How should I remove diarrhea from my hen's feathers

[Pekins]

One of my 7mth old Pekins Bantams has diarrhea on her feathers and I wondered if I should bathe her to remove it? She no longer has diarrhea but I wondered if it's OK to clean her up. It's winter here in Brisbane, Australia but warm enough during the day to give her a bath.

This morning I also gave my hens some watered down milk (about 50mls) and I saw this hen drink the milk and when she lifted her head from drinking, quite a lot of milk came out through her beak with a bit of force. Should I be worried? I'm only a newish owner and want to know if a vet visit is required. Otherwise my girls are the picture of health, laying nearly every day and eating & drinking well.

 

[lalaland]

you can clean the hen - the trick is to avoid the hen being damp and chilled. Just pop her in a warm water bath, and you do not need to use soap, just gently remove the stuff with your hands. Pat with a towel, and then use a hair dryer/blow dryer to dry her feathers. Careful not to burn -

If it was hot outside, you wouldn't need to dry her, but if it is chilly, definitely dry her.

If your hen that "burped" up the milk seems fine, I'ld just keep an eye on her - watch to see if her crop is empty in the morning. She isn't the one with the diarreha is she?

 

[Pekins]

She doesn't have diarrhea now - it may have been a week ago she had it. Her droppings today look very healthy.

If her crop isn't empty in the morning is there anything I should do? I read elsewhere on the site to remove food from their coop the night before, so will do this tonight.

 

[Sissy]

If you are concerned about
her getting a chill
use baby wipes. to clean her up
here and there. they are great
also for cleaning up their feet..

 

[lalaland]

then I wouldn't worry about the milk coming up - and you don't have to remove the feed at night. Some people with rodent problems put the feed away, but if you don't have rats, you are safe to leave it out. That way, if they are up before you at the crack of dawn, they can eat and drink.

I'm not sure what you meant by diarreah (I never can spell that!). You can do a search on "poop" and you will find a page of droppings - it is very helpful when you are new to chickens to see the wide variety.

 

[Imp]

Here's the poop link.

Imp-Where else but BYC can you say that?


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