Silkie Chick Care... too young to bathe?

[GlockGalUSA]

Ok peeps (pun intended), I have ventured into Silkie territory and this is my first cochin breed. I have read multiple sites but only one addressed actual chicks. The owner stated that every night she washed her chicks legs. Now I see why! Holy Moly I want to wash their legs so bad it's making me crazy! is it too early? I've never bathed a chick or chicken before and although I now know from reading, all about the dawn, the vinegar/water rinse, etc... I'm afraid they will catch a chill or I will blow them across the room with the blow dryer (LOL). Granted these guys are probably a good bit smaller than the rest of my flock at the same age but I THINK I have two that are a few days old and two that are a week or so? We have Barred Rocks, Buff Orpingtons,Australorps, Delewares, and one Golden Comet..... As you can see... never had any need for washin' legs, lol.

 

[BantamoftheOpera]

I'm not sure about that age. If you did just the legs and set the blow dryer on low it might be okay. You may want to wait until others reply. Another option would be to wrap the chick in a towel and just keep it in your lap until it is dry.

 

[IzzyMom]

We have one Silkie Roo, and one Cochin Bantam Roo. The Silkie JUST had his first all-over bath yesterday (at 9 wks old). Before that (after being 2 wks old) we just used a wet washcloth for their legs, and held them close to blow-dry them on low heat. They did fine. If their legs looked too dry or scaley, we just rubbed a little olive oil on them and turned them loose. I have no idea if we were doing it "right" - but they seem to be doing great!

 

[InsaneBreeder]

I have bathed chicks fresh out of the incubator (sometimes they're born sticky and won't fluff out), and those do fine. Just wrap it in a towel and keep it warm until it dries (it helps if you have an incubator to put it in, but you could also use the hair-dryer on a low setting, or hold the chick next to your body).

 

[PNWGirl]

Is it normal for the legs to be a mess? My guys are clean and I have never washed them (they are three weeks old now). I check their feet, daily (I handle no less than twice a day and look the chicks completely over), to make sure that they do not have poop or shavings stuck in their feathers (and I get very little of that) but other than that, I do not do anything.

Thanks!

Sheila

 

[4hchickmama]

Is it normal for the legs to be a mess? My guys are clean and I have never washed them (they are three weeks old now). I check their feet, daily (I handle no less than twice a day and look the chicks completely over), to make sure that they do not have poop or shavings stuck in their feathers (and I get very little of that) but other than that, I do not do anything.

Thanks!

Sheila

I've only washed my feather footed breeds before shows and on the rare occasion they need it in between. One stepped in a puddle of mud and was a terrible mess and another got into the watermelon I gave them to eat and got sticky everywhere. Other than that, I've never had to wash them. People seem to have the misconception that feather footed breeds need daily foot baths or that they will constantly have stuff stuck in their feet. This hasn't been my experience at all.

 

[Urbanchickenmom]

I am new to chickens and I have some silkies cause I wanted them just to hold and be pets one came pasted up some so I had to soak her cute little bummy and then I put some mineral oil on her so it wouldn't happen again. Now though h bum looks soooo sad her feathers are all matted down because of the oil. Should I wash it off or will it just eventually fluff back up? They are only four days old. What should I do?

 

[tiki244]

I don't normally wash the chicks unless they have a pasty but or some goo on a foot. They are usually clean though. I would just wash in a little warm water just the part that is dirty and dry with a towel and make sure they get a prime spot in the brooder. Maybe you might want to consider putting a bowl of sand in the brooder for them to sand bath, I have put bowls of crumbles in their brooder before and they immediately went to it to bath in. If the brooder gets to dirty they get toe balls which I try to avoid. That is where at the end of the nails there is a little dirty ball. I just remove that with my hand and set to cleaning the brooder immediately. I use an old incubator for a brooder and just dial it down 5 degrees everyweek. It works the best for me. ( I wouldn't think a dryer would be good~it might scare the chicks)

 

[Chillin Chick]

I am new to chickens and I have some silkies cause I wanted them just to hold and be pets one came pasted up some so I had to soak her cute little bummy and then I put some mineral oil on her so it wouldn't happen again. Now though h bum looks soooo sad her feathers are all matted down because of the oil. Should I wash it off or will it just eventually fluff back up? They are only four days old. What should I do?

I would wash the oil off with liquid Ivory body wash, blow dry on low setting, then try baby powder on the bum- this is what I do before shows to keep the poo from sticking. If they're getting pasted ends, you may need to give them some meds to get that issue gone. I've not had any of mine pasted over, but my vet did say to give them medicated chick feed and that's probably why. Good luck with your babies!

 

[Chillin Chick]

I've only washed my feather footed breeds before shows and on the rare occasion they need it in between.  One stepped in a puddle of mud and was a terrible mess and another got into the watermelon I gave them to eat and got sticky everywhere.  Other than that, I've never had to wash them.  People seem to have the misconception that feather footed breeds need daily foot baths or that they will constantly have stuff stuck in their feet.  This hasn't been my experience at all.

I have never had to bathe mine either except for showing or for the occasional poo spotting (where they seem to lay on each other and poo!), otherwise I feel like its unnecessary to wash their natural oils off. Do blow them dry on the low setting so they'll get dry right away and not catch a cold.