How to get the ball of stuck poop off my hen's fluffy butt

[Yay Chicks!]

One of my EEs has a ball of hard stuck poop attached to the down under her vent. It is not blocking her vent. She lays fine, although the eggs sometimes have little skid marks

To tell you the truth, it's been there for quite some time and I've been avoiding doing anything about it as I am assuming I will have to give her a full on bath with lots of soaking time. So...is there an easier way to get this off without causing injury? It is stuck fast, and close to the skin rather than dangling...

Thanks.

 

[scratch'n'peck]

I was going to say trim her feathers with some scissors until I read that is was really close to the skin. If she doesn't mind being held for an extended period of time you might be able to hold a wet rag or paper towel on her fluffy butt to soften the dried poop. I guess it would be worth a try before dunking her in water.

 

[4-H chicken mom]

I would just put her in some warm water to soak. It might come off easier than you think. Good luck,

 

[Yay Chicks!]

scratch'n'peck :

I was going to say trim her feathers with some scissors until I read that is was really close to the skin. If she doesn't mind being held for an extended period of time you might be able to hold a wet rag or paper towel on her fluffy butt to soften the dried poop. I guess it would be worth a try before dunking her in water.

Yeh, thanks, that's probably my next move, although she's not the cuddly type. I wonder if it is dry enough if I could bust it up with...pliers (?) or something...​

 

[Cebarmlds]

just a few inches of warm water with some mild soap or baby shampoo in a dishpan type thing so she doesn't have to get totally wet, just her underside. wet a rag and help loosen the stuck poo that way. if you leave it there it will attract bugs like flies that will lay eggs and then it's a gross maggot mess!

 

[Yay Chicks!]

And, I gave her lower half a bath yesterday. She was not impressed. It took quite some time to get it all off and you know how pleasant the smell when poop hits water

But now she has a clean white fluffy butt again...for the moment.

Thanks for your encouragement!

(Edited for dang typos....again)

 

[laturcotte1]

My suggestion would have been squirt with baby oil then remove. Comes off pretty easily.

 

[al6517]

Once my birds get to a certain size hen's and roosters alike I pluck quite a few feathers from their rear ends, it keeps them clean, aid's in cleaner laid eggs, helps during vent inspections and helps fasilitate more fertile breeding.

 

[PetRock]

I have a few big fluffy butts in my flock and they seem to acumulate dried poop on their backsides. I have my 10 year old DD hold them with a towel on a washable lawn chair. Then I take warm water, a dash of mild dish soap, a sponge, and a toilet brush to clean their behinds. It takes a while with some of them and it is not a fun job. Once they are fairly clean, I trim their feathers with sharp scissors. That reminds me, I have a few butts to clean. Sigh...

 

[Yay Chicks!]

Well, it sounds like I should count myself lucky that in a year and a half I've only had to do this the one time. I didn't even have to do it when they were babies!