my daughter feels the need to give the chickens a bath

[chickiiin]

what would be the safest way to give a fully grown chicken a bath.

 

[Mahonri]

Warm soapy water??

I don't know. But I sprinkle my hens every once in a while when they are out in their run and locked out of the coop.

Some of them actually enjoy it. The others hate it and want in the coop. they just end up shaking off and drying out.

 

[JennsPeeps]

Better yet, teach your daughter that a chickens' way of bathing is to roll around in dirt! It cools down their skin and helps get rid of parasites.

Here's a pic of my girl's first dust bath last June:

 

[suenrob]

Quote:
The cat is licking his chops!!!! Looks like he is decided which one he wants for dinner!!! LOL

 

[chixbvs]

We had to give our full grown Houdan, Spot, a shampoo after she stuck her feathers (she has them on the top of her head) into some yogurt she was eating, and then everything got stuck to the top of her head: shavings, dirt, other chickens feathers, etc. We used baby shampoo and only did the top of her head in the kitchen sink. She did not protest too much, but she didn't jump in for a full on bath, either !

Unless you're taking them to a show, they dust bathe themselves.

 

[Dar]

i read on here somewhere that chickens dont swim so i would not make the bath very deep

 

[The Chicken Lady]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9TDAL-17Qw

Here is a video of the famous therapy rooster, Mr. Joy, getting his bath. It's a cute video, and you can learn a lot about how to bathe a chicken from watching it.

(This is probably my twentieth shameless plug for Mr. Joy on this forum. I'm such a big fan of his!).

 

[donnaIL]

Quote:
That rooster is so laid back...If I tried that I'm sure mine would bite me.

 

[greenthumb89]

my friend bathes her birds for the fair adn i asked her and she said they use horse shampoo and put warm but not hot water in the place your gonna wash them in (she uses an old dish pan) and then just use your hands and hold the bird in one hand and cup water i the other one and pour i over them being carefull of the head she uses a wash cloth there

 

[BayCityBabe]

I washed my adopted Silkies in a dish pan in my basement sink. They were kinda stinky after travelling crated.
Warm water & baby soap. I wiped their heads, couldn't bring myself to spray their heads. Then I let them sun themselves in the enclosed porch, warm/no drafts...