Is it ok to give a chicken a bath? A few of my chicks are dirty because a fellow hen must have pooped on it when they were roosting. I decided to give them a bath via a light misting with the hose. I also tried to scrub their feathers a bit. They did not like this and looked miserable for the day. I did this because regular dirt baths and preening didn't clean them up on their own. Is their any risk to the chicken to have done this? Should I just have let them be dirty? How else do you clean up a bird?
Ya you can give them a bath, just be careful not to get water and soap near their face. You can also blow dry them unless you don't mind them air drying.
I've done it twice now to two chickens. They both had dried runny poop. They must of been sitting under the roost when it happened. I use dawn dish soap to wash the chicks, it works best to get the poop out. I make sure I rinse them completely and I will blow dry on a low setting. I wash them in the kitchen sink in warm water. They don't seem to mind after a few minutes. I was surprised how well they tolerated the blow dryer too! The chickens look fabulous after a bath!
I use the kitchen sink when I bathe my chickens. I run it a little more than halfway full with warm water, then gently set the chicken down in the water (cupping the chest). As soon as you have her in the water, put your other hand on the shoulder area and pet/reassure her. Many birds will react for the first few seconds, but then they generally calm right down as you're talking to them and stroking them (I keep one hand on the chest the whole time). I just use a gentle dishwashing liquid and lightly rinse off with the sprayer when done. I have a towel ready on the counter, and set the chicken on that when done, towel off as good as possible (which is mostly blotting) and then set outside in this weather. When the weather is cool, you'd need to let them dry off in the house - blowdryers make it quicker. I can stand a bit of a messy butt (on my birds, not on myself :), but once it starts clumping back there it's bathtime at my house.
