Portage River Farm

You had to know that sooner or later we would get down to the more earthy aspects of farming. Well, today's topic will certainly take us there. The topic is a little problem that I am having with our newly hatched chicks called "pasting".

This problem is apparently common during the first few weeks of life for chickens. The problem is that their poop sticks in their feathers around their "vents" and begins to build up. Unless addressed it eventually builds up into a little mass that dries like concrete and seals off their vents so they can no longer use the bathroom at all. Left in that constipated state, they stop eating and drinking and will soon die.

To address the problem, I am having to wipe their little butts with a wet paper towel. They enjoy it even less than I do and squawk loudly until I finish and put them down. Because the material is so hard it often takes way more time than either of us would like but unless I do it, we will lose some of the chicks.

This problem is supposed to go away once they begin feathering out in the next few weeks. I certainly hope so! This is like having to change a bunch of tiny little baby diapers each day.

I'll spare you the pictures this time!