Chicken Shampoo?

[GammaPoppyLilyFlutter]

I'd like to give my chickens a bath, and I've heard that dog shampoo works. What kind, though?

 

[boykin2010]

why would u give them a bath? they should take dust baths... unless they are silkies which can get pretty nasty every once in while

 

[secuono]

Where do you find dust for their dust baths?

I think the oatmeal sensitive for puppies should be safe, or if you can find an all natural gentle formula. Though I was told to use Mane & Tail.

 

[brownlikewoah]

i washed my chickens with dawn. they were pretty good about the process, wrap them in a towel when you are done, if you have an area with a heat lamp set up that would be handy too. I used the blow dryer on low to also help them dry

 

[GammaPoppyLilyFlutter]

Thanks! This helps a lot. They do take dust baths, using the dirt in our yard.

 

[secuono]

What about in the coop? Can you buy some kind of dirt(what kind) and put it into an old cat litter box?

 

[boykin2010]

yes any kind of dirt will do and they LOVE IT!!! they will scratch and take baths. what i do is sprinkle dirt all in the coop for them to scratch in a bathe in plus it absorbs some of the poop like cat litter

 

[Yazzo]

I've given a few of my chickens louse baths, with dog flea shampoo, to get rid of their lice. However, I really wouldn't recommend it. It's really toxic stuff, and even made me feel a bit queasy, so I only used it once. It got rid of their lice, but I'm not going to do it again.
There is one very good natural solution we've tried: tea tree oil. All you do is put about 1 tablespoon into the bath water, making sure not to get it into their eyes. I use it on dogs too and it kills fleas like nothing I've ever seen. The only problem is that it can cause dermatitis if too much is exposed to the skin, thus, the diluting in water.
I'd rather my chickens have lice than compromise their health. Usually, they just go around taking their dust baths, and that's enough.

 

[PamB]

I use Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo on my silkies.

 

[Hollywood Chickens]

When I had to move my chickens in the garage for a few days I gave them all a bath with Dr. Bronner's castile soap, it worked great, but as soon as they went outside they were filthy within 30 minutes! I wouldn't bother otherwise.