How do you get poop off of a chicken's back?

[333113]

LUKEWARM WATER: https://the-chicken-chick.com/how-to-give-chicken-bath/

Many of us who show chickens give them a bath about a week before the show. If you towel-dry them and it's summer, the chicken can take the rest of the grooming from there, indoors or outdoors. In cold weather I bathe, towel-dry, then leave them crated in the house, about 70 degrees, to finish fluffing out on their own.

I use no-tears baby shampoo for washing poop or anything else. Rub a washcloth gently from skin to feathertip to remove dirt or poop. I don't have silkies or frizzles, so I don't rub sideways, since I don't want to break the feather structure.

This is also a good time to clean feet and trim toenails, beak, and spurs, if needed. I use a dog toenail clipper, being careful to avoid cutting the quick.

To get that show-glow, gently brush mineral oil or vegetable oil over the comb and wattles. I use a cotton swab for this.

Word to the wise: Prepare to get wet. Or, at least, very damp.

 

[Tinman0ut]

☝Agree with every post above... or you could treat it like you would pasty butt... if you’re worried about getting her too wet just use a warm wet washcloth and hold it on the poop covered areas so that the dried stool softens (might have to re-wet the washcloth a few times but eventually it does soften) then it wipes right off had to do that with 1 of my chicks

 

[Imbri]

Man, I can't believe how many people have responded in the middle of the night! This seems like a great forum already.

This is not the first time Debbie has been pooped down, but last time she was only grazed. For some reason, Torchic and Marcie Joy don't seem to get pooped on, lol. Those two are a different breed and significantly larger than Debbie despite being the same age. Debbie is my feisty little troublemaker and my cuddlebug.

I'm going to give our two ducks a bath tomorrow in our oversized tub anyway and I use warm water for them just to be nice, so I'll hand-wash Little Debbie while Freya and Marshall Mathers splash water ALL over our master bathroom, lol.

Thanks for all the tips!

 

[Imbri]

Oh, and here's a picture of Little Debbie when she's not all, well, *****y...

She's curled up sleeping beside my thigh right now while I play Xbox games .

 

[Chickassan]

Debbie is white lol!
Mystery of why she takes crap "literally" while her friends don't has been solved.
White=poop covered? Yes please!
And 9 times out of 10 they're........snugglers.

 

[Imbri]

Thanks again for all the help! I used the same temp of warm water I like for showers and some baby shampoo... For stuck on stuff where I needed to pull a bit, I used the same trick as brushing tangles out of hair - holding it just above what I'm working out so there's no tugging at the root.

Debbie was shocking amenable to the bath - she voluntary stayed with her back half under the running water! Very still and chill; she's such a good girl! I got 90-95% of the poop out but the last bit was small, stubborn specks that I gave up on. After I towel-dried and snuggled her, she was able to groom out the last bits herself and she's all fluffy and clean... for now, lol.

(Don't worry, the sweater is because I have a boring call center job and making it amused me - I never put it on her unless she's sitting right beside me and I can make sure she stays still or remove it if she gets active for safety reasons).