How do you clean a chick?

[jazzpurr]

One of the chicks got poop on her back. The others must have been pecking at it. The raised quite a ruckus chasing her around. My wife found her and though she wasn't
bleeding she put anti-biotic gel on her back where it looked red.

Now..the gel wont come out and hasn't dried over the last 18 hours. I have been carefully spreading his wing and wiping his back with cotton balls.

It is still a discolored, matted area in the feathers where the gel is or has dried.

I tried to put him back in with the rest of the group but they see it almost
immediately and start pecking.

How can I get the gel out?

Thanks for your help

 

[d.k]

*Try a very warm rung-out washcloth and a little puff of foam pump no-tears baby shampoo; Rub the shampoo into the area and wipe it off-- OR, use some baby wipes for sensitive skin. -- wet the wipe once w/ hot water and wring it to get out excess ingredients. DON'T put the chickee back until any redness or scratches are gone.

 

[jazzpurr]

Thanks D.K.

I went to the Dollar Store, the small local grocery store and the
CVS but no foam pump anything.

I did get the baby wipes for sensitive skin and no tears Johnson shampoo.
My wife whipped the shampoo in a mixer and it did make a very dense
foam so I tried that.

It's hard to tell if I got any of it off because now shes wet again and
matted down. She is preening and I have her isolated where I know the temp is stable.

She seems okay otherwise. She is eating and drinking. She just hates being away from all the activity on the other side of the isolation board I put in.

 

[LynneP]

She's very lucky and getting used to being handled- she'll be a sweetie...

 

[cluckychick]

Use Dawn, cuts grease/oil

Good Luck

 

[d.k]

* I didn't recommend Dawn for the little bitty-bit b/c even though the pH is pretty neutral, it's not a "tearless" formula should she rub her face in any residue on her feathers and it does have some ammonia in it. Kinda surprised they didn't have pump at either of those stores, though!! I get mine at them here, usually, too. Must've been 'fun' whipping the stuff in the blender. I tried it once with a couple ounces and could have almost filled an 8-gal wastebasket with the resulting foam!!!

Did she come out pretty clean after all that effort, I hope? You might help drying gently by dabbing away excess wet with a couple soft paper towels.

 

[jazzpurr]

The Tearless shampoo and cotton balls and Sensitive skin baby wipes have
all helped.

She is looking a lot better, maybe 90%.

But I put her back in the group and the taller ones who could see
from the top still noticed the discoloration and tried to peck.

My wife was wondering andout gently buffing some fine cornmeal
powder into to feathers to try to absorb the rest of the gel.

She has been dustbathing a lot (In the pine litter) and I think that isprobably the best thing to do is let her figure it out.

What do you think about the cornmeal powder? Would that irritate
her skin?

TIA