Cochin Thread!!!

[feather leg farms]

I have a question.

What is the best thing to do (washing, and drying) wise on a white bantam Cochin.

I've been told to:
Wash them and put them under a heat lamp to dry.
or
To blow-dry them and make sure the feathers go straight.

What is the the BEST thing to do.

THank you,
FLF

 

[nhnanna]

I would have loved to test some for you. Keep me in mind please if you need any others tested.

Quote:

 

[WestKnollAmy]

I would not know anything about washing a chicken. I never do it.

 

[cochinman2005]

Quote:
For Washing I use three tubs, sometimes four. For White birds the prodecure is a little different than non-white birds so I'll address how I wash White birds.

For Bantams I use 5 gallon bucket filled about 2/3 with warm water. Not too hot.

Bucket 1: I add soap and bluing. I use a combination of Adams Flea and Tick shampoo and Tide with bleach alternative. Don't get it in their eyes or let them swallow it if you can help it. I will also add some bluing to this bucket, but you need to be careful with bluing. Too much and you'll wind up with a nice purplish blue cast to your finished product. You want a nice sky blue color to your water.

Bucket 2: 3/4 to 1 cup white vinegar added to the water.

Bucket 3: Plain water

Bucket 4: Plain water

Spend some time getting all the dirt off the feathers around the vent and on their feet/foot feathers. Soak them in bucket 1, and then work out the dirt. Let all the soapy water drain off the feathers and then proceed to bucket two. Again, don't dunk them completely, but work the suds thoroughly off the feathers. The vinegar helps cut the suds. Buckets 3 and 4 are for additional rinses. It's important to get the suds out or you'll wind up with stringy feathers.

If you are going to blow dry, do so carefully, because you can ruin a bird with poor drying techniques. First towel dry as much of the water off as you can. Then use a maximum of medium heat at medium to low speed, working through the feathers and dry the bird. The back and cushion are the easiest areas to mess up feathers by drying them in the wrong direction. Practice on a bird that you aren't showing.

I usually don't dry the birds, but wash them, towel them dry (towel dry by blotting not by rubbing the feathers), and then let them dry on their own. If washed in the morning, they will be pretty well dry by evening. If it's cold, you'll need to do this indoors or in a basement. You can add some heat lamps but don't get them too close. If the bird has been out doors and used to the cold, getting them wet and then adding a bunch of heat could make them sick. Practice on a bird that you aren't showing. Yup, I mentioned this twice.

 

[Coopa Cabana]

Very easy to follow instructions, Tom!

Other than eliminating the bluing, are there other differences for washing colored varieties? (And I promise to practice on a non-show bird.)

 

[dak]

Quote:
For Washing I use three tubs, sometimes four. For White birds the prodecure is a little different than non-white birds so I'll address how I wash White birds.

For Bantams I use 5 gallon bucket filled about 2/3 with warm water. Not too hot.

Bucket 1: I add soap and bluing. I use a combination of Adams Flea and Tick shampoo and Tide with bleach alternative. Don't get it in their eyes or let them swallow it if you can help it. I will also add some bluing to this bucket, but you need to be careful with bluing. Too much and you'll wind up with a nice purplish blue cast to your finished product. You want a nice sky blue color to your water.

Bucket 2: 3/4 to 1 cup white vinegar added to the water.

Bucket 3: Plain water

Bucket 4: Plain water

Spend some time getting all the dirt off the feathers around the vent and on their feet/foot feathers. Soak them in bucket 1, and then work out the dirt. Let all the soapy water drain off the feathers and then proceed to bucket two. Again, don't dunk them completely, but work the suds thoroughly off the feathers. The vinegar helps cut the suds. Buckets 3 and 4 are for additional rinses. It's important to get the suds out or you'll wind up with stringy feathers.

If you are going to blow dry, do so carefully, because you can ruin a bird with poor drying techniques. First towel dry as much of the water off as you can. Then use a maximum of medium heat at medium to low speed, working through the feathers and dry the bird. The back and cushion are the easiest areas to mess up feathers by drying them in the wrong direction. Practice on a bird that you aren't showing.

I usually don't dry the birds, but wash them, towel them dry (towel dry by blotting not by rubbing the feathers), and then let them dry on their own. If washed in the morning, they will be pretty well dry by evening. If it's cold, you'll need to do this indoors or in a basement. You can add some heat lamps but don't get them too close. If the bird has been out doors and used to the cold, getting them wet and then adding a bunch of heat could make them sick. Practice on a bird that you aren't showing. Yup, I mentioned this twice.

