Am I supposed to be giving them baths?

If they get really muddy you can wipe them off. I have given one silkie a bath, other than that the only baths my chickens get are the dust baths they give themselves.

 

Its best if you can give them access to sand/dust/dirt/clay They will roll around in it and get themselves clean.

 

LOL I just had to respond! I gave 7 chickens their first baths yesterday. I have heard of some here who have a problem with infestation with mites and lice and I haven't seen any but I don't want too either. Dust baths are good especially with Diamatatius Earth (DT) but those that had a problem said they had been doing that. So I figured once in a while I would give mine a bath with a mild flea and tick shampoo (dogs) I don't think it would hurt as long as you don't over do it. It wasn't nearly as difficult as giving cats a bath. some of mine held very still and just let me shampoo them others were a little anxious and flapped around if I didn't hold on tight. They all look so clean, and It was so hot her yesterday I'm sure they were better off. Just wish I had taken pictures!!

 

IMO, chickens don't need baths and with young chicks there is the danger of them getting chilled. Chilled chicks can die quickly.

A dustbath, man-made or natural, is all a chicken needs.

 

I've never given a chicken a bath, but I have washed off pasty butts before. The only reason I can see a chicken needing a real bath would be possibly if it was being prepared for showing.

 

I bathe the white show birds and silkies other than that they are just fine. the ducks beg for showers from the hose

 

Heavens, no, there's no need to bathe a flock chicken unless it's gotten into something filthy and/or oily! Shipped chicks occasionally need butt washing for poopy butt issues, and I guess show birds need to be bathed. But other than those situations, chickens do a fine job of keeping themselves clean by preening and dust-bathing.

 

it's not something you need to do regularly like with a dog. chickens do a good job of keeping themselves clean (most of the time ) i only give my birds baths before shows, occasionally after shows, if they're big ones just in case i brought home mites, and once, only once i did all of them when one rooster contracted CRD and after we put him down, we bleached the barn and chicken supplies and bathed every chicken to keep things clean, luckily all the others are very healthy now, thank goodness i use either hand soap or i've found flea and tick dog or cat soap works wonders on parisite infestations as well as gets thier feathers clean and shiny. the one issue i've had is that one of my birds was actually allergic to it and her skin got really dry and started peeling! of course it was right before a big show it didn't seem to hurt her otherwise, though, and she was the only one who reacted to it. in short, if you don't plan to show your birds, they can really keep clean pretty much on thier own, so baths aren't really that importent. not to mention the fact that most chickens HATE HATE HATE them!