Muddy Polish!

[JamminCats]

Hi guys! One of my polish hens, Georgette, must have fallen in the mud yesterday during the rain. Today when i went to see her she has a TON of mud cakes onto one side of her crest. I have tried to wash it with a washcloth but cannot get it off. She's extremely skittish and fidgety. Any tips for bathing or trimming?

 

[Chicalina]

Wrap her firmly in a towel like a sausage roll. Hold her over a sink or bowl of warm water, tucked under your arm. Dip her crest into the water and work out the clumps with your fingers. Work a tiny bit of ordinary soap, shampoo or hand-wash into the crest, dip and rinse, making sure her eyes are kept clear of the soapy water. Repeat if needed. Towel dry her crest, then use a hairdryer on a warm setting. Good to go, spa treatment done!

 

[JamminCats]

Wrap her firmly in a towel like a sausage roll. Hold her over a sink or bowl of warm water, tucked under your arm. Dip her crest into the water and work out the clumps with your fingers. Work a tiny bit of ordinary soap, shampoo or hand-wash into the crest, dip and rinse, making sure her eyes are kept clear of the soapy water. Repeat if needed. Towel dry her crest, then use a hairdryer on a warm setting. Good to go, spa treatment done!

I've seen some videos where owners run the crest under the faucet. Would this work too? I'm willing to keep her inside overnight to dry.

 

[JustBabyMargo]

I've seen some videos where owners run the crest under the faucet. Would this work too? I'm willing to keep her inside overnight to dry.

Follow @Chicalina ’s advice. I never did anything for my Baby Margo it always cleaned itself.

 

[JamminCats]

Follow @Chicalina ’s advice. I never did anything for my Baby Margo it always cleaned itself.View attachment 2834501

Usually i just leave it be as well but I've never seen dried on mud like this O_O

 

[Chicalina]

A running tap will do just as well as a bowl of water. But use the sausage roll technique too.

@JustBabyMargo Some dried on mud clumps can be so heavy and solid, they just can't shake them loose! Then their heads are too heavy to lift properly. Silly Polish!

 

[JustBabyMargo]

A running tap will do just as well as a bowl of water. But use the sausage roll technique too.

@JustBabyMargo Some dried on mud clumps can be so heavy and solid, they just can't shake them loose! Then their heads are too heavy to lift properly. Silly Polish!

I believe it! That’s why I said to take your advice @Chicalina ! My Baby Margo just loved to clean her feet off by rubbing them in her hair! I made sure there were no problems and if there would have been I would’ve taken care of it! But always the next morning they would be clean! Not sure how? She was living by herself then (because the non-crested chickens would bully her) so I don’t know how her feathers got all clean again.

 

[Chicalina]

I believe it! That’s why I said to take your advice @Chicalina ! My Baby Margo just loved to clean her feet off by rubbing them in her hair! I made sure there were no problems and if there would have been I would’ve taken care of it! But always the next morning they would be clean! Not sure how? She was living by herself then (because the non-crested chickens would bully her) so I don’t know how her feathers got all clean again.

Maybe once the mud dried, it was her foot cleaning/combing the feathers!

I had a frizzle polish hen who would dip her head in mud, not meaning too, just her crest curled forward over her face and touched the ground wherever she pecked. She had to have regular spa treatments in winter, or the wet muddy crusts would freeze into mudsicles hanging off her head like stone dreds. She was a kooky little thing.

 

[JustBabyMargo]

Maybe once the mud dried, it was her foot cleaning/combing the feathers!

I had a frizzle polish hen who would dip her head in mud, not meaning too, just her crest curled forward over her face and touched the ground wherever she pecked. She had to have regular spa treatments in winter, or the wet muddy crusts would freeze into mudsicles hanging off her head like stone dreds. She was a kooky little thing.

Yeah probably! She would put mud in her hair (from her feet) and then comb it out after it dried! That actually makes a lot of sense!

She sounds like she was very special!

 

[Chicalina]

She was mean! When her crest was normal she was low status, but when I trimmed it so she could actually see, she was queen of the flock and Atilla the Hen!

She killed a chick so I rehomed her to a lovely lady who is obsessed with frizzle polish and has only adult hens. She is very happy there living with and bossing about other hens.