Does Everyone Bathe?

[Blisschick]

I showed chickens in FFA. That would be about the only real reason to bathe a chicken beyond illness or severe infestation. If I bathe one, I use dog shampoo, but you can use baby shampoo. White chickens are bathed in a solution of bluing water. Bluing is the stuff that used to be used for washing a long time ago because the faint color left behind makes your whites appear brighter and cleaner. I think it may also help take some of the yellowish tinge out of white birds. You can find bluing where you would get detergent and borax in the store.

(I had a white dog that I bought some bluing shampoo for once. I can't remember exactly who made it, but boy was she bright after a bath!)

Any time I've had to blow-dry a chicken, they really seem to like it. Even those who normally don't like me to mess with them will stand there and let me do it. You should use the lowest setting and constantly move it to avoid burning the delicate skin. (I'm sure if you've ever used a hairdryer, you know how hot it can get.)

 

[wegotchickens]

I read in a chicken book that you should bathe them a few days before a show so that their feathers have time to get their 'sheen' back. Is this true?

 

[speckledhen]

Yup, I think it's three days before the show.

 

[LittleChickenRacingTeam]

I bathe mine usually the day before a show. Then I blowdry. I supplement their diet with black oil sunflower seeds about 2-3 weeks before a show, to add sheen to the feathers.

While I was at the Royal Winter Fair earlier this month, there was a guy there prepping his birds. He had the usual stuff breeders have, but what caught my eye was a product called "SHOW SHINE" It was a spray can with a pic of chicken's on it & made his silkies really stand out. He wouldn't tell me where he got it tho.

 

[TxChiknRanchers]

Quote:
Hey - we have that bluing shampoo for our little maltie-poo dog. It's made by the Hartz people and you can get it at WalMart. It works wonderful for her - and I'm sure it would work on chickens too.

The only time I blow dried chickens was the first morning after we picked up the EE's from you, Stacey. Some of them trampled two into the wet nastyness and I managed to revive them and wash and dry them. They didn't seem to mind either the bath or the drying.

 

[countyroad1330]

I guess I should have specified that I meant for showing, sorry about that

Ok, so here's what I've learned:

- Wash 2-3 days before show
- Three buckets: 1 to wash, 2 to rinse
- Wipe in the direction of feathers, but don't scrub
- Chickens like blow drying
- Try to find a can of 'Show Shine', especially for my Silkie
- Use bluing on white birds (What about my light Brahma?)
- Feed black oil sunflower seed a few weeks before the show

Thanks so much, you guys are great!

 

[GloriaH]

I use show sheen on my horses and myself. I have really long hair. It keeps the hair from getting dirty. Dirt won't stick to it.

 

[BamaChicken]

I wash my silkies a few day before a show and put them on wire to help keep their feet clean. I usually have to clean them uup a little more before the actual judging so I take wipes and bathcloths and a brush. i talked with the cochin people and they only washed the white ones.
Some of the men were using Afrosheen on straight feathered birds. Dont' use it on silkies.
If your not showing I can't see a reason for bathing.