Silkie washing herself?

[Black743]

Our Silkie has a routine every morning. She perches on the water bowl, dips her mouth in the water and rubs her chest. She does it for quite a while until her chest is wet as can be. It has been quite hot lately, but she does this around 8am or so.

Does anyone know what she’s doing?

 

[azygous]

This just screams for a video. I can't picture it.

 

[Black743]

She will perch on the bowl for an hour doing it and then just sit there hanging out. Maybe she’s hot or it just feels good to her.

 

[aart]

Is she drinking too....or just taking a 'birdy bath'(as my mother used to call it)?

 

[Black743]

Is she drinking too....or just taking a 'birdy bath'(as my mother used to call it)?

She does both.

 

[azygous]

On thinking more about this little hen and her drinking habits, I'm reminded of an EE hen of mine that is an unqualified pig when she eats.

Ethel stands at the fermented feed dish and plows the slop backwards onto her beard and breast, then she walks around the rest of the day wearing a good amount of drying crusting feed on herself.

Could be your Silkie just has very slovenly table manners, too. I bet she would revel in a dish of sloppy wet feed.