Silkie breeding, genetics & showing

[Adoravachick]

Have hair dryer will travel....Yes, I always blew out my birds in the morning. There is always electricity somewhere. Sometimes Shorty and I had to take turns though!
Some of the guys called me "The Shake and Bake Lady", as once the judging was over, all birds were powdered for bugs before going back into their traveling boxes. Powder is great for Silkies. The key to keeping one in condition for months is to keep it DRY.

Just what worked well for me...

Thanks for the information. Note to self "Powder before putting them back in the crate for the way home"

 

[ChicksNherps]

Do you just use the talcum powder or with the diatomatious earth? I have that I've been using recently because a new chicken I got had lice, the seller was well aware too and didn't think to mention it to me.

 

[thedragonlady]

Do you just use the talcum powder or with the diatomatious earth? I have that I've been using recently because a new chicken I got had lice, the seller was well aware too and didn't think to mention it to me.

I use permethrin powder and 15 Coral powder on my birds for creepy crawlies. The birds and coops are treated once a month just as a precaution. I am always horrified to see balls of lice in Silkies' beards. No excuse for that at all!

 

[ChicksNherps]

Yeah I was disgusted...

 

[Hawkeye95]

Though I no longer breed Silkies,but I did rather successfully for a lot of years. I washed my birds in Dawn dishwashing liquid. Rinsed well, and rinsed again in Downey fabric softener. If I was washing a white bird, I then did a final rinse in water with bluing added. Downey comes in all sorts of scents, and cuts eau de chicken rather well. Then blow dry, and powder vents, bottoms of feet, and beards with talcum powder to keep them clean. This was blown out at the show. Make sure you use 100% TALCUM powder, not cornstarch baby powder, or you'll turn those feathers to glue!

Vickie (Karesh) Dawson

I use Palmolive dish soap and it works really well cutting the smell. But my birds really aren't that dirty to begin with, anyway. So maybe you have more of an odor problem than I do. I like the suggestion above in theory for smelling good-- I've never used softener on a bird. Question-- wouldn't that coat and weigh down the silkie feathers? I have cloth diapered for years now and I just know I can NEVER use softener in the rinse or it will make the diapers repel liquid-- not a great thing to do when you want that diaper to be absorbent and soak up "water". Same with bath towels-- if you use softener on them, makes it harder for them to be absorbent--they will repel. I don't know if I'd want to risk it on my birds?? Would they be just as fluffy??

I use permethrin powder and 15 Coral powder on my birds for creepy crawlies. The birds and coops are treated once a month just as a precaution. I am always horrified to see balls of lice in Silkies' beards. No excuse for that at all!

Sevin dust!

 

[ChicksNherps]

Mine really aren't dirty, they just have a weird bird smell to them.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Mine really aren't dirty, they just have a weird bird smell to them.

not to worry, the judge isn't going to smell your bird, he's going to be more worried about their look, type and faults than if they have a bit of a chicken odor.

Have you tried the citrus dog flea and tick shampoo? I noticed the last time I used that, everyone smelled really good.

 

[littlecritters]

Mine really aren't dirty, they just have a weird bird smell to them.

I really don't think the birds should have a weird smell. The only time I've encountered a bad smell is when one bird hopped over another and pooped on it. Is there a chance your birds are getting pooped on from birds above them, such as on a roost ? You can try adding some PDZ to your shavings. It will help eliminate coop odors. And...if your birds have been dust bathing in their bedding, PDZ should help them smell alot better.

 

[Me & Jack]

I have a question. I have been having a hard time getting the "chicken smell" out of my chickens after bathing. Does anyone have something they do that works? I was looking at using baking soda dog shampoo as well, but then I was thinking I may just be able to add a little to their regular shampoo. But there is a good dog shampoo from top performance with baking soda that smells like cotton, it has silk amino acids and vitamin b added to it too. But right now I use the top performance sea breeze shampoo which smells nice but it just doesn't get the smell out well. It is volumizing and shining shampoo and works good except for that.

I would be a little concerned about your birds having a "smell", unless you just have a sensitive nose. LOL

How long have you noticed this? I've never seen a judge hold a bird up to his nose, but I've also never had a bird smell enough that one would notice it when holding at arm's length, especially after bathing with a scented shampoo. Infectious Coryza has an offensive odor which can be apparent from a foot or more away. But I would think you would have noticed other obvious symptoms (nasal discharge, sticky feathers around the face and under the wing where the bird tucks its head at night). Try using a different shampoo -- maybe something for showing animals or for removing odors, or give your birds a spritz of Febreze to eliminate odors before a show. Otherwise, if it's just normal chicken smell, I wouldn't worry about it -- it's natural!

 

[ChicksNherps]

It's just a normal chicken smell. They smell like farm lol not gross or anything just not a clean smell you know? Just a birdie smell. I'm only concerned about it for showing, but they never smell bad unless they just stepped in poop