is it safe to bathe a chicken?

[Shadrach]

I'm aware that people wash chickens, this doesn't mean it's good for the chicken.
As for any sort of detergent....words fail me, and that takes some doing.
I wonder if anyone would care say why chickens bath in dust, rather than bath in water (?)
If you know the reason then you'll understand why water isn't a very efficient cleaner for a chicken and why detergent isn't very good for their plumage.

 

[Little Jerry Seinfeld]

Sometimes witih certain breeds
You have to wash on occasion. I had a young silkie this spring that i had to wash, i put towels on edge of sink, filled sink up with warm water, and baby shampoo, put bird in and gently washed, then rinsed with a pitcher of water i had on the side, which wasnt enough, i ended up having to rinse him under the faucet! Then i towel dried him well and lastly on the just-warm setting of blow dryer dried him off. He didnt even seem to mind at all!!
Heres during the bath

Heres after the bath

 

[robinwhiskers]

Of all our chickens my 1 year old Orpington (she basically has 100% trust in me) doesn't mind a lukewarm bath on a HOT day! It's cooling down now but when it got over 90 degrees during the day and she'd be panting with her wings out, I'd put her in a bucket of water, splash it over her body, and well, she's a pet and because she was already in a bath I used a little Dawn dish soap and dry her off with a towel. She wouldn't be dry all the way but within a few hours she would be, I wouldn't do this on a day that wasn't very hot where I live, if you must do it when it's colder do it inside and don't put the bird back out until it is completely dry.