Dirty Beards, what to do....

[ManOverBoard]

Our Ameracaunas beards get dirty when they eat. We feed them pellets that we've soaked first so they're soft. We have a mixed flock and throughout the day we notice the girls all cleaning each others faces, however some of our Ameracauna's beards are getting plucked off in the cleaning process. We don't want the girls to get plucked/hurt, anyone else found a solution for this?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Have you tried strictly dry feed? Really don't know if there's a good way to stop them from grooming each other's beards, if they're getting food bits in there. It doesn't harm them, so it's really just an aesthetics issue.

 

[Debbie292d]

I have bearded silkies and feed them that as a treat, but they get regular crumbles otherwise. They also get fermented grains. They have gotten a little of both on themselves but not to that extent. I went to look at a picture of an Ameracauna and I see what you mean. Silkies appear have more space between their beaks and their beards so explains why I've not had that problem.

I'd do what @rosemarythyme suggested and switch them to dry. You could perhaps serve them the wet as an occasional treat in a small bowl so they can't get their beards in it.