Muddy toes on hens, can I rinse them off?

[flockof4]

We have very clayey soil and we've had a wet spring. Sometimes I notice that my girls' toenails are caked with clay/dirt from all the scratching and digging they do. Can/Should I rinse their little toes in some warm water to loosen the clay? I don't want their nails to get some sort of infection.

 

[Highlander]

They are farmyard animals, some dirt won't hurt them in the slightest.

 

[Dora'smom]

Yes, you can. Our girls will occasionally get almost what I would call mud-balls on their toes/claws, and my husband holds the bird while I wash them off. The birds that I did this with actually seemed to enjoy it once they realized what I was doing. It won't hurt your birds at all.

 

[MaureenL128]

bathtime is becoming a regular thing around here. i have one girl who tends to get a poopy butt so my husband wraps her in a towel while i wash her behind in the bin.