I wasn't sure what section I'm supposed to ask this. If this is wrong section, forgive me. I'm new here as well as new to owning chickens. I had to keep my three chickens in a box for the night and now they have poop all over each other. How do I give them a bath? Or do I not do this and just wipe them with a damp cloth? For their legs and feet, is it ok to use baby wipes on them?
dont know about wipes... paper towel and water if needed.. How old/young are they?? Mine de-poop themselves.. scary that they are flexible to get their heads near their butts to clean the feathers... Anywho.. bathwise.. wear old clothes.. and prepare to be soaked. Pick a warm day without a breeze cause they can get chilled. You'll need 2 or 3 buckets, first with baby shampoo and warm water, second with warm water as a rinse. You can have another bucket for rinsing if you want to be extra sure. People recommened a tooth brush to scrape dirt of their legs.. make sure you brush feathers in the right direction. After rinsing, make sure you dry them PROPERLY!! In Australia right now it summer, and between 35 and 40C (100F) and we're having some really still breezeless days, so I'm not stress about it, but Northern Hemisphere is hitting end of autumn, so it could be a worry. Wrap your little darling in a towel/s and plunk her somewhere warm. Or you can use a hair dryer set REALLY low... you want a dry hen, not a burnt crispy hen. The main thing is to make sure all the feathers are dry, not just the surface. and all that being said.. I havent bathed a chicken yet, thats going to be my upcoming summer job Fun times
The easiest way I do it is toss them in the tub (or kitchen sink works well with less back problems) without filling it so you eliminate the bathing birds in dirty water and using multiple buckets and use the shower hose instead and let it run down the drain. Use a sifter or drain mesh catcher over the drain so you don't have feathers down there. Then use warm water and totally soak them all over completely. Some are harder to get wet than others and it may take a while. Regular dish soap, Ivory or Dr. Broners soap work well. I recently tried my shampoo on my show chickens which is Real Solutions Macadamia Nut Oil. Shampoo and conditioner. Worked awesome by the way. Never seen such a shine. Anyway, just get an old or specially used for chickens toothbrush and put dish soap on their feet and scrub like heck from toes to thighs. If you have to do the underside of their feet, do it easy with a cloth or with your fingers rubbing them clean. Wash the toothbrush off well and brush the feathers with the grain on a soapy bird. Don't forget to suds under the wings too and tail. Make sure all the water is rinsed completely from everywhere! If you need to once the bird is sun dried (over 82 degrees with make feathers curl sometimes) dust them for buggies. If towel and cage drying inside wrap them up and sop up the wet water and pinching the tail getting the water out. Then pop them in a wire cage with drop pan and leave them in the house where there is no draft and it's warm. They can take care of the rest and preen themselves. Then what's left is to admire your shiny clean bird.
