Bathing hens

[BaronVonP]

Hi folks
I recently acquired an existing coop and four hens as I explained in another post.
One of my hens has now a very poopy butt, they regularly take dust baths but in her case apparently is not enough, so I decided to bathe her.
I plan to give her a bath with baby shampoo, dry her a bit with a towel and with a hair dryer on cool setting, then let her dry a bit more in a dog crate with some water and treats.

Now, for the questions..

My chickens are already used to me, will eat from my hands, follow me around and come when called (for treats, or if I need them to go back into their run during the day) and are very sweet, but if I try to touch them they usually dodge my hand and won't let me pick them up.
They're old hens and I've only had them for about a month, so I didn't push it too much because I wanted to gain their trust first, but now I need to catch at least the filthy one to bathe her.

Should I just catch her in the run? It's a small run and I could easily corner her.. should I let the others out first? (less panic and trauma for the others).
Or should I get into the coop at night, see if I can pick up the one I need and isolate her in the dog crate till the morning after? My coop is very small and I honestly don't know how easy it would be to catch the right one without causing mass panic.

I would like to add that when I changed their roosting bar with a wider one, I found a few mites hiding in one of the cracks, I've dusted the coop with food grade DE and ordered a permethrin based product to spray the coop for good measure, the hens seem to be ok but I think it's about time to catch and inspect them properly.

Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance!

 

[biophiliac]

Hi! How nice for those hens you can take them on and let them stay in the home they know. I saw your other post - pretty birds and nice coop.

I think you should not worry too much about traumatizing your hen or the others by catching her for a bath. As you know birds don't like to be picked up and they just dodge away. Mine were extremely tame and I raised them from day one but they still don't enjoy being picked up. Even tho they don't enjoy being handled they will tolerate it well and not hold any grudges. I think it's a good idea to handle them occasionally so you are comfortable when you need to like for a bath or to examine any health issue. A calm demeanor on your part will help. Good luck.

Eta: Yes, I would grab her wherever it is easiest and not make her stay on the dog crate overnite.

 

[Sutremaine]

I think it would work better to clip her butt feathers rather than bathe her. That'll give her droppings enough clearance. We used nail clippers on one of ours -- each time she pooped, a little more would build up, and it all started with a few gummed feathers that made a platform for the next delivery.

You can also do it at night, with a head torch (wonderful things!). Do you have a second pair of hands available?

 

[biophiliac]

I might take a towel with me then corner her and drop the towel down over her back and just scoop her up to keep her from flapping her wings. She should settle if you hold her securely. Avoid those toe nails!

 

[aart]

A calm demeanor on your part will help.

with a head torch (wonderful things!)

Absolutelies!

I find it easier to grab them off the roost at night to examine,
but cornering during the day can be fine.
When catching the bird, I use both hands to hold her wings against her body, then the football hold. Watch the feet, don't let them gain purchase on anything, especially your hands or arms, those nails are sharp! If they can't use their wings or feet they should 'submit'. After they're caught a few times they calm down more quickly, once they realize they are not 'going to die' when handled. But most will not willingly stand still to be picked up. If catching during the day, I gently but firmly grab the tail near the body to 'slow them down' enough to grab the body.

Agrees a bath might not be necessary, clipping can work wonders.....
...and a lot of the poop on the butt when wet is disgusting.
But do make sure you get a good look all around the vent by parting feathers down to the skin, also more pleasant when dry.

 

[BaronVonP]

Thanks for the tips!

I think I'll try a bath first, it will be my first time handling a chicken and I don't know if I'd manage to give her a "haircut" safely

 

[biophiliac]

I think it would work better to clip her butt feathers rather than bathe her. That'll give her droppings enough clearance. We used nail clippers on one of ours -- each time she pooped, a little more would build up, and it all started with a few gummed feathers that made a platform for the next delivery.

You can also do it at night, with a head torch (wonderful things!). Do you have a second pair of hands available?

This is a good option too! Some 'fluffy butts' and older hens are just more prone to this.

Thanks for the tips!

I think I'll try a bath first, it will be my first time handling a chicken and I don't know if I'd manage to give her a "haircut" safely

Good plan. Clean her up then see if she needs a feather trim for maintenance.
Repeating what @aart said - too much poo in the bath water is going to be disgusting ..... so either have an extra tub of clean water on hand or try to trim off the worst of it first. Best wishes and have fun

 

[Chickassan]

You got to sit on your knees, stick the chicken between your legs her head pointed towards your butt her butt sticking out from
your knees. The darkness of your butt will calm her and you have a fully subdued chicken fanny ready for a nice clipping.

Thanks for the tips!

I think I'll try a bath first, it will be my first time handling a chicken and I don't know if I'd manage to give her a "haircut" safely

 

[chickiemom3]

I have found that slightly warm water (warmer than room temperature) calms the birds, although nothing is going to make them happy when you put them in! Water that is just deep enough to reach her belly helps also, any deeper and they go into full flight mode (you have heard the expression "madder than a wet hen, right?!). A couple of drops of mild soap is all you need. When using the hair dryer, my birds enjoy the lowest heat setting and I typically don't even have to hold them during this part. Beware--it took about an hour to dry birds with the hair dryer. The pic above is our favorite bird getting the spa treatment. As long as she is mostly dry, I would go ahead and put her back in the coop that night (although I didn't see where you were located, so use your best judgement on nighttime temps). Isolating her will likely stress her more than the bath will. Have fun! We did 10 birds for my son's 4-H show. The only thing harder than washing all of them was trying to explain why they couldn't step in poop until we got to fair (still don't think they got that part).

 

[BaronVonP]

Update: the bath went surprisingly well, though I could have raised the water level a bit to make it easier to soak all the dirty feathers.

After the bath I picked the hen up and put her in a towel, then I held her while my wife used the hair dryer on her.
The best part was when I put her in the dog crate and just kept the hair dryer on the floor pointed at her, while feeding her grapes every now and then: she really enjoyed that!

Anyway, I think I'll have to trim her fluffy behind a bit like you guys suggested, we'll see.. I'm pretty sure it won't be that difficult.