Can you cut feathers below the vent of a chicken?

[DebraMarvinchicks]

Some of my chickens feathers be low. The vent have got mud or poop stuck on them and I’m bathing them, but it looks like it would be easier to cut some of the feathers where they grow back. Is that OK to do?

 

[Debbie292d]

We have an old hen that constantly gets "poopy butt." It gets hard to get off just soaking her so we've cut it off every few months. Then we trim all around her vent and especially below it. That keeps her clean until those feathers grow out again.

 

[Eggcessive]

I do trim extra fluff that keep getting soiled. Just be careful to not trim too close if they are blood feathers. Those can bleed. Do you notice if any lower bellies appear enlarged? Diarrhea is sometimes the cause of messy vents. Each time they go, it clings on. Probiotics in the feed or diet may be helpful. Drinking a lot more water in hot weather can lead to runny poops as well. Have you wormed your chickens this summer?

 

[DebraMarvinchicks]

We have an old hen that constantly gets "poopy butt." It gets hard to get off just soaking her so we've cut it off every few months. Then we trim all around her vent and especially below it. That keeps her clean until those feathers grow out again.

Thank you very much!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Some of my chickens feathers be low. The vent have got mud or poop stuck on them and I’m bathing them, but it looks like it would be easier to cut some of the feathers where they grow back. Is that OK to do?

I have some birds that require a regular trimming or cleaning seasonally.

But in addition to what others have stated.. The first time I found nits on one of my birds I thought it was dried up poo or mud clumps.

Link for reference as to what they might look like for comparison purposes..

https://the-chicken-chick.com/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification/

 

[Debbie292d]

I do trim extra fluff that keep getting soiled. Just be careful to not trim too close if they are blood feathers. Those can bleed. Do you notice if any lower bellies appear enlarged? Diarrhea is sometimes the cause of messy vents. Each time they go, it clings on. Probiotics in the feed or diet may be helpful. Drinking a lot more water in hot weather can lead to runny poops as well. Have you wormed your chickens this summer?

My old hen that had a poopy butt her entire life had fermented grains every other day, thus, probiotics/prebiotics. I too promote probiotics to folks with poopy butt issues, but it didn't help her. She was the only one to have this out of dozens of silkies. She passed away last month at around 7 years old. She wasn't one of my own, and was part something else as she had the looks of a silkie but about twice as big as my silkies are/were. I guessed maybe part cochin. There were three of them like her, and the other two didn't get that. They passed before she did so if she had some medical issues, it didn't kill her.

In eight years of having chickens, I've never wormed them as I never saw the need. I would in a heartbeat if I ever thought they had them. They don't get lice or mites due to preventative measures (DE). I don't believe in the wive's tales of what keeps worms away so they don't get anything else but their feed (Kalmbach's layer crumbles mixed 50/50 with Kalmbach's Flock Maker) and the fermented grains. The rest of my flock of pure silkies, about 46, are healthy as horses. I am not sure what caused that one to be like that. I suppose I could have gotten a necropsy done, but since all these years she's the only one that ever had it, I didn't even think of it. It could have just been her anatomy was messed up.

 

[HowIsItDone]

Just be careful to not trim too close if they are blood feathers. Those can bleed.

Gulp.
Which ones are blood feathers?