Can you bath a chicken?

[DixieDame67]

i rescued two hens last Sunday who were in a wooden box full of muck and mud, there so nasty and stink, with it getting cold im worried with greasy looking feathers they won't be able to retain body heat, Sooo with that being said , can i bring them in and bath them leave them in a kennel couple days to dry real good before putting them back out? thanks for any advice, oh and btw ill get photos asap, not sure what they are HUGE black with long feathers, im kinda thinking Jersey Giants but ill post photos later

 

[PeeperKeeper]

Yes, chickens can be bathed. Just keep them in an area without drafts and get them dry ASAP.

 

[DixieDame67]

ok thank you, now what do i wash them in? (kind of soap or shampoo)

 

[Emzyyy]

Baby Shampoo thats what I use on my silkies just make sure they don't drink any water.

 

[Emzyyy]

(Johnson's Baby Shampoo)

 

[PeeperKeeper]

Ivory dish soap is a mild detergent. But if they are oily you could use Dawn. Dawn will strip them of any natural body oils used to waterproof their feathers and they will have to remain in a protected area until they do enough preening to replace the natural oils.

 

[bearz]

For preparing for shows one of our friends uses dog shampoo. Says there are different kinds for different color dogs and she uses the white for white chickens etc.

We gave one a partial bath today and have done others for petting zoos. We used a blowdryer on low heat and from quite a distance, wrapped the chicken in a towel to keep it warm and gave it the whole beauty treatment.

PS...I found the bathtub was the least messy, but if you are in a warm climate my friend says the fastest way is a series of tubs. 4 tubs. 1st to get them wet and get off the basic dirt. Second has soap in it. 3 and 4 are for rinsing.

Then you just dump the tubs and you don't have to clean a whole bathroom.

 

[DixieDame67]

Thank you so much for all the responses, i might have to find them another home so for now im going to clean them up good and they were starved ive been adding warm oatmeal in the mornings to help warm them up.....They are like twice the size of my silver laced wyanotte hehee, but there beautiful and so gentle, i will keep them seperated for about 30 days, they might need worming there back feathers around vent all all goopie ..stay tuned for photos i will try to get some early morning , they were born in march and haven't laid an egg yet, i think its due to poor diet and unkept conditions

 

[henlady]

My flock caught lice from a wandering guinea a couple of years ago ...so I bought kitten strength lice/flea shampoo and had great success. One by one I gently set down into a dishpan of sudsy warm water and let her get her bearings so she didn't flip out. I was AMAZED that they actually enjoyed it! Nobody went bananas - so after rinsing they went out (it was a sunny day in July) to dry off. If I were you I'd use a heater with a fan and keep them in an enclosed area - like a bathroom? Good luck! Chickens love to be clean - they will thank you for caring enough to make them comfortable again.

Some of my younger pullets were still damp by evening - and were shivering so I took my hairdryer to the coop to dry them more. They didn't appreciate that.

 

[JennsPeeps]

Here's how: http://www.wikihow.com/Wash-a-Chicken

(I swear you can find anything online!)