Do I bath a broody hen?

[Min27]

I have a pekin bantam hen (Birchey) who has just gone on the brood, and we were thinking of getting some fertile eggs for her (because fertile eggs are much cheaper than bantam pullets). I think she'd make a good mother, it's just she's the dirtiest chicken in the flock. Birchey suffers from "fluffy chicken dirty butt" where her manure keeps getting caught in her rear feathers.

So I thought I should probably bath her before she has babies sitting underneath her. However, I am wondering if bathing her will take her off the brood and she won't feel like sitting anymore.

 

[sourland]

If she is really messy, try plucking the dirty feathers. If she were mine, I would not bathe her at this point in the game.

 

[centrarchid]

Or trim feathers with scissors. Stressing her with bathing may break her of broodiness.

 

[Min27]

Thank you.

My mother and I had plans to add more chooks to our flock, but weren't sure how to do it. Putting fertile eggs under a broody hen seemed like the cheapest way to go (no pun intended), but there's no way of knowing for sure what breeds or genders you're going to get (or if they'll hatch successfully). We can't have roosters on our property.

We decided it wouldn't matter if she went off the brood now, so I bathed her today and we dried her off with a hairdryer. The chicken really needed it, and now she smells like soap.

One day I will trim her rear feathers with scissors (it seems like a more permanent solution). I just need to get a really cheap disposable pair.

 

[chicken delighted]

i have bathe some of my broodies when they have a broody poo butt .

but have found out that one should use very warm water (not to Hot )when doing this and blow dry . this will contiune her on the broody mood otherwise she might stop brooding if you use a cool bath

 

[Min27]

I always use warm water and make sure it's a hot sunny day for bathing the hens. They love being blow dried.

Even after being bathed she is still broody so our option for fertile eggs is still open.

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

We bathed a broody hen, wouldn't have but her breast feathers got all muddy (got in a brawl with our serema roo)
Shes still brooding and we're waiting for her chicks to hatch!

 

[Min27]

Aww. That's so sweet (the chicks hatching, not the chicken fighting). Hope they all hatch!

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

Me too, she only has 2 eggs tho,

I'm waiting for my others broodies eggs to hatch, their on their 21st day today, and a few are on their 23rd