Tips on bathing a chicken in the least stressful way possible.

[LittleSilkieFarmer]

Hello! I'm newer to chicken keeping, I have a small flock of 3 silkies. One of them have a special need Her name Is Tipsy, She has Cerebellar hypoplasia, a neurological condition that affects her cerebellum. She was born this way and my livestock vet says she isn't in any pain and is otherwise a completely healthy chicken. I took her in from a friend who noticed her flockmates not accepting her and picking on her.
Absolute sweetest chicken in the world. However, she does have some difficulty using the bathroom, often times accidentally flopping over in her poo. What do you all recommend I do to help keep her clean so she doesn't get sick?
Any tips are greatly appreciated! And any tips on chickens will be amazing too!
picture of her as a bonus♡♡enjoy

 

[DLA]

I don't remember where I ran across this but when I saw your post I thought of it. Hope it helps.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Is she mobile at all? How skittish is she when being handled? How often are you wanting to bathe her?

 

[NanaK]

Hi! Welcome to BYC!
I have a bird with special needs too. She is 9 years old and doesn't get around as good as she used to. Sometimes she gets a poopy behind so I bath her bottom as needed. I use baby shampoo but in a pinch have used Dawn dish soap. I rarely have to wash much more than her bottom, tummy and feet.
I put her in my laundry sink and let her soak a few minutes, suds where necessary, rinse really well. Never leave them unattended.

Meet Dixie!

Then I towel her off a bit and blown dry with settings on low heat and low blow. She loves the blow dryer!

Then she's ready for her day!
***Bow was only for photo.

Just make sure to have what you need nearby. Go slowly and have patience. I have found that chickens usually enjoy this. Sometimes you can spot clean them with a damp rag.

One last thing, does your chicken have a chicken friend? They are flock animals and usually do better with at least 1 friend.

 

[LittleSilkieFarmer]

I don't remember where I ran across this but when I saw your post I thought of it. Hope it helps.

Thank you so much! The information in this video is great!

 

[LittleSilkieFarmer]

Hi! Welcome to BYC!
I have a bird with special needs too. She is 9 years old and doesn't get around as good as she used to. Sometimes she gets a poopy behind so I bath her bottom as needed. I use baby shampoo but in a pinch have used Dawn dish soap. I rarely have to wash much more than her bottom, tummy and feet.
I put her in my laundry sink and let her soak a few minutes, suds where necessary, rinse really well. Never leave them unattended.

Meet Dixie!
View attachment 3630039

Then I towel her off a bit and blown dry with settings on low heat and low blow. She loves the blow dryer!
View attachment 3630044

Then she's ready for her day!
***Bow was only for photo.
View attachment 3630050

Just make sure to have what you need nearby. Go slowly and have patience. I have found that chickens usually enjoy this. Sometimes you can spot clean them with a damp rag.

One last thing, does your chicken have a chicken friend? They are flock animals and usually do better with at least 1 friend.

Thank you so much! And yes Tipsy has 2 flock mates! I took in two silkies along side Tipsy to keep her company♡ I appreciate the tips along with the photos! It's helped so much so far! I just gave her a bath and am currently drying her off with a warm towel! She is delighted!♡

 

[NanaK]

Thank you so much! And yes Tipsy has 2 flock mates! I took in two silkies along side Tipsy to keep her company♡ I appreciate the tips along with the photos! It's helped so much so far! I just gave her a bath and am currently drying her off with a warm towel! She is delighted!♡

Great! Best wishes to you and your flock.

 

[Sally PB]

When I had to give a hen a bath, I did it at night, with the lights low. Since she couldn't see very well, the strange surroundings weren't so scary. I used a headlamp with a red light so that I could see better.

I talked softly to her the whole time. She loved the blow drier too.

 

[LittleSilkieFarmer]

When I had to give a hen a bath, I did it at night, with the lights low. Since she couldn't see very well, the strange surroundings weren't so scary. I used a headlamp with a red light so that I could see better.

I talked softly to her the whole time. She loved the blow drier too.

Thank you so much! I'll give that a try next time I give her a bath to see which method she likes best!

 

[my spoiled chickens]

Hi! Welcome to BYC!
I have a bird with special needs too. She is 9 years old and doesn't get around as good as she used to. Sometimes she gets a poopy behind so I bath her bottom as needed. I use baby shampoo but in a pinch have used Dawn dish soap. I rarely have to wash much more than her bottom, tummy and feet.
I put her in my laundry sink and let her soak a few minutes, suds where necessary, rinse really well. Never leave them unattended.

Meet Dixie!
View attachment 3630039

Then I towel her off a bit and blown dry with settings on low heat and low blow. She loves the blow dryer!
View attachment 3630044

Then she's ready for her day!
***Bow was only for photo.
View attachment 3630050

Just make sure to have what you need nearby. Go slowly and have patience. I have found that chickens usually enjoy this. Sometimes you can spot clean them with a damp rag.

One last thing, does your chicken have a chicken friend? They are flock animals and usually do better with at least 1 friend.

she looks so done with this what breed is she btw belefelder ?