I have to talk POLISH!

[Moonkit]

It has been rainy, but the coop doesn't turn into the mudhole it used to.. her crest is more just unsightly than anything else and I'd like to clean it. She's not very tolerant towards being held or manipulated. She hates having her head touched and its hard enough for me to get her to hold still enough for lice/mite checks. The waterer is a hanging one with that 1 inch dish all around and I don't think she can really get her crest in it.. although knowing chickens, they'll manage to do what ever you think they can't. It's just wierd how she only gets half of it dirty and the other half stays fluffy and moderately clean.

How does she get it muddy? Is the ground muddy or dirty? Is it just from drinking water? Does it rain often? Finding the source is the first step into solving the issue, otherwise, you can always clip the front feathers of her crest carefully, or tie her crest up in a hairtie, or when she does get it dirty, just get the front a little wet and work the dirt out with your fingers. If she's good, this should go through pretty well. If not, I best suggest you evaluate just how dirty her crest gets and if you should bother trying to clean it, or just do something like clip it or fix the source of the dirtiness.

My Polish can get their crests dirty but only in the winter when things get mucky, exceedingly rainy, and, well, dirty. To solve the issue and also the simple feeling of one's head burdened with a heavy mop, I clip the front feathers. Haven't shown any birds yet so it isn't harmful. During the slightly drier seasons I let them be, either clipped from winter or not. They may get a little dirty but nothing terrible.

 

[seminolewind]

Hey newbies! Everyone starts with 1 or 2 Polish. Then they multiply.

Mine keep a pretty clean crest, they drink from an average waterer. They do get dirty if it rains and then they peck around on the ground. It cleans itself off.

Moonkit, I just remembered I'm at an advantage. I live on sugar sand in Florida. So my Polish don't get that dirty.

 

[Moonkit]

Its been dry for almost a week now and she's still half muddy on the crest.

 

[HighNDryFarm]

Is she muddy with clumps of mud or just dirt colored feathers. My girl in my avatar gets filthy sometimes but she seems to clean up on her own too.

Its been dry for almost a week now and she's still half muddy on the crest.

 

[flower]

hurrumph It is about time that you admitted this advantage !

The sand here in the Mojave is not so light and "feathery" I have a sample from my aunts place in Sarasota so I know about that fine sand. It certainly is unique to the gulf area.

Moonkit, I just remembered I'm at an advantage. I live on sugar sand in Florida. So my Polish don't get that dirty.

 

[Moonkit]

half and half.. the "fluffy" part of her crest just has a bit of dirt coloring.. the rest is a bit caked together and 'weighed' down by the mud clinging to it. How she accomplished this is beyond me.

On another note.. I also find her to be my most vocal chicken, outside of the egg song. She seems to randomly vocalize with a somewhat hoarse sounding call.. usually when she wants something like fresher water or treats. ((God forbid you should approach their coop without some sort of offering in hand

))

Is she muddy with clumps of mud or just dirt colored feathers. My girl in my avatar gets filthy sometimes but she seems to clean up on her own too.

 

[seminolewind]

Moonkit, I think I would just give her a haircut so that the feathers don't hang down in her eyes.

 

[Moonkit]

Moonkit, I think I would just give her a haircut so that the feathers don't hang down in her eyes.

A haircute would more likely end with me poking her eye out from the way she'll move her head to keep me from messing with her head. I was really just wanting to know what techniques others use to clean crested fowl without drowning them.. I figured the Polish Thread would be a good place to start

 

[HighNDryFarm]

Well, now that we're clear on what kind of dirty crest she has.......if you don't want to use some small, blunted scissors to trim her crest as recommended then I would pour water on her crest to get it wet (warm water if it's cold out) and work out the clumpy mud with a wet rag. I wouldn't worry about the dirty color, when the weather changes and they don't have access to mud it should clean up on it's own. Sounds like she's wiggly but if you get her firmly under your arm and close to your chest, maybe someone else could trim or clean the crest. Good luck, oh and I'm not saying you won't end up wet too!

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[huckleberryfarm]

Hi, all! My 11-yr old son has started with Polish. We have 8 lovelies from a great breeder. Unfortunately the one "boy" looks exactly like a girl. So we are on the hunt for a nice bantam WC smooth boy. We have WC blue, WC black and WC Chocolate Cuckoo for our girls. If anyone has a breeding age boy for sale, please PM me! Thanks!