chicken mum.

I found a few things that influence how poopy the bums get.  If they get a chill, there seems to be more poopy bums.  Hatchery chicks aren't heated when they travel in the mail so they tend to be more likely to get a poopy bum.  Breed is also a factor.  Fat fluffy heritage breeds have more trouble than some of the more popular egg layers.  

I would love to hear your tricks for cleaning these dirty bums.  

My system right now is awkward.  Very hot water in a bucket (not so high if the chick jumps out of my hand it will drown).  A tiny bit of gentle soap to the water.  Then hold the chick gently and splash the bum until the poo loosens.  If the water is hot enough, they don't seem to mind, but after about four chicks, I have to change the water to get it hot again.  There's got to be a better way.  

The dreaded pasty butt!

I have only had to treat it a couple times but I did a very similar system as you. I used warm water but I let them soak their little bums with my hand keeping them afloat. After some time, I utilize a q-tip to use the tiniest amount of prodding to see if the buildup is soft enough. It either tends to still be obviously solid or in my experience slide off effortlessly.

The keeping the water warm is tricky, I only had to deal with one instance at a time. I'm not sure how to do it in batch form!

YES! Pasty butt is one of the weirdest, most understandable things I have ever had to deal with, as regards tiny fluffy chicks.
I use a thin stream of warm water and hold the chick under so the poop gets washed away. I usually only have one chick that develops it, so I don't have much fuss, and it only takes a couple of treatments to make sure.

Per some advice I got from somewhere, I apply a small amount of petroleum jelly with a cotton swab or finger tip to the un-poopied area - this is supposed to help prevent further trouble, help the chick in case of irritation, and keep other chicks from poking at any possible redness. I do it because  - why not? - and it doesn't seem to hurt anything.

Yeah, probably wasteful of water, compared to y'all with the small containers. I'll consider changing up for my next Problem Chick.

I have only had to deal with it once. And it was when things took a cold turn unexpectedly and my heat lamp couldn't keep up in the garage. People tell me the stress changes the kind of poop, making it much easier to get "poopy bum".

I did similar to what Kristine did. My utility sink in the laundry room had a button to push to make it a sprayer like some people have in the shower. Then I put some paper towels in front of the kick space heater (blows hot air to heat the kitchen). I got the water warm while the chicks waited in a cardboard box (I had like 9 of them with it). Then I would gently spray till it loosened and came off. Take that chick and put them on the paper towels and had my kids make a half circle and not let the chicks wander too far. Repeat. I made the chicks stay in front of the heater until they were fluffy and dry and then took them back to the brooder. Some people use a hair dryer to dry them off, but we didn't have a working one.

Kristine Keeney wrote:Per some advice I got from somewhere, I apply a small amount of petroleum jelly with a cotton swab or finger tip to the un-poopied area - this is supposed to help prevent further trouble, help the chick in case of irritation, and keep other chicks from poking at any possible redness. I do it because  - why not? - and it doesn't seem to hurt anything.

I bet coconut oil would work pretty well for that as well. We use that on the butts of newborns to help keep their meconium from sticking. Meconium is the weird, green, very sticky kind of poop that slowly builds up in the baby in the womb. If the chicken poop gets stickier, a soft oil would help the poop slip off.

Jeremy VanGelder wrote:I bet coconut oil would work pretty well for that as well. We use that on the butts of newborns to help keep their meconium from sticking. Meconium is the weird, green, very sticky kind of poop that slowly builds up in the baby in the womb. If the chicken poop gets stickier, a soft oil would help the poop slip off.

That's what poopy-butt does to chicks - you get buildup because of the change in poop consistency sticking to the fluff around the chick's rear.
If it works for some babies, it would probably work well for others.

I have some coconut oil, I'll try that for my next problem chick. It's a great alternative!

I work at a co-op, so I deal with this on a regular basis.  What I'm about to say is my opinion. I'm not an expert, I don't have a degree, haven't conducted any research.  They use wood pellets as the bedding for the chicks.  The pellets crumble apart with time. It looks like there food and they eat it.  Of course they drink water. Essentially they are making particleboard. Of course they are going to have trouble eliminating it.  
I'm not saying this is the only cause. I've heard of they aren't drinking enough water that can cause pasty butt.
I prefer to use pine shavings. Yes they still try to eat it, but it's bigger, and usually spit it out.  I have brought chicks home, and had to deal with pasty butt for a couple of days, but then it stops. I have never had a chick develope it.  (Now that I have said this, my next batch will probably have it.)  I truly believe the bedding has a lot to do with causing pasty butt.
I use the running water method.  Warm so I don't chill the chick. I carefully work the poop off the rear. Once it's clean I use a paper towel to dry and fluff the down up.  Because of the number of chicks we have, care and patience is very important. If there's blood, that chick will probably not make it. Even baby chicks are vicious if blood is involved.  We do have that stuff that covers the wound, and blood, but an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Jen Fulkerson wrote:Essentially they are making particleboard. Of course they are going to have trouble eliminating it.  
I truly believe the bedding has a lot to do with causing pasty butt.

Counter-anecdote - I use straw for my chicks, and have still had poopy butts. It usually only happens during their first few days.

I also rinse and gently remove, pat dry, and they’re fine after.