The very reason I not not have white birds!!!! That's dedication.

 

[cochinman2005]

Quote:
Not really. If you didn't use Adam's and wanted to use a different soap, you can always add a little liquid pyrethrin to the wash water. That way you kill any bugs they may have, and provide them some barriers to future bugs at least for a little while.

 

[Coopa Cabana]

Tom, I'm curious, with as many birds as you have, how often, if at all, do you shampoo your non-show birds? Or, for that matter, your show birds when not showing? Is it more of a case by case, as needed basis?

Also, how many days in advance of a show do you wash the birds? And anything in particular to protect their feet between washing and showing? And do you use any feather-finishing products or conditioners?

 

[cochinman2005]

Quote:
The easy answer here is not at all. It very well could be a show bird, but if I never show that particular bird, it's likely it will never ever be washed in its entire life. They do a great job keeping themselves in good shape.

The washing is more to accentuate what they've already got, or at least what you hope they've already got. Certainly the process, loosens up feather dander and breaks away new feather casings that may be lodged in the fluff, and the do fluff up considerably.

On occasion, I've washed a large fowl for no other reason than to erradicate mites. Some of the colors are more prone to mites than others, which I think has to do with feather density. Just my theory.

Many of my males are kept in wire bottomed cages (vinyl coated 1x1). That makes it easy to keep them in good shape before the show after washing. However, if I was showing at this time of year where it's cold, I couldn't wash them and then put them right back outside. So, I'll wash the birds about a week before the show and keep them in the basement. Since I don't normally dry them with a blow dryer, this gives them plenty of time to put themselves back together. It's a little tricky with white birds because they can mess themselves up pretty well in a couple days. Never fails, I'll have gotten a white bird all washed and looking good and the day before the show he's got poop all over his breast or something. I normally don't use the word poop, but I wanted to keep it clean! Nevertheless that word makes me chuckle! The show I am attending dictates how many birds I enter. Bigger Shows like Columbus or Indy, I'll enter 40 or 50 birds. That's pretty time consuming from a show prep perspective, especially if a good number of those entries are large Cochins.

 

[Black Cochin Bantams]

Quote:
For Washing I use three tubs, sometimes four. For White birds the prodecure is a little different than non-white birds so I'll address how I wash White birds.

For Bantams I use 5 gallon bucket filled about 2/3 with warm water. Not too hot.

Bucket 1: I add soap and bluing. I use a combination of Adams Flea and Tick shampoo and Tide with bleach alternative. Don't get it in their eyes or let them swallow it if you can help it. I will also add some bluing to this bucket, but you need to be careful with bluing. Too much and you'll wind up with a nice purplish blue cast to your finished product. You want a nice sky blue color to your water.

Bucket 2: 3/4 to 1 cup white vinegar added to the water.

Bucket 3: Plain water

Bucket 4: Plain water

Spend some time getting all the dirt off the feathers around the vent and on their feet/foot feathers. Soak them in bucket 1, and then work out the dirt. Let all the soapy water drain off the feathers and then proceed to bucket two. Again, don't dunk them completely, but work the suds thoroughly off the feathers. The vinegar helps cut the suds. Buckets 3 and 4 are for additional rinses. It's important to get the suds out or you'll wind up with stringy feathers.

If you are going to blow dry, do so carefully, because you can ruin a bird with poor drying techniques. First towel dry as much of the water off as you can. Then use a maximum of medium heat at medium to low speed, working through the feathers and dry the bird. The back and cushion are the easiest areas to mess up feathers by drying them in the wrong direction. Practice on a bird that you aren't showing.

I usually don't dry the birds, but wash them, towel them dry (towel dry by blotting not by rubbing the feathers), and then let them dry on their own. If washed in the morning, they will be pretty well dry by evening. If it's cold, you'll need to do this indoors or in a basement. You can add some heat lamps but don't get them too close. If the bird has been out doors and used to the cold, getting them wet and then adding a bunch of heat could make them sick. Practice on a bird that you aren't showing. Yup, I mentioned this twice.

I do almost everything the same way as Tom except that in my 4th bucket I use a dash of Downey fabric softener. I wash birds on Wednesday-Thursday at the latest for a show on Saturday so they are completely dry (and feathers have a chance on my Blacks to get their sheen back0. I do not wash birds that are not going to a show.