How do I bathe a chicken? ***Pics added***

[MuranoFarms]

Title pretty much says it all...LOL
My duck is pretty messy when he eats and the 6 week old chicks like to stand underneath his bill. Their back are getting pretty crusty.
Do I use soap? shampoo? a bucket of water or a shower type hose? Are they too young?

Thanks!

 

[mediazeal]

How old are they?
I recently gave my rooster a bath and was surprised to find he loved it.
I was giving him a flea bath so filled the sink to half his height with water the temp I would put a human baby in, with some of the flea soap as 'bubble bath'
He squawked a little when I picked him up and set him in the water but quickly changed his mind and sat down.
BE SURE TO HOLD UP THEIR HEADS!
They will try to lie down in the water like a dust bath I guess.
I poured water over him with a cup and let him soak a few minutes, then put him up on the side, drained the water and refilled with 'rinse water' put him back in, held his head up again, more pouring of clear water, a little feather massage to make the spa experience complete.
I pulled him out, wrapped him in a towel and then sat with a blow dryer on the cooler setting so I would not burn him (someone said they killed a chick once with too hot a setting)
dried him off and put him into a dog crate for the night so he would be completely dry before returning to the outside coop with the girls.

I think you can use any kind of gentle shampoo, like baby shampoo.
it's fun! take pics and show us.

 

[smfamf]

You can use a bowl of warm water. You can try to soak the "crusties" off or you can use a mild shampoo (ie: baby shampoo.)

 

[Mahonri]

Quote:
Spoiled bird!

Were your girls excited to see him all prissyd up?

 

[mediazeal]

Quote:
Spoiled bird!

Were your girls excited to see him all prissyd up?

He was easily accepted back into the flock but he did smell of flea soap... and it is not a great aftershave.

He is neurologically impaired. He gets around just fine but can not fly, can only hop up 1 ft (he has a ladder), and never crows cause he is not the top dog in the flock. This is very good because I am not zoned for roosters. but its really the crowing that they mean when they say no roosters.
He's a sweetie.

We want to see pics of the chicks having their bath or sponge baths, whatever you decide to do.

 

[MuranoFarms]

Well that seems simple enough! They are all around 5 or 6 weeks. Except the Pekin duck, he's only 3 weeks but he's so much bigger then them! I had to buy him a wash tub tonight because he's already outgrown the kitchen sink. I wish I had another ducky so I could separate him, but I am having NO luck finding 1 duck! Anyway, he likes to swim but I never needed to try to 'wash' him.

He's the messer....the messies are another story! I have cherry scented Loreal kids shampoo. Think that would be ok?

 

[mediazeal]

Quote:
I think it will be perfect
then you will have cherry scented chickies
it will be fun!

 

[rhoda_bruce]

You can bathe them, but what are you going to do to provide them with a dry clean area? I have trouble of my own, simply because I live in a warm, wet, low lying area. So I have to drag in leaves and cypress/pine needles to give them something clean to stand on and scratch in when it rains.
I would like to have ducks and geese, but I know that they will be messy and that is why my husband has thus far refused. (past experiences).
I only ever washed chickens before a 4H competition........ps: 4H competitions in my area aren't run fairly.

 

[MuranoFarms]

They are still indoors in the brooder, so other then the tray the water bowl is on.... its dry and mostly clean. They have plenty of room, but for some reason everyone want to stand under the duck when he's eating!

I guess they get their revenge though, he sleeps along the side of the brooder and they often roost on top of it. There's probably 20 feet of space and they only roost right above the duck. Guess who gets poop on his back All The Time!

I have a small bathroom heater I'll put on for them till they dry off completely. I'll have to wait till my daughter gets back from school today so she can take pics while I wash. Wish me luck!!!

 

[Buff Hooligans]

Murano, I did a BYC Search on "chicken a bath", and found the thread I was looking for.

It's the best thread on bathing a bird, and it's entertaining - has pictures. Have fun:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=154047